9 Open Questions We Have Going Into 'The Walking Dead' Fourth Season Finale

After what I considered a disappointing first half of the fourth season, which saw The Walking Dead basically circle back around and accomplish something they should have accomplished at the end of season three (kill the Governor), the back half of season four has seen a marked improvement. Not all of the episodes were a complete success, of course, and there have been slow patches. I also feel like the Rick, Carl, and Michonne storyline has fallen by the wayside. Still, there has been some strong character development all around, and the entire half season has weaved itself nicely toward the finale, which should see all of our survivors meet at Terminus.

Here’s a few questions we have going before and after they arrive there.

1. Obviously, the biggest question most of us have is whether Terminus is safe? Mary — who greeted Maggie, Glenn, and Abraham, etc. — certainly put on a nice face, but this is The Walking Dead. Nothing could possibly be as it seems, and I think enough knowledge from the comic books has seeped into our popular consciousness to give us an idea of what to expect, and I don’t think it’s a kooky religious cult.

2. How will Carol and Tyreese get along now? Carol and Tyreese have been through a lot, witnessing the death of Mika at the hands of Lizzie, and then having to shoot Lizzie. But there has to be some uneasiness over the fact that Tyreese knows that Carol killed his girlfriend, Karen. Yes, he forgave her, but now he also knows what Carol is capable of. Moreover, nothing has changed with regard to the relationship between Rick and Carol. Rick kicked her out of the prison for exactly what Tyreese forgave her for. Is Rick going to let bygones be bygones? Or will Tyreese ironically be the one that convinces Rick to let Carol remain?

3. Speaking of Carol, what will her and Daryl’s reunion look like, assuming they both make it to Terminus? Will all those old feelings return? Or were they always platonic feelings? Or has Beth changed the equation? Wouldn’t it be GREAT if Carol and Daryl had a Maggie/Glenn kind of reunion?

4. Speaking of Beth, WHERE THE F**K IS SHE? It wasn’t Joe and his gang that took her, so who the hell picked her up in a car and drove away with her? Was it someone in Terminus? Are we going to even see Beth again this season? Is she alive?

5. Will Daryl jump sides back to Rick and Michonne when the inevitable confrontation with Rick and Joe goes down? Well, of course he will, but I think the bigger question is, who will survive? Will the confrontation occur before or after they arrive to Terminus? Because in the numbers game, that’s going to matter a lot, although keep in mind that Maggie, Abraham, Glenn, et. al dropped their weapons when they entered Terminus, so in a gunfight, they may not be as helpful within Terminus.

6. Will we find out Eugene’s secret? I think we’re all guessing that Eugene does not actually hold the key to saving the world. He’s either full of bullsh*t or he’s delusional. Will we find out in the finale what his secret is? Or will that — and the trip to D.C. — get punted into the fifth season?

7. Will we get a Rick/Carl/Judith reunion? Other than Carol and Daryl reuniting, the reunion were most hopeful for is the one that makes the Grimes family whole (ish) again, with Michonne in there as the de facto mother. That will have to assume that Rick and Carl survive the confrontation with Joe’s gang.

8. Who will die? It’s a season finale. Someone has to die, unfortunately. Who will it be? The season opened with a focus episode on Carl, and he will be put in harm’s way when Joe confronts them. On the other hand, Tara and Rosalita would be the people we’d probably miss the least, should they die. Abraham and Daryl fulfill similar roles in the show, so maybe we lose one of them to redundancy. Maybe we find out that Beth died at the hands of someone inside Terminus. Could it be Bob, who also had a focus episode and seems to have found some contentment in his life (never a good sign). It would suck to see Carol get this far in her evolution as a character only to see her killed off, but it’s not out of the question. I hope to hell it’s not Eugene, because he’s brought some very necessary comedy relief. I hate the thought of it, but it could even be Michonne. Could it even be Rick? Andrew Lincoln is scheduled to appear for the first time in person on The Talking Dead after the show, and that’s often not a good sign, either.

Honestly, I have no idea who could die, but someone almost certainly will.

9. POTENTIAL SPOILER: Lennie James, who plays Morgan Jones, is credited to appear in the season finale, although Scott Gimple denies that he will show up. I do seem to recall some suggestion that he’d be back in season four. Is Gimple misdirecting us? If James does return, is he friend or foe?

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