Who will die in 'The Walking Dead' midseason finale? Here are 5 compelling theories.

Culture

There's a lot of death on The Walking Dead — so much so it surpasses Game of Thrones with regard to body count. So on a seventh season where two beloved characters met their gruesome ends at the hands of a handsome sociopath with a baseball bat, one should expect a similarly twisted midseason finale Sunday. 

But who's going to die? Definitely not the aforementioned Negan, whom actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan has already confirmed will return for season eight. You can safely check off Rick too — he's the main protagonist. Looking elsewhere, however, you can make a compelling case for a few characters meeting their end. 

Here are five theories on who could be dying in Sunday's midseason finale. 

Spencer

The biggest piece of evidence for Spencer's forthcoming demise is a simple one: It happens in the comics. While the TV series does stray away from its source material, it's mostly been faithful to the Negan storyline. To that end, when Negan makes a second trip to Alexandria in the comics, he kills Spencer after he tries to convince Negan that he'd be better left in charge, rather than Rick. 

In the show, Rick and Spencer have had a contentious relationship, with Spencer constantly questioning his leadership. While he does bring up some good points, we expect to find out if Spencer has any (literal) guts on Sunday. 

Olivia

Olivia is more a victim of circumstance, considering Negan threatened to kill her during his first visit to Alexandria, before — in heinous Negan fashion — he offered to have sex with her in his second trip while he waited for Rick. She gave him a much deserved slap for that remark, which Negan said he enjoyed (ugh, fuck this guy). 

That Olivia is constantly in Negan's radar, however, doesn't bode well for her in the long-term. He has said in the comics and the show that he doesn't enjoy killing women, but that doesn't mean he won't, and he's not the type of character whose assurance you'd take at face value. But that slap, though. 

Carl "Coral" Grimes

Negan and Carl have an interesting, albeit twisted bromance; one that's still present in the comics. Thus, you wouldn't imagine the TV show's Negan would kill Carl, and we wouldn't think that he would. The idea that Negan could kill Carl stems from the character's actor, Chandler Riggs. 

Riggs is going to college next year — which is great! — but it's led to the belief that this could spell the end of the character. Thinking about it outside of the context of the show, it's a possibility, though Riggs has already said he's hoping to strike a balance between his acting and his education. However, it could all be a ruse to get fans off the trail of the character dying, maybe as early as the midseason finale. 

Rosita

Of the characters who have resisted Negan's reign, Rosita has been the most daring by a long shot. Scowling at Negan whenever he's in Alexandria is one thing, but she's going behind the group's back by forcing Eugene to create bullets for her. The idea here is pretty simple: She wants to kill Negan, perhaps with a single shot. 

That's not going to work, clearly — he's back for season eight — and Rosita's death could send a big message to Rick and the group for anyone else who attempts to conspire against him. 

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The show's viewership  

The Walking Dead's ratings are on a steep decline, and the onus falls on the show's underwhelming seventh season, which has had a stark dip in quality. While it would certainly benefit the series to string together a few decent episodes — and the midseason finale could be one — it won't carry any momentum heading into its midseason hiatus. 

The Walking Dead is still a ratings powerhouse. But for the first time in its history, the show is looking vulnerable. 

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