The Walking Dead returns to our screens tonight, but who won’t be surviving season 5?
The Walking Dead is popularly known as one of the most brutal dramas on television. Every season of the show has delivered shocking and emotional blows by killing off main characters like they’re cannon fodder. Shane, Andrea, Lori, Hershel, and Beth are just some of the high profile victims of the vicious zombie apocalypse. With the show’s cast and crew promising an earth-shattering exit in season 5’s second half, it doesn’t look like the writers will be bucking this trend anytime soon.
To try to calculate each character’s chances of survival, we’ve given each of them a score out of 10, rating their chances of kicking the bucket. With a score of ‘0’ meaning almost certain survival, and ’10’ indicating unavoidable doom, we’ve ranked the characters in order of those we think will continue walking to those that will end up, well, dead.
The following is based purely on speculation, and the writer has not read nor consulted any of the comics in making these predictions.
Judith — 0/10
Baby Judith has been ripe for the reaper twice in recent times. After going missing in season 4’s prison siege, Judith was almost killed during the battle for Terminus. Both times, the young Grimes was revealed to be perfectly safe and sound — and we can’t see that ending anytime soon. Though her life will almost definitely be put on the line at some point (her innocence makes her brilliantly effective emotional leverage), we can’t see the writers having the balls to kill her off.
Morgan — 1/10
Morgan is a fan favorite character, and has been since the very first episode of The Walking Dead. With the first half of season 5 constantly teasing his impending reunion with Rick, we’re pretty certain he’ll be safe for the foreseeable future. Why waste time building up a character’s return, just to kill them off again? Morgan has more to do.
Carl — 2/10
Carl has had one of the most interesting journeys of any character in the show, and because of his unique position as the only person we’ve seen grow up in this cruel new world, we can’t see his story being cut short. The massive effects this world would have on a person’s formative years is too interesting a plot to abandon.
Michonne — 3/10
Let’s be real, Michonne is just too damn badass to be killed off anytime soon. Her no-nonsense approach to life makes her a compelling anti-hero, and the samurai sword-wielder still has a lot of back-story to explore. Unless the show is going for a shock-factor exit, Michonne will be sticking around for a while yet.
Rick – 3/10
As the main character of the show, Rick would seem a sure-fire bet for survival. But with the promotional rhetoric promising a big death, Rick could still kick the metaphorical bucket. After all, his character arc has got a bit repetitive recently. There’s only so many times you can go from leader to savage and back again before the audience gets bored.
Daryl — 3/10
Another untouchable, Daryl will probably be safe this season, with the multi-layered character still having plenty of mysteries that would really give him some depth. As perhaps the most popular character of the ensemble, the only reason we could see for Daryl’s exit is Norman Reedus’ skyrocketing career.
Tyreese — 5/10
With Beth gone, Tyreese is the prime candidate for Judith’s surrogate parent (Rick never seems to be all that interested…) and over the last couple of seasons he has proven himself as an incredibly likable and morally centered addition to the group. But he’s so nice and forgiving that he’s an easy target for an emotional exit. Nice guys finish last, after all.
Carol — 6/10
Carol has been on a real journey from oppressed housewife to battle-hardened warrior. But it’s clear that she still feels guilty for her “greater good” executions in season 4, and we can’t help but suspect that she will sacrifice herself to atone for her previous sins. Her demise would also provide Daryl with the appropriate tragedy to send his character in a new direction.
On page 2: The characters who might not be walking much longer…
Page 2: ‘The Walking’ Dead season 5: Character death odds
Maggie — 6/10
With her sister’s life being snatched away from her clutches in the mid-season finale, Maggie is going to have a lot of demons to deal with when the show returns. And one of the challenges facing her may be her own death. The character hasn’t been up to much for the last couple of seasons, and unless Maggie’s death has some profound impact on her, we can’t see her story going much further.
Sasha — 6/10
Sasha endeared herself to a lot of viewers with the way she handled Bob’s death last year, but other than his death, she hasn’t really been up to much. This means she’s sort of disposable, and could easily be the victim of a mass character cull at some point. We hope she sticks around, because she’s a great character played subtly, but as we all know, this only makes her a better candidate for death.
Abraham — 6/10
Abraham is in a troubled place right now, and since Eugene’s deception was revealed, he’s been plagued by doubts about his purpose in life. Hopefully, he’ll be able to discover a renewed sense of importance, but he’s just as likely to take his own life — especially if the other characters’ fates go the way we expect them to.
Tara — 7/10
Unfortunately, Tara is another one of the group’s disposables. There isn’t too much to her character, and what we have seen has been brief and rare. It would be great to see her develop into a valued member of the group, but her lack of depth makes her easy pickings for a cheap shock.
Gabriel — 8/10
Gabriel is a mysterious character, and we can’t help but feel there’s still plenty of skeletons waiting to leap out his closet. However, despite his mystery status, he’s also seen a distinct lack of development, and so he joins the unfortunate group of disposables who could get the chop at any moment.
Eugene — 7/10
After Eugene confessed he wasn’t a scientist, and wouldn’t be able to develop a cure for the infection, he sealed his own fate. His lies led the group down a dark and dangerous path that left them scattered and vulnerable — and he will almost certainly atone for the trouble he caused by sacrificing his life for the others.
Glenn — 9/10
This one hurts the most, but Glenn really hasn’t been up to much since he climbed into the prison watchtower with Maggie. His unstoppable optimism made him a firm favorite in the first few seasons, but he hasn’t really brought much to the table in recent years. If this season’s big death is going to be a real shocker, it would make sense for it to be an important character. And of the five The Walking Dead originals still alive, Glenn has the least to offer. Sorry, buddy.
Rosita — 10/10
Unfortunately, Rosita seems to offer very little except eye candy. She’s not just one of the disposables, she’s cannon fodder, and every episode she stays alive during this series will be another miracle.