Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Season 9 of The Walking Dead has begun and we already have our first casualty. More are sure to follow.
Since the beginning, AMC’s The Walking Dead has always been a show with a heavy death total. Flesh-eating walkers stand at every turn and hostile humans are an even bigger threat. This is the apocalypse. Characters are always in danger.
Yes, like just about every show from the beginning of time, the main characters are safer than throwaway, side characters, but it’s rare to feel like anyone is ever safe on The Walking Dead.
I’d even go as far as to say that The Walking Dead kills off more main characters than HBO’s Game of Thrones (a show that’s famous for killing off major characters), but that’s a discussion for another day.
Season 9 has begun and so far we’ve lost Gregory (not a shocker), and Ken (I’m not even sure that counts).
Your favorite character is in danger. Will he, or she, survive the season which promises plenty of walkers and the arrival of the Whisperers? I’ll take a stab at it.
Warning: I am well aware of the comic storyline and while the show doesn’t always stick to Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels, it stays fairly faithful (Gregory went out the same way he did in the comic).
I’m taking that into account. If you wish to be spoiler-free, venture no further.
Rick Grimes: Everyone knows it’s coming. If there was ever a character I thought was safe on The Walking Dead, it was Carl Grimes. Flashback to Season 8 and Scott Gimple decides to shock the fans and kill him off. Okay, well they’ll never kill Rick Grimes.
Fast-forward to now, and Andrew Lincoln is leaving the show and Rick has to go.
While I would love for Rick to somehow be written out of the show without dying, I don’t see it happening. It will be major, it will be riveting, and it will change this show forever, but I think the man that is Rick Grimes takes his final breath.
I don’t even want to begin to predict how. #RickGrimesFinalEpisodes
Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 1 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
Daryl Dixon: It may be contradicting what I stated above, but I don’t think The Walking Dead will ever kill off Daryl. He’s an original character created for the show and with Rick gone, Daryl’s survival is one of the safest predictions around.
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Maggie Rhee: I’m having a tough time with this one. We may have been treated to Maggie’s best moment to date on last weeks episode. Lauren Cohan is the star of a new show on ABC, and while it’s confirmed she’ll be taking a hiatus from the show in one form or another, I’m predicting that she survives.
How you may ask? She could pull a “Heath” or simply just choose to leave. Let Maggie live.
Michonne: Losing Rick will be a major blow to the show and for that reason, I don’t think we’ll be losing anyone too important.
Next to Daryl, Michonne is my selection for the safest character. There’s a very interesting comic storyline coming up in the future and I think the show would be wise to follow it.
Carol Peletier: Carol has long outlasted her comic book counterpart and other than Daryl, will be the only original left after Rick’s departure. I don’t think the show will get rid of her for a long time to come. T-Dog died so Carol could live, let his sacrifice not be in vain.
Negan: Again, most of these predictions come down to losing Rick Grimes. If Negan dies, what was the point of sparing him at all? No, I think Negan will have a major part to play in Season 9 and in the future of this series.
It’ll be nice to have an anti-hero around (that’s where I think we’re heading for the bat-swinging egomaniac–slight redemption).
Khary Payton as Ezekiel – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Judith: Keep the children alive. You can have Henry, but Judith and baby Herschel are the future.
Eugene: Right around Eugene is where the level of importance starts to drop off significantly. Anyone who hasn’t been listed above is fair game for the foreseeable future. That being said, I think the mullet man is safe for Season 9.
Rosita: Is this going to happen? I’m actually going to predict that it doesn’t. But it might… I don’t know. I’ll say this is one of the comic deviations.
Tara: Tara is certainly a character you can get rid of. In an overcrowded cast, she’d be my pick for the first to go, but going off of my “Losing Rick Grimes is Enough” strategy, I don’t think it’ll be in Season 9.
Father Gabriel: We’re going to lose Father Gabriel, but it won’t be until the Whisperers are fully developed, which I predict will come in Season 10. Father G, you get to live through Season 9 with that new false eyeball and your cool new hat.
King Ezekiel: Our back season death will be the King. I think he goes exactly as he does in the comic, as the moment is too iconic not to give to somebody. Having Carol fall in love with him is just the final nail in the coffin.
Jesus: Jesus doesn’t really do anything but I think the fans like him and maybe they’ll give him more to do. Jesus survives.
Aaron: While I’m calling for more heads, I don’t think we lose Aaron, either.
Briana Venskus as Beatrice, Katelyn Nacon as Enid, Ross Marquand as Aaron, Sydney Park as Cyndie – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Enid: It’s been reported that Enid’s role will expand. There’s a lot they can do with this character besides blending her further into a thick cast. With Maggie MIA, Enid will be even more vital to the Hilltop. I say they keep her around.
Anne: The former leader of the trash heapsters can go. I understand why they saved her, and maybe she’ll wind up being more important than the Tara’s and Enid’s of the world, but I predict she doesn’t make it.
It’d be interesting if Alpha’s first victim is the woman many fans thought would be Alpha.
Siddiq: Carl died for this man. He’ll stick around.
Alden: Who? I kid, I actually like Alden and hope he makes it. Characters I like have a short lifespan on this show, though, so that doesn’t bode well for Alden.
Jerry: I can’t believe Jerry is still alive and I think he continues to breathe at the end of the season. Wouldn’t be shocked if I was wrong, though.
Dwight: Bring back Dwight.
Cyndie: I had to look her name up but she’s the most important person in Oceanside. The whole community is rather insignificant at the moment. I’ll predict she dies soon.
Mean Savior number 1: The long-haired Savior (played by Zach McGowan) is dead, and so are any of the other Saviors who give Carol a hard time.
That’s all I got for now. I’m predicting that the major casualties are kept fairly low and that the comic deaths (most of them) remain true. The Whisperers are coming and they’re definitely going to thin out the large cast I’ve been referring to, probably next season.
What are your predictions? Comment them below. I love to see what other The Walking Dead fans think.