After a season full of heavy losses on The Walking Dead, fans of the AMC drama are currently girding their loins for at least one more major death during the Sunday, April 2, season 7 finale. Because unless something downright miraculous happens in this final hour, the brave, loyal and lovable Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) is almost definitely a goner.
After singlehandedly storming the Sanctuary and getting captured by Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) goons, Sasha was last seen holding tight to a homemade suicide pill, which would take her out of the equation before the Saviors find a way to use her as leverage in their upcoming battle with Alexandria. And since it’s not exactly a secret that Martin-Green is headlining TV’s next Star Trek series — which is going to leave her a lot less time to hang around the greater Atlanta area to film The Walking Dead — all the smart money is on Sasha going out in a blaze of glory come Sunday.
But the thing is: We’re surprisingly OK with that, and you should be, too. Here’s why.
She’s had a good run
Unlike other characters who were mishandled by the show all the way up until their abrupt, dumb deaths (we still miss you, T-Dog), Sasha has been given a series of important and meaningful character arcs over the course of four seasons — culminating in what looks to be a noble, heroic death that’s totally true to her character.
It’s in keeping with the spirit of the show
A false sense of security is a dangerous thing, whether you’re living through a zombie apocalypse or just watching one for funsies on television. And in a season that kicked off with two major characters dying two incredibly brutal deaths, it’s to the showrunners’ credit that they’re still willing to up the ante and relieve us of yet another core cast member, if only to thoroughly make the point that the world of The Walking Dead remains dangerous and unpredictable. As shows go, this one is at its best when it doesn’t pull its punches — even if those punches hit viewers right smack-dab in the feels.
She’s going to a better place
No, not heaven. Space. Or in other words, we can’t be too wrecked about Sasha’s death when it means getting to see even more of Martin-Green as an intergalactic adventuress on a fancy starship — as she boldly goes where no zombie-apocalypse survivor has gone before. So while it’ll be sad to say goodbye to Sasha, we’ll be looking forward to saying hello to Lieutenant Commander Rainsford of the USS Discovery.
Tell Us: How will Sasha die — or do you think she’ll survive?
The Walking Dead airs on AMC Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
