"The Walking Dead's" two-season-long "All Out War" storyline is finally drawing to a close as we'll be witnessing one final stand-off between "Alexandria-Hilltop-Kingdom" alliance and Negan's "Saviors." With that being the case, it's safe to assume that not all main characters will survive the battle. But before we delve into the list of candidates most likely to bite the dust in Season 8 finale, let's talk first about the characters who are safe, at least from the storytelling perspective.
Spoiler warning: While these predictions will mostly rely on what we have already seen in the show so far, the article will also contain spoilers from "The Walking Dead" comics, so please be aware of that because we don't want to ruin anything for you.
The survivors
- Rick: Even though Rick's death was teased in that flash forward of him lying against a tree heavily injured, we don't think that they have the courage to kill the main character just yet. There is also a new Scott Gimple's statement about "The Walking Dead" pretty much being the new show with new narrative next season, but hopefully, that doesn't mean Rick's days are numbered.
- Negan: You don't have to be a comic book reader to know that Negan will survive the final battle as keeping him alive in the end was pretty much the only reason why Chandler Riggs' Carl had to die. To quote Scott Gimple, the purpose of Carl's death was to help Rick "bridge the gap between wanting and not wanting to kill Negan." And we have no reason to doubt that given the fact that the story seems to be moving in that direction with Rick finally reading his son's letter and all. So there isn't any doubt in our mind that Rick will have a change of heart in the end, which will lead to his decision to spare Negan's life.
- Morgan: Even though his crossover to "Fear the Walking Dead" initially caused some doubts about whether or not Morgan is going to die in "The Walking Dead," the trailer for Season 4 of "Fear" confirmed a time jump with Morgan heading over to the sister show, after "All Out War."
Now, on to the death count.
Who could die?
- Dwight: In the last week's episode Negan chose to spare Dwight's life, and in the season finale promo we see "Dwighty boy" in that jail suit Daryl used to wear when he was at the "Sanctuary." But just because Negan is keeping him alive at the moment that doesn't mean he won't bite the dust before the season ends. Sure, he plays the major role in the comics after the "All Out War," but the show has already taken a different route by having Negan finding out about Dwight's treachery during the war. With that said, his days could be numbered, no matter how tragic that would be, given the fact that Dwight has truly redeemed himself.
- Eugene: Speaking of a redemption arc, let's just hope Eugene will come to his senses and do something with the bullets. Even though that doesn't seem likely for now, as in the season finale promo we can see him delivering a gun to Negan that seems to be working fine. But still, that doesn't mean that he doesn't have a few aces up his sleeve. Eugene could turn on Negan, and after that, there are only two possibilities. He either gets killed by Negan or survives long enough to complete his redemption arc and join team "Family" once again.
- Father Gabriel: In "The Walking Dead" Season 8 finale promo, we see Father Gabriel being held at gunpoint two times. First by Eugene, and then by Negan. This is not a good sign, as Negan could use him as a bargaining chip to get Rick to do something, and then kill him anyway.
- Maggie: "The Widow's" fate wouldn't be called into question, but given the fact that Lauren Cohan hasn't signed a new contract yet, there is a real possibility that Maggie will be killed off in the season finale. But given her major role in the comics and the fact that they already killed one popular character not so long ago, they might just recast the actress.
Check out the trailer for "The Walking Dead" Season 8 Episode 16.
Who do you think will die? Tell us in the comments below.
