I've already gone on record as saying that I think those Hershel-Glenn and Glenn-Maggie scenes were put there for a reason in last Sunday's episode (to get us to care even more about all 3 of them before an inevitable death happens), and that I think Hershel could likely be the next big character to go. But it could be Glenn too -- although he is such a major character in the show and such an important part of the group that I don't know if it's Glenn's time just yet.
I kind of think that Carol is on her way out soon, but I don't think it will be yet. Daryl just lost Merle, after all. He can't shoulder that much grief in such a short time frame - at least not by TV standards!!
The tricky thing about this show is that it is not entirely predictable, especially in terms of timing. Yes, there are certain events we can predict will happen -- we know the Governor will die at some point, for example -- but we don't know when. I figured that Merle would die sooner or later because he was too much of a wild card and could never be entirely trusted, but until I read the spoiler for last Sunday's show I didn't know he would be gone just
yet. In fact, I thought Merle would become an even better, more decent person before he got killed. I didn't think he had really had a complete turnaround yet. So the fact that he got killed sooner than I expected surprised me!
So, to that end, this show is hard to guess at because just when we think someone will die soon, they stick around for a while (I thought Hershel would have been gone back at the farm, and he's still hanging in there). And if we think the person will stick around for a while (I thought we would be annoyed by Lori for many seasons to come), they die soon!! Sooner or later
TWD will kill off someone that many folks don't expect to get killed at all -- like Rick or Carl -- and completely throw us for a loop!
This will sound very strange to say, and I hope it makes sense, but
TWD is actually the
one and only show where I probably do not mind if a character I like gets killed off!
In every other show I watch I would hate it if all of the people I liked left early. Somehow, though, I think a
huge strength of
TWD is the fact that it is fearless in killing off major characters -- at random times in the season when we don't expect it. Way too many other shows back down, or they bring the characters to the point of certain doom and then save them at the last minute.
This show does not do that.
TWD is not afraid to kill off the major players, one by one, and I have to say I LOVE that aspect of it because it keeps me interested and keeps me involved, as I never know who is getting killed at any given moment. Anyone -- even Rick -- could literally go at any time, and if it is someone we don't expect to go it is shocking and effective. I didn't think that Shane would be killed in the episode right after the one in which Dale got killed, for example - I thought Shane would 'get his' in another season so that we didn't lose 2 big characters so close together!
If
TWD starts becoming predictable, or almost killing characters on the show and then saving them at the last second -- I will think they are selling out and becoming like every other show. So, even though I will shed tears and be very affected, I will forgive them if they kill off characters I like because it fits with the way the show has been laid out for us thus far. Killing off the people I like will make it much more gripping and moving for me, I think.