It’s not over ’til it’s over…right? Fans of The Walking Dead are still reeling over the Sunday, Oct. 25, episode of the AMC series, which left at least one character dead. But some viewers are holding out hope that what appeared to happen didn’t really happen.
WARNING: Major spoilers ahead. Do not read if you have not seen the Oct. 25 episode of TWD.
To recap, Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Nicholas (Michael Traynor) were cornered by a mob of walkers in a dead-end alley during last night’s episode. Seeing no way out, Nicholas shot himself in the head and gave himself over to the horde of zombies, accidentally pulling Glenn down with him. The episode concluded with what looked to be a bloody, gruesome end for both of them — but fans aren’t quite ready to accept that original cast member Glenn is really gone.
Many have speculated that Glenn will live to tell the tale, and that the innards being eaten at the end belonged to Nicholas. Their theories are partially supported by the fact that Yeun, 31, wasn’t featured in the usual postmortem wrap-up or as a guest on The Talking Dead.
Traynor spoke to Us Weekly about the conspiracy theories on Monday, Oct. 26. And while he wouldn’t confirm either way if Glenn is alive or dead, he did offer a few clues.
“I mean, I know that I was there when we shot the scenes, I’m aware of what happened, and I know that there is still more story for the fans to experience with Glenn,” he tells Us Weekly. “Gale Anne Hurd, Scott Gimple, [Robert] Kirkman, and those guys are gonna make sure that the fans feel very satisfied and complete with the story.”
So, does that mean Glenn is alive? Traynor’s lips are sealed. “No, I’m not saying [that he’s not dead]. I’m just saying that there’s still narrative left,” he teases.
“Think about it — they’ve been doing a lot of really interesting things with the show as far as flashbacks, flash-forwards, things of that sort, so I just want the fans to be aware that the people who have been running the show are still running the show, and they’ve always taken care of us,” he explains. “Even in those moments of tragedy and in those moments of elation and victory, they always make sure the stories are complete, and I think they’re going to do the same with this.”
Indeed, showrunner Gimple said in a statement after the episode that viewers hadn’t seen the last of Yeun on the show.
“Dear fans of The Walking Dead, this is a hard story to tell and when we were planning to tell [it], we knew our friends at The Talking Dead would be talking to you about it, and knowing you’d all be talking and feeling and commiserating, I knew we should say something about it lest our silence say something we didn’t mean to say or not say,” he said cryptically.
“So I’ll say this,” he continued. “In some way, we will see Glenn, some version of Glenn or parts of Glenn again, either in flashback or in the current story to help complete the story.”
