‘The Walking Dead’: Will Fans Riot if Negan Kills Daryl With Trusty Baseball Bat Lucille in Season 6 Finale?

Many fans of the iconic AMC show, The Walking Dead, have adopted the war cry, "If Daryl dies we riot," in anticipation of the possible death of the beloved character. Although the mantra was around in 2013, as indicated by The Walking Dead Wiki, it has once again become prominent on the Internet as fans gear up for the first appearance of one of the series' most terrifying villains, Negan.

Despite the rally cry and the threat of riots breaking out if Daryl, played by Norman Reedus, bites the dust, many believe that Negan, who obliterates the head of a major character in the The Walking Dead comics, may take aim at Daryl.

This is because Daryl is not a character in the comic books and it has been surmised that his story line has been somewhat stale over the past few episodes of Season 6. Gizmodo writes that the major protests vocalized by fans over a possible Daryl demise is precisely the reason that the crossbow carrying hero may actually be taken out by Negan.In the comics, Glenn is brutally beaten to death by Negan, who uses his trusty barbed wire covered bat, Lucille, to complete the nasty deed. According to WetPaint, there are theories that Glenn's death by bat has been foreshadowed in several prior episodes. In the Season 5 premiere of The Walking Dead, Glenn, portrayed by Steven Yeun, almost gets his noggin annihilated by one of the carnivorous Terminus crew. Then, during the same season, Glenn is seen using a bat in Episode 9, WetPaint notes.Also interesting is that in Episode 12 of Season 6 of The Walking Dead, after Rick's group storms the compound of Negan's gang, The Saviors, disturbing images are spied by Glenn and Heath after Glenn makes his first two human kills ever. Glenn is clearly disturbed by the acts, but then appears to be sickened as well when he sees photos of what looks to be a number of Negan's victims whose heads have been pulverized, likely by Lucille.

Nonetheless, Glenn has experienced several close calls in this apocalyptic nightmare, one of which took place in Season 6. In Episode 3, titled "Thank You," Glenn is seen being pulled into a hoard of walkers by Nicholas, who alarmingly pulls out a gun and kills himself as the two men stand on a large metal trash receptacle. At first it appeared that Glenn had been torn apart by the brain-eating masses, but a few episodes later it was revealed he was able to shield himself with Nicholas' body and then roll under the large trash bin, away from the walkers' grasp.

If Glenn is murdered by Negan, one could surmise that his time has finally run out and all the foreshadowing that had gone on was giving viewers advance notice, as if his killing in the comic books was not blatant enough, by easing them into the idea of finally losing him.

According to Vanity Fair, The Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple has said the following of Negan's violent intro onto the show.

"… Whatever it is, it's really just all in service to being faithful to the comic book inasmuch as one can. That's always going to be relatively subjective as to what that means. But taking inspiration from the moments of the comic book and playing them out to the ends of what it can be, it's all just like taking that moment from the book and figuring out a way to turn it up to get those feelings that it gave you and those emotions that it gave you that much more."

So, clearly any fan favorite could die at the hands of Negan, even Daryl.Whoever meets their maker on the Season 6 finale of The Walking Dead had the cast reeling, as Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick, recently told Entertainment Weekly the following regarding the episode.

"I felt sick to my stomach when I read the script. It was the first day in the whole six years of working on 'The Walking Dead' that I was late for work because I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't get back to sleep. I was so angry and frustrated and I felt sick. And that was just after reading it."

Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie, the wife and future "baby mama" of Glenn, was also disturbed by the finale, telling Entertainment Weekly the following.

"… it's the hardest day on set that I've ever had in my life … I never even imagined that an actor you could have that experience. It's one of the most raw experiences that I think any of us have ever had … I didn't want to go to work that day... It took a really, really long time for everybody to feel okay again after the finale, let's put it that way."

All speculation will end in just 7 short days as to which character will be brutally killed by Negan. Because The Walking Dead has a multitude of fans with a variety of favorite characters, it is likely no matter whose last stand it turns out to be, fans will feel like rioting from the emotional impact.

[Photo by AMC]