We're Pretty Sure Negan Kills Maggie on The Walking Dead

Spoiler warning for Season 6 of The Walking Dead, and maybe Season 7, we'll see

In the Season 6 finale of The Walking Dead, new villain Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) introduced himself by killing a major character with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. The episode ended on a cliff-hanger - we know somebody died, but not who. So the hot topic of conversation among fans during the show's summer break is speculating about who was on the receiving end. This week, TVGuide.com will be presenting and prognosticating on the most likely candidates. First up is Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan).

It's probably Maggie.

When we last saw her, Maggie was debilitatingly sick from as-yet-unexplained pregnancy complications. When Negan's 11 potential victims were captured by the Saviors, they were on their way to Hilltop to get medical help for Maggie. She's shaky, immobile, and almost delirious from fever and pain. Even if she isn't killed by Negan, things aren't looking good for her right now.

The reasons why Maggie is the most likely person who died are mostly behind-the-scenes. According to the eagle-eyed obsessives at Spoil the Dead, Lauren Cohan has only been spotted on set once so far during filming for Season 7. And that was for premiere, which will pick up exactly where the finale left off. Reportedly the show filmed death scenes for everyone to make sure leaks of footage aren't incriminating, so everyone had to be there for that episode. But she's been absent ever since.

Additionally, she doesn't seem to be anywhere near The Walking Dead's Georgia set. Her posts on social media are pretty light on TWD content these days. In May, during a time when the show was filming, she posted a selfie on Instagram from the beach. It's possible that the photo was from an earlier time and she posted it later to misdirect fans, but it's also possible that she was on vacation while her surviving colleagues were at work. The Walking Dead shoots outside of Atlanta, hundreds of miles from the ocean. It's possible that she was at a lake beach, but that photo doesn't look like it was taken at, say, Lake Peachtree.

In terms of the show itself, Maggie's death would be huge. Killing her off would be shocking and devastating, perhaps even more than if it was her husband Glenn (Steven Yeun). In the comics, Glenn was Negan's victim. The show could follow that arc, but there's the issue of Glenn's poorly received fake-out death last season. Fans and critics were annoyed with the execution of Glenn's adventure under the dumpster, and to go through all that just to have Glenn die for real would make the fake-out seem even more pointless and risk further alienating fans. Switching it to Maggie would keep it literally and figuratively in the family: a beloved character who's been on the show for many seasons with deep ties to many other characters. It would be brutal, and perfectly in line with the show's "anyone can die at any time" ethos. I mean, she's pregnant! (And don't forget, there's already a baby on the show. Is there room for another?)

What do you think? Are you already mourning Maggie, or do you think I'm the stupidest person in all of Alexandria?