*Spoilers Ahead*
There’s been a whole heap of conversation around The Walking Dead this week and it has to do with a major plot point towards the end of this episode. So, let’s not waste any time.
Glenn is dead. He and Nicholas get cornered by a massive horde and can only escape them by getting on top of a dumpster. Nicholas, partially out of guilt and partially because the situation looks like a lose-lose, decides to off himself. Unfortunately, his limp body collides with Glenn and forces both of them into the horde. The last shot we see is of Glenn screaming as blood and guts come pouring out. Glenn’s death is a huge shock to the audience and truly proves the mantra of the series that anyone can die at any moment.
Glenn is not dead. First off, his intestines seem to be coming out of his ribcage which is an odd place for them to be. Next, Nicholas is definitely on top of him and Nicholas’ blood could very well shield him from zombies.
Of course, how well will that blood shield him when he is screaming in terror? Plus, can we really expect him to make it out of that horde without a single scratch or bite? If Glenn survives isn’t that a huge stretch for a show that makes death matter?
This has more or less been the discussion since “Thank You” ended on Sunday. Personally, I’m in the “Glenn is alive” camp. All of the reasons above are good but I believe he’s alive for the simple reason that the writers, for all the flack they occasionally get, understand that killing a character as important and long-running as Glenn off with no build-up or foreshadowing, seemingly at random, is a waste. Glenn is one of the few remaining characters who has been around since Season 1 and even in the show’s early days they didn’t kill off a big member of the group at random. A random death is good for a shock, it’s part of why we enjoy horror movies but the death of a character we’ve spent years with requires more than what Glenn seemingly gets here.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, how about the rest of this episode, eh? The situation with Glenn has dominated everything else about “Thank You” which is a shame as it is another fine episode in what is shaping up to be a great season. While it never reaches the heights of “JSS” it manages to establish tension just as well.
Before splitting up, Michonne and Glenn are charged by Rick with getting the remaining Alexandrians back home and to find out what’s happening there. This goes about as well as expected as Rick continues to be proven right about the Alexandrians. I’ve come to the understanding that the show will never one hundred percent put Rick in the wrong, because he’s the main character and we should root for him, but him being completely right about the Alexandrians seems like an odd move. I suppose it makes logical sense but story wise it doesn’t track because Rick seems to still be unhinged.
Michonne, Heath and Scott are the only ones out of the group to make it back to Alexandria. While the show does a decent job of making the deaths of these unimportant zombie fodder feel interesting it doesn’t pack much emotional punch. Thankfully, because all of that emotion is saved for what happens to Glenn.
Elsewhere, Rick gets to continue being a badass when he attempts to lure the zombies who went off path back onto the trail with an RV. Unfortunately, things don’t go so well when Rick is attacked by a few of the Wolves. He manages to kill them all but caused damage to the RV and is now trapped as the herd makes it’s way to his vehicle.
Things look bleak for our group and I’m betting they won’t get too much better next week.
Bits ‘n Pieces
- I’m going to bet that the Glenn thing doesn’t get resolved for some time. I’m thinking he shows back up right before the break. Perhaps with a new, Christ-like, survivor.
- A little rude of Michonne and Heath to just stand there and watch that dude get eaten alive. Put him out of his misery good god!
- Another guy talks trash on Rick and immediately gets bitten by a zombie. It’s getting kind of funny at this point. Let’s hope Morgan never talks shit on him.
- Speaking of Morgan, the folks who attack Rick are the ones Morgan let go last week. Looks like Rick was right again.
Jesse Swanson is a would-be writer, podcaster and funny guy who covers TV shows of all shapes and sizes. You can find him on Twitter @JesseSwanson