Will [SPOILER] die in the 'Walking Dead' midseason finale? Here’s what the comics tell us.

If there's one consistency with the midseason and season finales of The Walking Dead, it's that fans should expect somebody to die. This is a show with flesh-eating zombies, after all. 

However, the biggest threat to Rick and the group in season seven's midseason finale — and season seven, as a whole — is Negan, who made his way back to Alexandria with Carl in the previous episode. And aside from enjoying the calm ambiance of the community, Negan has a sinister idea in mind: What if he kills Rick and Carl, and takes his place among the group with Judith as his faux-daughter? 

Now, we don't expect Negan to kill Carl or Rick — the former has developed a twisted bromance with Negan, while Rick is The Walking Dead's main protagonist. If anybody's safe, it's the show's most central characters. But not every Alexandrian is afforded the same measure of security, and one in particular may be on borrowed time, if the show follows the comic books. 

(Editor's note: Major spoilers for The Walking Dead comics, and potentially the TV series, ahead). 

For fans who have grown attached to Spencer Monroe — wait, do those even exist? — they could lose him in the midseason finale, as the show is hinting that it'll take a page out of its source material. In other words, it seems likely that Negan will murder Spencer. 

What exactly happens to Spencer in The Walking Dead comics?

How does it happen? He tries to oust Rick as the leader of Alexandria by discussing the possibility with Negan. Spencer approaches Negan while Rick is away, telling him that the community was running more smoothly when his parents were alive. If he was in charge, instead of Rick, he says he could provide more supplies for the Saviors. He also intimates that Negan should kill Rick and let him assume control. 

Negan, at first, appears to take this well. But Negan ultimately reveals what's, to him, a frustrating irony with Spencer: While Rick is out — foraging for new supplies for the Saviors — Spencer is going behind Rick's back, and he's not helping Negan. Negan finds this to be a gutless move, and wonders if Spencer has any. The statement turns literal when Negan disembowels him, as seen above (turns out Spencer does have guts!). 

While Spencer does actually bring up some excellent points about Ricks leadership, and the morally indefensible decision of slaughtering Saviors in their sleep, he's far and away the character most likely to meet his end in the midseason finale. Like in the comics, Spencer's clashed on-screen with Rick, and on The Walking Dead, that's typically a death wish. Just ask Shane, the prisoners from season three and that random motorcycle guy who had his throat ripped out. 

The Walking Dead's midseason finale premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern on AMC. 

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