Remember when Glenn saved Rick’s life when we were first introduced to him? Well, that was “Pizza Boy” Glenn. Although he was smart and skilled, he was still a soft boy, who knew his way around town because he delivered pizzas.
A smart pizza boy
Glenn was rather young when he first appeared on “The Walking Dead.” He was smart but soft at the same time because he was merely a boy, getting adjusted to the zombie-infested world. His intelligence and knowledge of the city was what made him a survivor early in the show.
Go-to-town expert
In seasons 1 and 2, Glenn was, as Rick would say it, the group’s “go-to-town expert.” He knew his way around and became an expert scavenger since he would always be sent to get supplies.
When he met the love of his life, Maggie Greene, in season 2, Glenn had a companion he could take with him on these trips. The two formed a special bond, and Maggie helped Glenn realize something – that he wasn’t a pushover. However, Glenn was still soft, and although he was good with walkers, he wasn’t strong enough to fight people.
A perfect example of Glenn showing weakness was in season 2, episode 9 when he, Rick, and Hershel ran into a strange group that tried to kill them, and Glenn hid behind a dumpster to protect himself, unable to kill anyone.
Becoming a man
In Season 3, Glenn transformed into a man thanks to Maggie. He became a viable asset to the group because not only was he smart, but he learned how to become a brave fighter.
Glenn showed his new-found strength when he killed a walker while being tied to a chair after he took a harsh beating from Merle. The love he shared with Maggie was truly making him a stronger person.
Acquiring leadership skills
After The Governor’s second attack, Glenn was separated from Maggie and was intent on finding her.
During the process of finding her, he was slowly acquiring leadership skills, being brave, formulating schemes, and ordering people around. He showed even more of his leadership skills during the time he spent with Abraham, always steering the Sergeant the right way on their trip to Washington DC.
When the group found Alexandria, Glenn became even more of a leader, guiding Deanna’s younger boy, Aiden, during supply runs.
Aiden was a hardheaded coward, who thought he could lead the supply runs along with his wingman Nicholas. Glenn had to show them how it was really done, but they didn’t want to listen. While Aiden got himself killed, Nicholas was trying to murder Glenn but failed.
Ultimately, Nicholas realized that Glenn was a much more experienced supply runner and leader, so he respected him. But, Nicholas wasn’t able to survive too long, as he panicked and committed suicide when a mega-herd surrounded he and Glenn.
Glenn became one of Rick’s right-hand men, earning a ton of respect from everyone and becoming a supreme survivor. Even though there were many instances where Glenn could have died, he somehow survived them all until the group met Negan.
Unfortunately, “The Walking Dead” stayed true to the comics and gave Glenn the most iconic death of the show, his head getting bashed in by Lucille, Negan’s barb-wired bat.
It was a travesty to watch Glenn gruesomely get killed especially since everyone grew very fond of him and his character developed so much over the years. He went from a soft pizza boy to a resilient, smart leader and strategical survivor. His character change was one of the best, which is why fans adored him.
