Is Glenn alive?

That's been the question on all of our minds for the past few weeks. When I initially watched that fateful scene, I stared in horror as intestines were ripped out and Glenn screamed in agonizing pain... or so I thought. I immediately grabbed my remote and re-watched the scene. No, that wasn’t Glenn, it was that other douchebag. But how would he get out of that even if those intestines weren’t his? And the questions went on and on…for weeks… And then, tonight happened. Glenn is alive without a scratch on his skin. What the hell, "Walking Dead?" Did you just troll me?

I have a huge problem with this. First of all, in a show that has ruthlessly killed off main characters out of nowhere before, Glenn surviving this is just too hard to believe. You mean to tell me not one of those stupid ass zombies surrounding him bit down on his face, hand, or foot??

No? Sure, you have to suspend reality to watch the show, but there’s only so far you can push it. Personally, I don’t respect the writers on this, and I think it makes the show’s atmosphere less “anyone can die at any time” and more “we have to keep introducing new, irrelevant characters to kill off because we have lost the balls to kill off any of the main characters.”

I also feel betrayed. As a fan of the show since the beginning, I take this as a breach of trust. Not only was Glenn alive, but we had to wait weeks upon weeks to find out he was. This is the type of cheap trick a new show might use to a build a consistent viewership, but at this point, it’s just us, the loyal fans that will watch either way. It just felt like a hollow, unnecessary, and cheap trick that really served no purpose. And the secret wasn’t even that well-kept, it was obvious as soon as "The Talking Dead" didn’t feature him on the death list that week.

Furthermore, the episode after Glenn’s death, a.k.a. that bullshit scene put there for absolutely no goddamned reason, was arguably one of the best character building episodes of the entire series. Eastman and Tabitha the goat were probably some of my favorite characters (Eastman because he’s awesome and Tabitha because, come one, goats). But guess what? By putting that episode after the Glenn cliffhanger, hardly anyone appreciated it. What a waste.

The backlash is already going viral, and I really hope "The Walking Dead" takes a cue from the fans and decides to just stick with what makes them a hit show in the first place: No holds barred, anyone can die action mixed with endearing character building. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”