Another season of The Walking Dead, another major death being teased.
One of the hit zombie drama’s favourite things to do to give itself – and its audience – a shot in the arm is to wipe out one of the main characters now and then. Last season, it was Glenn and Abraham’s time to bite the bullet (or, uh, get hit by a barbwire bat, as the case may be), and now we’re in season 8 and being teased with more death to come.
Pollyanna McIntosh – who joined the series in season 7 as Jadis, leader of the Heapsters – hinted at what lies ahead in a recent interview and warned fans that they should “expect to cry” as “someone’s gonna die.”
“They can expect an explosive season. They can expect to cry. As ever, someone’s gonna die, so their heartstrings will be pulled as always. But hopefully the enjoyment, the excitement and war element of the show ― this season, they will not be disappointed. We’ve been leading up to this for a while, and Season 7 was thoughtful and brilliant, but we’re ready for war now.”
This is far from the first time we’ve heard that at least one more prominent character is for the chop in season 8. In fact, other hints have suggested that we can expect multiple people to bite the bullet. Not only that, but showrunner Scott Gimple has said there are “big deaths” to come, while Andrew Lincoln revealed that season 8 will feature some of the “biggest deaths” on the show, ever.
So, who could be on their way out soon? Well, there are a whole host of theories doing the rounds at the moment. A throwaway line in last Sunday’s episode hinted that King Ezekiel’s time might be up, as it referenced his death in the comic books. Other clues, meanwhile, seem to be hinting that Rick’s daughter Judith could not make it out of the war with Negan alive (despite the season 8 premiere’s flashforwards suggesting she will). Or, maybe even Rick’s own story is set to end soon?
The options are plentiful, but all will be revealed as The Walking Dead season 8 continues to unfold on Sundays on AMC.