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Forum namePass The Popcorn
Topic subjectIMO, Glenn's death has served the show quite qell.
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=743556&mesg_id=743608
743608, IMO, Glenn's death has served the show quite qell.
Posted by Cold Truth, Mon Feb-14-22 04:03 PM
I realize that this is somewhat of a deviation from the point of whether or not a given audience will lose interest, but I think it factors in that it says more about fandom than the storytellers.

People may lose interest if a particular character gets offed. But I think, in this case, Glenn's death has served the show as well as his character could have- if not better. I think I've seen some quotes from some of the actors saying that killing Glenn was a mistake, but i disagree with them too.

Frankly, killing off important and beloved characters can be a hallmark of great storytelling, and I think they nailed it with Glen.

It spurred Maggie's growth as a character, and reverberates through to the current episode of the show, some 7 seasons later. I won't spoil it for anyone, but the ramifications of his death echo through the show as effectively and deeply as anything I can think of.

To that end, I think that, regardless of whether or not fans jump off after that line is crossed, I think that the way to determine whether the death of beloved, core characters works within the whole of a narrative is determined by what that death means, and how it's treated going forward.

And in this situation, it's not a simple "remember when that guy got killed?" note. The direct consequences of this are illustrated time and again, to good/great effect.

From a storytelling standpoint, that's great storytelling, because real people don't plot armor.

Of course, they sort of fucked that up by giving him a rather absurd suit of that armor not long before Negan came through and crushed the skulls.