Walking Dead: Predicting Who Dies In The Season 10 Finale – Screen Rant

Which characters are on the chopping block ahead ofThe Walking Dead's season 10 finale? Over the past decade,The Walking Dead has earned a reputation for a ruthlessly bloody approach to HR, with finale episodes shouldering the brunt of that considerable death toll.The Walking Dead has even been accused of taking its character deathstoo far in certain infamous instances. Negan's double killing of Abraham and Glenn springs to mind, as well as the departure of Carl Grimes, who was central to the story. But like a zombie missing a few limbs,The Walking Dead lumbers on regardless, even surviving the exit of lead actor Andrew Lincoln in season 9.

The Walking Dead season 10 adapted the Whisperer War arc of the comic books, pitting the combined might of Alexandria, Hilltop, The Kingdom and Oceanside against Alpha's band of nomadic, forest-dwelling skin wearers. Although Hilltop was burned to the ground, Negan succeeded in infiltrating the enemy camp (on Carol's orders) and removed the head of the Whisperers' snake. Unfortunately, the villains came back stronger than ever before after Beta took command, and the Whisperers have now pushed the good guys into one final stand at an abandoned hospital. Meanwhile, Eugene is leading a small group of characters onto their next mission - meeting the Commonwealth.

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Unfortunately,The Walking Dead's season 10 finale was one of the shows affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but the final episode will finally air on October 4th after a lengthy delay during lockdown. With production on season 11 now behind schedule,The Walking Dead will produce a "season 10.5" to air in 2021. As is the nature ofThe Walking Dead, however, it's inevitable that some characters won't make it that far, but which ones are most likely to bow out?

If there's one character inThe Walking Dead whose death feelspredetermined heading into season 10's finale, it's Father Gabriel Stokes. Introduced as a cowardly priest, Gabriel was an untrustworthy presence even after Rick's group reached Alexandria, but eventually transformed into a worthy protagonist. After Rick disappeared, Gabriel who one of several characters who stepped up, transforming into a community leader and a level-headed master of stoicism within the walls of Alexandria. With the likes of Michonne and Daryl elsewhere as the Whisperers close in, Gabriel is left to mastermind the defense of his people - the general in the oncoming battle against Beta.

Seth Gilliam has been an underrated treasure since his introduction inThe Walking Dead season 5, but this battle feels like the natural conclusion to Gabriel's arc.When the zombie apocalypse began, Gabrielcallously ignored his congregation as they banged on the doors of his church begging for help, too scared for his own life to do his duty as a man of god. Alexandria's current situation, holed up in an abandoned hospital and surrounded by enemies, feels like a mirror of Gabriel's old church, so sacrificing himself to save many others would finally redeemthe priest for his past sins. Marketing material forThe Walking Dead's season 10 finale has placed Gabriel front and center, and showrunner Angela Kang has talked up Gilliam's performance in the episode.

Working on the assumption thatThe Walking Dead won't end with Beta's Whisperers winning the forthcoming battle and completely slaughtering the main cast, Alexandria are going to somehow eke out a victory in season 10's final episode. This means Beta will either escape to fight another day, be imprisoned like Negan, or die in battle. The latter option looks most likely, and by a comfortable distance.The Walking Dead is already setting up its next arc, and has already dropped the reveal of Beta's secret identity, leaving little else to explore with Ryan Hurst's character. In the comics, Beta narrowly escaped after the attack on Alexandria, eventually killed by Jesus and Aaron as they travel through the wilderness.

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It would make more sense for AMC'sThe Walking Dead to simplify things, and have Beta fall during the battle itself. A rematch between the big brute and Daryl Dixon is long overdue, and the fan-favorite won't be taking any prisoners when the pair clash for a second time. Killing off Beta would leave a clear path forThe Walking Dead season 11 to commit to the Commonwealth arc, but with news of an additional 6 episodes between seasons 10 and 11, Beta could be kept alive for a brief mini-arc, dying in these extra episodes instead. Certainly, Beta doesn't have same potential that made Negan worth keeping around.

Ezekiel's story is precariously balanced heading intoThe Walking Dead's season 10 finale. At the beginning of the current run, Ezekiel revealed a significant tumor on his neck, impossible to treat in the zombie apocalypse. With his days seemingly numbered, Ezekiel accompanied Eugene to meet the Commonwealth, but his health continues to worsen with each step. What Ezekiel doesn't know is that the Commonwealth possess medical facilities vastly superior to those in Alexandria,offering a slither of hope. It's possible that Ezekiel's narrative purpose for being on the journey (despite clearly being unwell) is to form a link between the protagonists and the Commonwealth after the newcomers save his life in one of their hospitals. This would also pay off Ezekiel's hopefully, faith-filled attitude.

Nevertheless, Ezekiel is walking a dangerous line as he limps towards his destination, and it's a question of whether he can cling to life until the Commonwealth is in sight. With Michonne, Rick and Carl all gone, Ezekiel is one of the few big-hitters left inThe Walking Dead, so it's perhaps inadvisable to kill the charismatic king off. But so long as his health is in such a poor state, it's impossible to discount that Ezekiel's time could be up at any given moment.

The Walking Dead often uses its season finales tomop up supporting characters who don't necessarily have much left to accomplish, and Alden arguably falls into this category more than most. Originally a kind-hearted Savior willing to switch sides and bat for Team Rick, Alden transformed into a key member of the Hilltop community and embarked on a romance with Enid, who was killed by Alpha as part of the community fair massacre. Alden hasdone little else since, and currently finds himself captured by Whisperers along with Aaron, soon to be rescued by a mysterious masked warrior.

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Since Alden's two defining character traits have been wanting to fight for the good guys and being in a relationship with Enid, it would make sense if Alden died in the process of defeating the Whisperers. Not only would this avenge his late girlfriend's death, but Alden would also prove his loyalty to a group that took him in despite being an enemy.The Walking Dead has a long history of killing static minor characters to increase an episode's body count and raise the stakes, and Alden fits this criteriabest. Alden's only saving grace is potentially filling the comic role of Dante in season 11 now that Maggie is back on the scene.

For similar reasons to Alden, Dianne is another possible casualty of the upcoming battle against the Whisperers inThe Walking Dead's season 10 finale. Dianne is a character who viewers will immediately recognize in a scene, but without necessarily knowing much about her personality or being able to identify her by name. All fans really know about Dianne is that she's staunchly loyal to Ezekiel, and she's a fine archer. Unfortunately, Yumiko is also pretty handy with a bow and arrow, which could make Dianne surplus to requirements. Even more so than Alden, Dianne is a character thatThe Walking Dead could sacrifice in order to make the Whisperer battle seem more bloody and significant, but without actuallyaltering the landscape of the show.

An outside pick as a casualty ofThe Walking Dead's season 10 finale, Magna's development has been markedly different compared to her comic book counterpart. In Robert Kirkman's story, Magna ably leads her group until encountering Alexandria and Hilltop. After some initial distrust, thesurvivors integrate fully into their new surroundings, and Magna becomes a key leader amongThe Walking Dead's biggest names. On TV, Magna has been beset by personal disputes and a darker personality, and still hasn't moved beyond that early period of skepticism. Conversely, Yumiko has been a revelation. Little more than Magna's love interest in the comics, Eleanor Matsuura's Yumiko has been the breakout star of Magna's group, rising to become the de facto leader of Hilltop.

Yumiko and Magna have essentially switched places between the comic books and the TV series, and this leaves the latter expendable inThe Walking Dead season 10. So different has Magna's personality been on-screen, her relationship with Yumiko broke down, pushing her ex to join the expedition to Commonwealth. On one hand, Magna still has plenty of untapped potential to offer inThe Walking Dead, but with the emphasis firmly on Yumiko, coming home to find Magna died protecting others against the Whisperers could add an interesting layer to Yumiko in season 11 - a mixture of guilt, pride and heartbreak.

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The Walking Dead season 10 concludes October 4th on AMC.

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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig's interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS. Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer. Jim Carrey is Craigs top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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