Since The Walking Dead aired “Thank You”, it’s third episode of the sixth season, this week the internet has been rampant with talk about that scene, the one in which the show seems to kill off one of the absolute fan favourites in a shocking, and frankly quite disappointing, way.
The following contains spoilers for both The Walking Dead TV show and the comics.
Nicholas blew his own brains out after having a panic attack/moment of clarity and thanking Glenn for giving him one last chance to be more than just a coward. His dead body fell on Glenn, knocking our favourite ex-pizza runner off a dumpster and down onto the ground amongst a massive swarm of walkers. Those walkers proceeded to gut Nicholas and munch on his entrails, of which we saw at the very bottom of the close shot while Glenn was screaming and really sad violin music played. Most watched this through tears.
It’s an ambiguous “death” but certain things have been established:
a) those intestines hanging out all over the place were without a doubt Nicholas’ who fell on top of Glenn (horizontally, as it appears)
b) Glenn is super close to the wide-enough gap between the ground and the dumpster
c) being covered in blood has been known to, at least somewhat, mask you from walkers
d) there is A LOT of blood for Glenn to be covered in
Of course, how in the hell would Glenn be able to survive that? His legs, hands, head, and upper torso are exposed to these aggressively hungry walkers and we know that one bite pretty much spells the end for a character (unless it’s on an expendable appendage). He is alone in a sea of walkers and soon enough there will be no more Nicholas to feed the walkers and they will turn to the screaming, crying guy beneath.
Call it denial but there’s a theory floating around that is the most plausible yet and provides a reasonable explanation for how Glenn could escape alive.
The above images are taken from the trailer released before Season 6 even premiered, showing footage that is yet to be aired. These images show Aaron and Maggie searching for something in the sewers.
Now the theory goes that Glenn quickly spots a manhole or grate (likely beneath the dumpster) and escapes to the sewers. This gives Glenn a believable route to safety and it explains why we were reminded of Hershel’s pocket watch (which he gave to Glenn) before that big scene. Sure, it could have been excessive foreshadowing, but The Walking Dead writers are usually very good at following through with seemingly random shots. The pocket watch could be the bread crumb that leads to Glenn.
Maybe this is completely wrong and Maggie/Aaron are down in the sewer for an entirely different reason. However, closer shots of Aaron in the sewer (from the trailer) show similar injuries to the ones he was seen with in “JSS”, indicating that this sequence follows those in episode two quite closely; and since it’s so closely, wouldn’t Maggie be in too much grief to bother helping out with something like a water problem or finding something else?
There is another theory which involves Enid, and if you’re a reader of the comics you’d know that bonding with a younger girl (Sophia in the comics, but she’s dead in the TV show) is an essential moment for both Maggie and Glenn. It’s possible that the theory about Enid being in with The Wolves is completely wrong, but she has left Alexandria anyway (at least for now) and finds Glenn to help him in some way. Maybe Glenn dropped his flare gun and Enid picks it up, firing the flare and instantly distracting the walkers.
The actress who plays Enid, Katelyn Nacon said in an interview that we may be “pleasantly surprised” the next time we see her. Could she be hinting to this? Her saving Glenn’s life would sure be pleasant and enough to develop her into a character who is more than just ‘the moody, mysterious girl’.
Either way. Fuck Nicholas.
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