AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ Season Six Episode Three Tears Out the Hearts of Fans

Walking Dead fans tuned into AMC Sunday Oct. 21 for a seemingly normal episode, only to be horrified that one of the series most beloved and prominent characters died in arguably, one of the most unmemorable deaths in the series history.

Glenn Rhee did not get the glorious death he deserved. He is one of the first characters seen on the show and turns out to be one of the few morally upright characters. He has also been in countless near-death situations in which he survived. So why was he subject to such an uneventful death in episode three?

The episode “Thank You” began with the a small group, led by Rick, trying to return to Alexandria in order to get ahead of the zombie herd that had been geared off the path they had created by a horn. The group faces several obstacles along the way, resulting in deaths and injuries. Rick gets his hand injured as he’s trapped in an RV, the other surviving characters make it into a building to take refuge, and Glenn and Nicholas break off from the rest of the group to distract the zombies.

As if the plan was not risky enough, Nicholas becomes somewhat psychotic, zoning in and out, and both become overwhelmed and trapped by the walkers. They soon realize that their guns will not be enough to stop the group of walkers and jump on a dumpster and continue to shoot out the zombies.

Nicholas takes another look at the crowd of zombies, looks at Glenn, turns the gun to his head, says one last “thank you” to Glenn and shoots himself. As he falls onto Glenn, they both fall into the crowd of walkers. Glenn is then seen horrifically getting ripped apart.

Many devoted fans, unwilling to accept that Glenn is actually dead, took to social media to air their various speculations about Glenn’s death. Senior Johnlemuel Casilag, a fan of The Walking Dead said, “I think Glenn is not dead, despite the gruesome images on scene… I mean, what major character dies in such a ridiculous way?”

There are several theories as to how Glenn survived or if he was even attacked in the first place. Some believe the scene in which Glenn died was just one of Nicholas’ fantasies considering how delusional he was throughout the episode. Also, images have surfaced showing Steven Yeun, the actor that plays Glenn, on the set of later episodes.

Others believe the body seen getting ripped apart is actually Nicholas. The latter theory could actually be possible considering that in past seasons, characters have escaped crowds of walkers by being covered in the blood of other walkers, so by the time the walkers get to Glenn, they may be oblivious to his presence.

Additionally, after witnessing Glenn’s “death,” many viewers tuned into “The Walking Dead” after show, “The Talking Dead” and interestingly, the show did not have an “in memoriam” for Glenn, like it has had for other characters in the past.

Executive Producer and showrunner of the Walking Dead Scott Gimple said in an interview with the LA times, “It’s absolutely cool that they’re reacting any way at this point, but there are a whole lot more chapters, a whole lot more reels in the movie to watch to get the whole picture.”

The fate of the former pizza boy is unknown, but Gimple assures fans that their answers will soon be answered. Episode four will air tonight, Nov.1, but one thing we know for sure, the Walking Dead writers clearly enjoy playing on the heartstrings of their fans. So, which character is next?

Nicholas (left) and Glenn (right) on top of a dumpster attempting to fend off a group of walkers. Courtesy of AMC.
Nicholas (left) and Glenn (right) on top of a dumpster attempting to fend off a group of walkers. Courtesy of AMC.