Glen Rhee, or The Walking Dead’s Version of The Dead Parrot Sketch

Ever watch Monty Python’s classic dead parrot sketch? Here’s a refresher:

The current debate about whether Glenn Rhee, former pizza delivery guy, husband of Maggie, expectant father, reminds me of this sketch. I pressed the rewind button on the pivotal scene with Nicholas so many times; I can see why Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick likens it to Shrodinger’s Cat. Glenn looks alive and dead, but we will not know until an episode confirms either one. It looks like we may get our answer or not.

I tip my hat the writers. We get a day in the life of the combined Grimes Gang/Alexandria Safe Zone. Once again people splinter into story strands to hopefully knit back together in the midseason finale. Glenn’s story features one strand and remains the thread viewers keep tugging on. The debates online remind me a lot of the dead parrot sketch. He either wiggled out from underneath Nicholas or torn apart joining the list of ex-humans in The Waking Dead universe. Fans either take up John Cleese’s cause, or we happily defend our position like Michael Palin.

Me? Fake Moustaches aside I don’t think Glenn died, and I don’t think he will find his way out of this situation. I believe he will have help, and it will come in the form of Enid. Whatever the result we, as viewers, witnessed some pretty good writing. We claim we want a conclusion, but also complain if that end comes too quickly. We want dramatic tension, but we take the writer’s to task for drawing things out. See the paradox?

Tonight viewers wait with baited breath today will be the day Glenn either died by walker herd or got out. Either way it’s The Walking Dead, a show without survival immunity, even for Daryl Dixon.