These Survivalists May Not Make It Through ‘The Walking Dead’ Midseason Finale

Not only is it time to say goodbye to The Walking Dead for a brief winter hiatus, but it's probably time to bid farewell to one of the major characters as well. Who will die in The Walking Dead midseason finale, airing on Dec. 10? There's no way the finale is letting every one of your faves live through this epic war.

Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross pointed out that every midseason finale has featured a key death in the last four seasons — from Hershel, to Beth, Deanna, and Spencer.

There haven't been a lot of major deaths so far in Season 8, which is concerning. Sorry Aaron, but Eric was not heavily featured enough on the show to make the cut. Even the glorious CGI tiger named Shiva wasn't that central to the plot, so the fact that her death has been the most upsetting this season is really saying something.

Rick's group had one too many victories this season. Their ambush effectively trapped the Saviors in the Sanctuary with no supplies and no way out. The Hilltop took in an impressive number of prisoners. Both Gregory and Jadis' attempted betrayals made virtually no impact on Rick's cause, and even Eugene can't bring himself to expose Dwight's mutinous ways to Negan. Something's gotta give, like Daryl driving a truck into the Sanctuary, and when it gives there are going to be casualties. We might as well start speculating and bracing ourselves now. Here's who's on the chopping block:

Father Gabriel

As Ross also noted in EW, Gabriel is the obvious pick to go first. He's already sick. He's being held captive by the Saviors and the Sanctuary was recently breached by the hoard of walkers with the help of Team Daryl & Tara. Are these circumstances spelling doom for him all too clearly, or a red herring?

Maggie

If we're going for shock value, killing off Maggie in the middle of her rise as the leader of the Hilltop would be particularly devastating.

Daryl

The fan campaign "if Daryl dies, we riot" has always seemed like a bad way to tempt the producers. This isn't a game of chicken you want to get into.

Carol

Another guess that feels bad to put out into the universe, what if Carol has been building up King Ezekiel only to end up perishing herself? Her story has been pretty quiet in Season 8, and that's not necessarily a good sign.

Carl

Old Man Rick aside, those scenes in the Season 8 premiere with the former Sheriff crying by stained glass window are ominous — and fans have started to pick up clues that Carl will die on The Walking Dead from actor Chandler Riggs. He's going to college soon and he cut his hair for a movie role. Those are small clues, but troublesome at the same time.

Then again, it's hard to judge who will be next in this cast based on their of season lives. Lauren Cohan's haircut ultimately meant nothing with regards to Maggie's survival. Danai Gurira's playwriting and Black Panther gigs haven't stopped her from being on the AMC thus far, so that's no reason to speculate Michonne will die for that reason.

Morgan

Does the fact that Lennie James is moving to Fear The Walking Dead (which takes place just before the original series) mean that he's going to be killed off in the midseason finale? It certainly seems that way. It's at least a possibility worth preparing for ahead of Sunday.

None of these deaths would be particularly pleasant, but as Talking Dead promised a shocking end that we wouldn't be able to stop talking about, it's better to prepare for major characters than henchmen and minor heroes.