# The Walking Dead; 6.16 "Last Day on Earth" (open spoilers)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 3, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139 "2016-04-03T23:49:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 16

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/301 "2016-04-17T00:52:26Z")

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> [@Biffster](#):
>
> They won’t kill a woman. It would make Negan less charming somehow. My top three picks are Abe, Glenn and Daryl, in that order.

Charming?  
Jesus.

I believe that it will be Glenn, because I like the character and am annoyed by Abe.

And, God and AMC hate me. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/302 "2016-04-17T04:28:48Z")

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I think that Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol and Glen are all immune. The characters are too important and popular. Maybe Carl, too, just because of the way they would have to break Rick.

So outside these, crapshoot.

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/303 "2016-04-17T04:35:58Z")

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> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> In all of the other seasons, major characters were killed off before the finale or (Andrea) at the end of the final episode. Season 6 is the first time a major character snuffs it and we’re not shown who it is. The expectation, following the pattern of the other seasons, is that the character will be known by the end of the episode and that the cliffhanger will be what happens in the aftermath. So yeah, I think it’s reasonable to be shocked/pissed off that they didn’t do the reveal.

Okay, fair enough. But I just found it not the least bit surprising, I would have been stunned if they had shown who dies. And now that you have done such a comprehensive job of explaining why one would expect to see it, the only explanation I can give for why I did NOT expect to is…psychic?

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**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/304 "2016-04-17T09:53:56Z")

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> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> And yeah, in the zombie apocalypse people are stupid, but that appears to be universal, so at least there is a level playing field. For all we know, the zombie virus renders people stupid and they are helpless against this effect.

OK, I’m gonna adopt this as my Official Fanwank whenever our plucky heroes’ level of stupidity increases beyond my usual suspension-of-disbelief threshold—it’s like the toxoplasma parasite leading to more risk-prone behavior in mice, so that they are more easily eaten by cats, which is the environment the parasite needs to reproduce. So it makes sense for the zombie virus to encourage less-than-circumspect behavior in its host (well, if you squint a little, and ignore the question what good zombification actually would be for the virus); indeed, without some such mechanism, that there should be a zombie apocalypse at all already strains credulity—after all, zombies are not the most formidable military opponents.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/305 "2016-04-17T13:37:12Z")

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> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#):
>
> OK, I’m gonna adopt this as my Official Fanwank whenever our plucky heroes’ level of stupidity increases beyond my usual suspension-of-disbelief threshold

Outstanding!

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/306 "2016-04-17T15:54:46Z")

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> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> Outstanding!

Yeah, out standing in the woods having a loud argument about something of no immediate relevance when the zombies suddenly appear!

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**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/307 "2016-04-17T18:49:42Z")

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All right, I am glad people like that. We will have a chance to test it out tonight on E2 of Fear the Walking Dead. Shields up!

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**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/308 "2016-04-18T14:58:21Z")

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> [@Stoid](#):
>
> I think that Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol and Glen are all immune. The characters are too important and popular.

But that’s also why one of them kinda needs to die. A lot of people were actually sort of pissed off that Glenn survived the dumpster dive. It’s been a long time now since any of the originals have had anything happen to them.

There’s a delicate balance between losing an audience because you’ve killed off characters they care about, and losing them because there’s no sense that they’re ever actually in danger.

Plus, all the hype about _a major character will die, and it will change EVERYTHING for the group!_. Sorry, but if it’s Eugene or Sasha or Rosita or even Abe…I’m _starting_ to get to know some of these characters, but they’re _still_ redshirts to me (and to Rick, too). The people pissed there was no reveal this episode will throw their TV out the window and never look back if it’s finally revealed to be nobody of any real consequence.

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**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/309 "2016-04-19T13:41:00Z")

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> [@troub](#):
>
> Sorry, but if it’s Eugene or Sasha or Rosita or even Abe…I’m _starting_ to get to know some of these characters, but they’re _still_ redshirts to me (and to Rick, too). The people pissed there was no reveal this episode will throw their TV out the window and never look back if it’s finally revealed to be nobody of any real consequence.

QFT.

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/310 "2016-04-19T14:19:05Z")

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> [@troub](#):
>
> Plus, all the hype about _a major character will die, and it will change EVERYTHING for the group!_.

What hype was that? Honest question. I’m probably not exposed to much hype, so I easily could have missed it. But was there really hype that “a major character” would die?

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**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/311 "2016-04-19T14:45:12Z")

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Well, I figure if I heard about it, yeah, it must’ve been pretty major. I don’t keep up with celebrity interviews and such. But I did hear just about any time one of the actors or writers had spoken about the much-anticipated appearance of Negan, a “major character” death was attached. Some of it was after…“a major character died last night…”

> **[Which Major Walking Dead Character Is Negan Going to Kill?](https://gizmodo.com/which-major-walking-dead-character-is-negan-going-to-k-1765226833)**
>
> Negan’s coming, and death is coming with him. The biggest and baddest of The Walking Dead’s Big Bads will finally arrive in the season six finale, where he’s absolutely going to kill a major character with his baseball bat to establish his bona fides...

> **[These Are The Only Five Characters 'The Walking Dead' Can Let Negan Kill](https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/04/03/these-are-the-only-five-characters-the-walking-dead-can-let-negan-kill/#4585c48e4bbd)**
>
> Tonight, Negan will debut on The Walking Dead, and he's going to hit the show like a meteorite. Every character is in danger when he arrives, but these five more than most. Read who may be sacrificed to the show's new big, bad villain.

> **[The Walking Dead: Which Major Character Died in the Season 6 Finale?](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/04/the-walking-dead-finale-who-dies-negan-kills-glenn-daryl-abraham-maggie-cliffhanger)**
>
> Revisit the cliffhanging episode.

> **[‘The Walking Dead’ EP Gale Anne Hurd On Negan, Season 7, ‘Fear The Walking...](https://deadline.com/2016/04/the-walking-dead-spoilers-season-6-finale-negan-gale-anne-hurd-fear-the-walking-dead-hunters-1201731532/)**
>
> SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details of last night’s The Walking Dead Season 6 finale. Unlike the past two season finales of the AMC blockbuster The Walking Dead, a major character died…

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/312 "2016-04-19T16:37:40Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> What hype was that? Honest question. I’m probably not exposed to much hype, so I easily could have missed it. But was there really hype that “a major character” would die?

There was a ton of hype about a major character dying printed in both Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide, if that counts.

EDIT: Of course, due to the nature of hype, any one of the kneeling Alexandrians would technically qualify as a “major character” even though we’d only consider five of them major. (Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Glenn and Maggie. We in the thread might actually cheer if it ended up being Carl.)

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**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/313 "2016-04-19T23:39:06Z")

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> [@EllisDee](#):
>
> There was a ton of hype about a major character dying printed in both Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide, if that counts.
> 
> EDIT: Of course, due to the nature of hype, any one of the kneeling Alexandrians would technically qualify as a “major character” even though we’d only consider five of them major. (Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Glenn and Maggie. We in the thread might actually cheer if it ended up being Carl.)

A major character DID die. We just don’t know which one.

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**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/314 "2016-04-19T23:47:13Z")

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> [@Biffster](#):
>
> A major character DID die. We just don’t know which one.

It’s Glenn.

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/315 "2016-04-20T02:49:39Z")

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> [@Biffster](#):
>
> A major character DID die. We just don’t know which one.

I’m confused. Are you saying that all the kneeling Alexandrians are major characters? (That’s what the post you quoted is discussing.)

For example, if it turns out to be Aaron who got killed, most (all?) of us would feel that’s a total cheat because Aaron is not a major character.

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**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/316 "2016-04-20T03:53:33Z")

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> [@EllisDee](#):
>
> I’m confused. Are you saying that all the kneeling Alexandrians are major characters? (That’s what the post you quoted is discussing.)
> 
> For example, if it turns out to be Aaron who got killed, most (all?) of us would feel that’s a total cheat because Aaron is not a major character.

Aaron’s been on for a season and a half. Abe for about three seasons. I can’t see them killing off Glenn or Daryl—too many real world repercussions in the fan base—though between the two of them, I’d think Glenn. However, they might get around this by killing Abe, who’s already living on borrowed time.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/317 "2016-04-21T02:47:35Z")

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> [@Biffster](#):
>
> Aaron’s been on for a season and a half. Abe for about three seasons. I can’t see them killing off Glenn or Daryl—too many real world repercussions in the fan base—though between the two of them, I’d think Glenn. However, they might get around this by killing Abe, who’s already living on borrowed time.

Does anyone remember what Abe’s rank was in the army, pre-Z? Was he a …sergeant-major?  
“Major” character and all…

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**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/318 "2016-04-21T05:55:02Z")

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> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> Does anyone remember what Abe’s rank was in the army, pre-Z? Was he a …sergeant-major?
> 
> “Major” character and all…

I see what you did there.

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**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/319 "2016-05-28T01:43:05Z")

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Just got around to watching the finale.

I’d like to know more about the various groups operating in the Alexandria area. First we learned of the Wolves, which Rick & Co. repelled, establishing Alexandria as an up and coming regional power and setting them up as overconfident and needing to learn a painful lesson, then we meet the Hilltop people and a system of regional trading, then the Saviors, then the horseback guys.

Are the Wolves and Saviors aware of each other? Does Negan’s group dominate the Wolves and demand 50% tribute from them? Are they open competitors? Would Rick strike an alliance with the Wolves against Negan?

If Hilltop is already under Negan’s thumb, what did they think was going to happen when they struck a bargain with Alexandria to directly attack Negan’s satellite dish guys? That’s open rebellion against Negan and would mean war. It wasn’t just getting their guy back from a nearby group. How does Hilltop get away with trading in arms with groups not aligned with the Saviors? Jesus could have been quite a bit more forthright about the “trading network” in the region. It’s not much of a trading network when it’s really just everybody owned by the Saviors.

The horseback guys are fun to think about. They seem to get their weapons from Hilltop, but they don’t seem like the types to be anything but at odds with the Saviors, and they can evidently move about without too much fear of the Saviors.

I’m glad they didn’t show us who got killed, because I don’t want to see it happen. Just do a fast forward and let us know who it was. I don’t really want to see it. I also don’t care that much. I’ve grown a bit detached from the characters, knowing the show goes for emotion-jerking deaths. If whoever dies is anyone on their knees at the end, and it’s not one of the top four, i.e. Glenn, then I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Aaron the gay guy. They usually don’t live long lives and the show hasn’t done much with him anyway. Then again, he’s probably only worth a mid-season death, so maybe not…

I’m guessing next season will be about Rick building an alliance to take on the Saviors, and hopefully we’ll get much more info about the various groups in the area. Where do they go from there? We’ve gone to Rick’s group taking on individual groups to now entering multi-group regional power conflicts. Will they get stronger and win, creating an even better regional alliance while gradually slipping further to the dark side, or will they just leave everything in smoking ruins and move on? They’re pretty good at leaving things in flames, so much for their latest attempt at rebuilding civilization.

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**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-16-last-day-on-earth-open-spoilers/751139/320 "2016-06-23T19:59:42Z")

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I just watched S6, so a little behind here.

What happened to the RPG? It wiped out a good many Saviors in its first deployment, I’d at least bring it on major road trips.

I don’t think Rick and his group knew just how many Saviors there were. Hilltop said they’d only seen maybe 20, so with the RPG bunch and the Dish bunch(es), that might have seemed like they got 'em all.

My thought was that they’d probably cheap out and whack Aaron, but Abe was giving Negan the stink eye and might seem like the most physically imposing of the bunch. I’ll be surprised if it’s one of the core group, honestly, but I’ll go with Glenn if it is. We know it’s not Morgan or Carol now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the horse dudes are the link to a new alliance for the Alexandrians.

They supposedly shot a death scene where each person kneeling got killed, just so nobody could say for sure who got killed.

And BB is on another plane compared to TWD.

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