'The Walking Dead' season 7 finale theories: 6 predictions for episode 16

It took an excruciatingly long time to get here, but The Walking Dead has set up the clash between the Saviors and Alexandria for season 7's finale on Sunday. Alexandria has some allies for their fight in the Scavengers, Hilltop and the Kingdom, and with the cache of weapons they took from Oceanside in episode 15, it should be enough to present a legitimate threat to Negan's reign. 

But is everything for the finale going to be cut and dry? Sure, the show is taking a lot of this season's storyline from the comics, but there's always a little bit of wiggle room — especially for characters like Sasha and Daryl, who don't exist in the comics. Hopefully, this means The Walking Dead has at least a couple surprises in store.  

Ahead of episode 16, here are six predictions for the finale — from the expected to the audacious. 

Sasha dies

Let's get the most obvious prediction out of the way first: Sasha is going to die come Sunday. The writing's on the wall in the scope of the show — she's a current prisoner of the Saviors, and she tried to assassinate Negan and has a poison capsule in her possession. Couple that with actress Sonequa Martin-Green being cast as the lead for CBS's new Star Trek series, and you've got The Walking Dead's next major death. 

The bigger surprise might come in just how Sasha meets her end. To that, we have a prediction as well. She'll go by the way of Holly in the comics: presented to Alexandria as a prisoner with a bag over her head, only for it to be revealed that she's an already-turned zombie. 

Eric is killed by a zombified Sasha

In the comics, the person Holly bites when it's revealed that she's a zombie is Denise. Assuming this how Sasha dies in the finale, the person on the receiving end will have to be a different character, since Denise has already been killed on the show. Unfortunately, that person looks to be Eric, Aaron's Alexandrian husband. 

Now, the onus is on the show for making Eric a one-dimensional character; someone who has barely appeared on-screen and is only present in the context of his relationship with Aaron, who in contrast is a fully developed character. The most screen-time we've seen from Eric for the greater part of the last two seasons came last week at Oceanside, when he tells Aaron that he finally understands why Alexandria needs to fight the Saviors and reaffirms his love for his husband.

Typically, when tertiary characters on The Walking Dead give a heartwarming speech — or frankly, any shred of character development — it signals their impending death. To that end, if we're to see a random Alexandrian casualty from a zombified Sasha, sadly, it'll probably be Eric.

Eugene has a change of heart

It's really, really hard to tell where Eugene's loyalties currently lie. Is his devotion to the Saviors an elaborate ruse, or has he really betrayed Alexandria? My gut — especially after his conversation last week with an imprisoned Sasha — leads me to believe his heel turn is real, mostly on the basis of cowardice. 

However, I think Eugene will have a change of heart in the finale once he finds out what happens to Sasha. The show would need to present this change of allegiance in a visual way, but it would be interesting if Eugene's change of heart turned him into Alexandria's double agent from within the Sanctuary. 

Either way, strange as it may be, Eugene's become one of The Walking Dead's most interesting and complex characters.  

The war finally starts

This is pretty much a layup, considering much of the second half of season 7 has been building up the Saviors-Alexandria showdown. That said, the show still needs to wrap up a few loose ends before said battle. For instance, Rick still doesn't know the Kingdom's decided to join the fight. The Scavengers technically need to agree to fight after they get some of Oceanside's guns. Plus, Gregory might be betraying Maggie as he heads toward the Sanctuary. .

While this would all ostensibly happen before the groups clash, we still imagine we'll get to the "war" part of "All Out War."

The war doesn't wrap up before the end credits

It would be a real shocker if the fight against Negan was wrapped up neatly in the finale. There's just too much that precedes the battle, and frankly, it'd be underwhelming if things ended so quickly. 

That doesn't necessarily mean the finale will be a disappointment. Just don't expect to see Negan captured or killed — especially the latter, since Jeffrey Dean Morgan has already been confirmed to return next season. 

Oceanside is attacked by the Whisperers

This is a big shot in the dark, but I think The Walking Dead will set up the Whisperers as the show's next big antagonist by having them attack Oceanside. Granted, there's no comic book context to back this theory up. This comes down to AMC teasing the Whisperers all the way back in October, which was exceptionally early for a villain that doesn't show up until after Negan is defeated — and even then, there's a fucking time jump. 

Oceanside is, unfortunately, quite vulnerable right now on account of Rick and co. taking away all their weapons. To that end, wouldn't it be terrifying for a weaponless community to be attacked by another group that blends in as zombies by wearing their skin? It would present a new post-Negan threat, and a future season 8 episode where Rick and the other Alexandrians return to find a community filled with zombies — or, conversely, silent as a tomb. 

The Walking Dead season 7 finale premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern on AMC. 

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