So who you think is going to be Sacrificed to the Ratings Gods(killed on the Season Finale):
Carol
If you watched last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, you know it was centered almost exclusively on Carol as she began questioning her brutal philosophy of killing anyone who needed killing. Perhaps inspired by Morgan, she doesn’t want to have to kill anyone anymore—which is unfortunate for her for two reasons. The first is that showing mercy in The Walking Dead is a pretty surefire way of getting killed, and the second is that Carol has had an extremely satisfying character arc, one that has essentially wrapped up. And man, would it be crushing to see Carol embrace her humanity again only to be immediately murdered by a villain who has none.
Daryl
“If Daryl dies, we riot,” cries the Walking Dead fandom, and they cry it a lot. Which is exactly why there’s such a good chance that Daryl will be the one to go come season finale time. It’s a character so beloved that it would hurt the audience incredibly while cementing Negan as totally evil. Plus, Daryl’s character is in kind of a weird limbo on the show, helping Rick, but not really having any stories of his own. What better use for him than to give viewers the most upsetting TWD episode ever?
Glenn
Despite promising that “hard-left turn” from this specific character death, the showrunners have been trolling fans mercilessly by incorporating allusion after allusion to Glenn, Negan and baseball bats, beginning with his near death by a different baseball bat at Terminus. Could TWD’s “hard left-turn” by a total lie and we’re going to watch Glenn die anyways? It’s entirely possible. Also, remember that Maggie is pregnant, and having a kid is often its own mark of death for characters in these types of shows. I would also like to state that it would be entirely within The Walking Dead’s purview to kill Glenn… and then also kill someone else.
Abraham
In the comics, Abraham is Rick’s right-hand man. In the show, he’s a bit more aimless, although he’s always good in a fight (or for finding rocket launchers). If Daryl dies, this will likely mean that Abraham might finally get his due, but we can’t ignore the possibility that the show will keep Daryl and kill Abraham in his stead. It would be giving the fans what they want, which TWD is certainly not above doing at least once in a while, and again, Abe really doesn’t have much going on other than pining for Sasha. Purely from a storytelling perspective, he could be removed without fundamentally altering the show. But it seems like TWD wants to fundamentally alter the show with Negan’s arrival, so his lack of purpose might actually be what saves him.
Maggie
I don’t believe The Walking Dead is quite willing to kill a pregnant woman and her unborn baby... at least I hope not. (Sure, it killed Lori, but she still managed to give birth just before she died.) Maggie’s death would unequivocally turn TWD into “misery porn,” and I think a lot of viewers would revolt—and I think the show knows this, too. On the other hand, can the show actually handle two babies from a storytelling perspective? Trying to incorporate Rick’s young daughter Judith has occasionally been a chore for the writers. Another might be too much