Do Sunday's 'Talking Dead' Guests or the 2nd Finale Promo Portend an Unpredictable 'Sad Loss?'

By Cindy Davis | The Walking Dead | March 27, 2015 |

By Cindy Davis | The Walking Dead | March 27, 2015 |

I don’t know about the rest of you The Walking Dead watchers, but I’m totally freaked out by the thought of this weekend’s finale. Usually, I wouldn’t be worried about the core group (Rick, Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Glenn, Carl) at all, but I feel like they want to hit us where it hurts this time. Case in point, producer Gale Ann Hurd’s comment to EW that “…there will be a few surprises and some sad losses that no one, I think, will be able to predict.” Dammit lady, don’t you know that’s how we spend our lives — trying to predict who will die so it won’t hurt so badly when they do?

So here we are, at finale weekend, and a couple of things are bothering me. The first one is this weekend’s Talking Dead guests, which you may or may not consider a *Spoiler.* If you do, now’s the time to back out, and you’ll just have to figure out who’s going to die on your own. Are you gone? Good. ***Spoiler, Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride will guest on Sunday’s Talking Dead episode. Now, there are two ways we can look at this. Either

a) They’re completely safe because they’ve been announced ahead of time as guests, in which case, we can all breathe that sigh of relief, or

b) It’s a trick! They know we’ll believe because Reedus and McBride have been announced that Daryl and Carol are safe, and what it really means is that one or both of them are dead.

I’m going with a — They’re safe. This works out well both logically, and for my own sanity. But, their appearance on the after-show could still be a different kind of clue, and one that doesn’t leave me feeling much better.

If you’re a Talking Dead watcher, you also know about this second promo for the 90-minute season finale “Conquer;” which features Carol confronting Pete. That’s a situation I expected to happen at some point, though not exactly as it does. (This is the best video copy I could find):

On the one hand, Carol has become so fearless and kickass, Pete looks petrified enough to pee his pants. On the other, it’s terrifying that she threatened him but didn’t do anything more. He isn’t that little kid, and even if he’s shaken at the moment, he’s a fucking abuser — and he’s not going to just stop being that guy. He’ll go after Carol when he has the element of surprise. And, now I’ve terrified myself into believing that Norman Reedus is on Talking Dead because they want him to be with Melissa McBride after Carol’s been killed. Do you see how easy it is to work yourself into a tizzy?

I don’t see Maggie dying (strange to say, but I don’t think it’s enough of a gut punch right now, plus we practically just lost her sister), and Glenn has already been through enough shit this season. As for Glenn himself, he’s really just found his stride, so I don’t see him being killed off either. Sasha may die, but she wouldn’t be that unpredictable considering her recent arc; the rest of the semi-newbies really wouldn’t cause us much pain (Father Gabriel dying is a given, it’s just a matter of when). Perhaps I’m naive, but I feel strongly that Rick, Carl and Judith are safe, and Michonne — who surprised the fuck out of all of us last week — still has a lot of mystery going on. I think she’s too interesting a character to let go.

The thing is, with a season finale and comments like “No one is safe,” and Reedus’ “bring tissues,” I’m pretty convinced either Carol or Daryl (more likely Carol) is a goner, and either way, my soul will be crushed.

Dustin has his own thoughts on the matter.

During the 90-minute finale we’ll get our first look at The Walking Dead companion series (tentatively referred to as “Fear the Walking Dead”) starring Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis, Frank Dillane and Alycia Debnam-Carey. See you (through my tear-blurred eyes) Sunday night!

Cindy Davis, (Twitter)