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And 'Glenn' There Were None: Steven Yeun Wants Glenn Back On 'The Walking Dead'

With creators promising that even Rick Grimes isn't safe, the show is basically a game of "Guess Who?" for which character is next to kick the bucket.

By Tom ChapmanPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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'The Walking Dead' [Credit: AMC]

There two things you can guarantee during an acting stint on AMC's #TheWalkingDead: a nice little bump to your Hollywood star power and a grisly demise just around the corner. With creators promising that even #AndrewLincoln's gnarled Rick Grimes isn't safe from the Grim Reaper, the show is basically a game of "Guess Who ?" for which character is next to kick the bucket.

Obviously, spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead.

However, among all the death and destruction of the past seven years, some departures have hit harder than others. After various fake-outs and dumpster crawls, Season 7 finally saw the death of #StevenYeun's plucky delivery boy Glenn Rhee. Amidst a wave of controversy, the episode "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" saw #MichaelCudlitz's Abraham Ford and Glenn meet their maker thanks to the world's worst baseball practice. New villain Negan bashed the duo's brains in and left them very much dead. However, to quote Game of Thrones, "What is dead may never die," so could Glenn be set for a comeback?

Yeun Hearts Run Free

Speaking to Australia's Daily Telegraph, Yeun revealed that he would be more than happy to play the chipper Glenn if the situation arose again:

“I will leave it [a return] open to what makes sense, I wouldn’t want anybody to force anything but if it makes sense, then I am totally down. I owe 'The Walking Dead' my whole start, I was doing theater in Chicago, sketch comedy and improv, and then I moved to Los Angeles and that show opened the door to let me in to the business.”

Indeed, #RobertKirkman's zombie apocalypse had made Yeun the up-and-coming star he is today, but is that really any reason to go back? As one of the best-known moments from the #comicbook source material and of the show, you can't help but feel that any return of Yeun would take the shine off such a powerful moment.

At least we know that one option that would be (nearly) impossible to address would be Glenn's miraculous resurrection. Say what you want about an unrealistic apocalypse with katana-wielding badasses and a one-armed Michael Rooker, but Lost and Fringe it is not. Short of going all sci-fi and introducing alternate realities, Glenn's smashed up melon is buried in the grounds of the Hilltop.

Dead And Buried

However, if you remember back to the Season 7 premiere, Glenn's spluttering final words were "I'll find you," leading some tin foil hat conspiracists to conclude he is still out there somewhere. Also, the whole "If you don't see a body" theory came into play, but the last time we saw Glenn, he didn't exactly look OK. The show was already called out for the excessive violence of the scene, so apologies if Dr. Carson didn't head over to check the pulse of Glenn's "brain soup" body. Since his death, we have also seen everyone in mourning and his wife frequently by his graveside — not exactly faux death material, is it?

If Glenn were to return, I can only see it making sense in some fevered flashback. The show has become known for its parting dream sequences, while the likes of Tyrese and Sasha saw those from their past in their final moments; however, even this has become a bit schticky. Sure, when Rick hallucinated back in Season 3, it was something new, but now it is just a bit boring.

The only way I would accept Yeun's return would be through #LaurenCohan's Maggie. I'm not saying that Maggie starts to have visions of her dearly departed *cough* Rick *cough*, but with her upcoming childbirth storyline, it may be fitting to have Glenn by her side during labour.

With Yeun about to appear in Netflix's #Okja and with a back-to-back filming roster ahead, it sounds like he needs the show about as much as it needs him. Sure, it may be nice to feature that tablecloth future at some point, but for all our sakes, let's leave Glenn's headless corpse for the maggots and get on with killing off everyone else.

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About the Creator

Tom Chapman

Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.

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