Warning: The following contains possible spoilers for AMC's "The Walking Dead."
One should expect a considerable amount of violence and death from a show called "The Walking Dead," but that still may not be enough to prepare viewers for what's coming in the midseason premiere. Set to return on Feb. 14, "The Walking Dead" is prepared to kill off a whole bunch of characters in the coming episode. Series creator Robert Kirkman has even admitted that "many people die" in the premiere and he's usually not one for divulging key details.
This may seem obvious given that Alexandria is overrun with zombies, but recent castings only reinforce this notion. The series' true big bad, Negan - think "The Walking Dead's" version of Marvel's Thanos - has been cast in the form of the excellent Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In addition, Dwight, Negan's right-hand man will return. Plus, it's been confirmed that "24" and "Nikita" alum Xander Berkeley will play the role of Gregory, the leader of the Hilltop Colony from the comics. None of these people are good guys.
On top of all that, Negan's crew officially revealed themselves to the Grimes Gang during the midseason finale post-credits scene. That can only spell trouble for our group of heroes and their comrades in Alexandria. It all adds up to a necessary purge of extra characters who have outlived their usefulness. Hey, what can you do, it's the apocalypse.
Given all the major additions - Negan, the Saviors, the Hilltop Colony, etc. - cleaning house is a necessity to free up some space on the roster at this point. AMC simply doesn't have room for all of these characters on one single show. Expect to see a lot of redshirt Alexandrians bite the dust, in addition to a few more major characters (but probably not too major).
This isn't the first time "The Walking Dead" has cleared the deck. A whole lot of Woodbury residents died during the prison fire and at the hands of the Governor. We also got a handful of good deaths on Hershel's farm. Basically, every season or two, "The Walking Dead" needs to include a mass death scene in order to set up new storylines and characters.
Who do you think will get it this time?
