After the horrific bloodbath that opened The Walking Dead Season 7, the show has actually been pretty low on death. Negan promised us that we were "only getting started," but that seems to only apply to his people, the Saviors, and a couple of Alexandrians who weren't my favorite to begin with anyway. Only one episode is left, and the losses are coming. Will Eric die in the Walking Dead season finale? He's one of the many I think may perish in Rick's battle against Negan.
I don't think anyone has screamed "red shirt" louder than Eric on this show in a while. We've rarely seen him outside of his own house. We know that, as a group, the Alexandrians aren't the best at hand to hand or hand to walker combat. I will give him a little credit. He did recruit with Aaron before Daryl, and Aaron was one of the only people in Alexandria who fully understood the apocalypse beyond their walls. But Eric might still be suffering an ankle injury, and the apocalypse has no time for people who are slowed down.
There definitely was a time when I liked Eric a lot. Any friend of Daryl is a friend of mine. I don't want Aaron to be heartbroken!
However, and this is blunt of me and problematic of The Walking Dead if true, but the timing of Jesus casually coming out to Maggie while Eric decided to join the A-Team and hopefully repair problems in his relationship with Aaron is suspicious. Could the show be subtly signaling to its audience that there are more fish in the sea for Aaron should his boyfriend turn out to be Lucille fodder? I really hope not but if so... not so subtle, guys. Too many gay characters have died on this show, and other shows in recent seasons.
I'd love to be surprised, and see Eric turn into the kind of war hero who survives. Maybe Jesus will come between his relationship with Aaron, instead.
There are also some characters whose death I dare not predict on this show. It's easier to imagine who is in the first line of fire on The Walking Dead rather than uncover a big twist, and unfortunately Eric Raleigh fits that bill.
