Rarely do TV fans have to wait months between a show's penultimate episode and its "fantastic" season finale, but The Walking Dead was forced into an awkward position as it aimed to close out Season 10, with everything shutting down just before the post-production process on Episode 16, "A Certain Doom." Thus, fans have been left in the dark about everyone's fate since April's cliffhanger, and we won't learn what actually happened until October. Which means my curiosity about the finale has only taken up that much more of my brain-space.
Now that we know when The Walking Dead will return to AMC to air "A Certain Doom" (and that it will later be followed by six more episodes to bridge the gap to Season 11), we can anticipate some of our biggest questions finally being answered. Without further ado, let's dive into some of the big mysteries that Season 10 still needs to provide solutions for.
Who Is The Masked Stranger?
One of the biggest mysteries in all of Season 10 came in the finale's first trailer, which featured an unknown character wearing a mask and wielding a pair of handheld scythes. It seems like the character shows up to help Aaron and Alden take out the Whisperers that surrounded them, but really, the masked stranger could definitely be an enemy. The characters that have already been theorized to be behind the mask are plentiful: Morgan (back from his Fear the Walking Dead stint), Morgan's Son Duane (who'd have to have somehow survived his Season 3 fate), the comic book's Mercer, or even a completely new character who wasn't in the source material. I certainly hope it's not the latter option, and that the reveal is a meaningful one to viewers.
Is Ezekiel Doomed?
Ever since Khary Payton's Ezekiel dodged his comic counterpart's fate by surviving the big group beheading, it seems as if the character has been living on borrowed time, especially after it was revealed he's suffering from thyroid cancer. Having seemingly squashed his suicidal thoughts, Ezekiel seems like he's found a new lease on life after having met Princess during the trek to find Stephanie, but a change in emotional state is hardly a cure for cancer. So, will Ezekiel survive the finale, or will he get killed off before reaching the metaphorical promised land that is the Commonwealth?
Will Eugene's Group Reach The Commonwealth?
Speaking of the game-changing comic book setting that has yet to be introduced in live-action, the Commonwealth is presumably the major destination that Eugene, Yumiko, Ezekiel and Princess will come across next. However, it's not guaranteed that they'll actually reach the location in the Season 10 finale, since that might be too easy. It's just as likely that Eugene's group will run into some trouble with the Commonwealth's security outside the gates, meaning fans will have to wait until possibly Season 11 to see the inside of the heavily populated refuge. Here's hoping we can at least get an in-person look at Eugene's radio buddy Stephanie.
Beyond Possibly Ezekiel, Which Of The Protagonists Will Die?
While it's true that The Walking Dead could pull off its Season 10 finale without permanently killing off any of the good guys, so to speak, I definitely don't see that happening. So, who's it going to be? The first finale images make it seem like Daryl is going to get picked off by a random Whisperer among the walkers, but that's not so likely. It's also possible that the masked stranger could take out Aaron or Alden with ease. But of all the major characters that could bite the dust, my money is on Father Gabriel. The character had quite a memorably gruesome death in the comics, and while that likely won't play out in the same way on the TV show, his time has probably come.
Who Gets To Kill Beta?
While Alpha served as a proper big bad thanks to her all-around warped psychology and extroverted nature, Beta has been a far more subdued (and musical) villain while amassing walkers to lay out his big attack scheme. As such, I can't imagine the character surviving the finale and making it to Season 11, and that makes me wonder who will get to take Beta out. Daryl is an easy choice, given the pair's earlier rumble in Season 9, and Negan also fits there, given his own past with the hulking villain. But I kinda think The Walking Dead's creative team will allow Lydia to permanently take Beta out, given his involvement with raising her in the Whisperers' fucked up environment.
How Will Maggie Return?
Though Lauren Cohan made her initial Walking Dead exit back in the first half of Season 9, fans haven't stop asking about and clamoring for her return, which was allowed to happen after her ambitious ABC series Whiskery Cavalier was cancelled. We know she'll be back in Season 11 as a regular, but it's still unclear how she will rekindle her connection to the main group after being away for years on end. She knows about the Whisperers, thanks to written correspondence she'd been keeping, but will her return have an impact on the villains' future, or will she arrive just after their threat is vanquished? Also, what will her first encounter with Negan be like?
What Is Virgil Up To?
The last time Walking Dead fans saw Kevin Carroll's Virgil, he was parting ways with Michonne, who was herself going on a series-exiting quest to follow clues leading to Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes. Virgil claimed he'd be sticking around the military base where he'd been living, but the Season 10 finale trailer showed audiences that he actually packed up and headed out. Carroll teased Virgil's return to CinemaBlend earlier this year, but nobody said anything about him going to Oceanside. Is he going to find anyone still around, or will he end up moving on from that place in order to track down those who left?
Will Connie Finally Come Back?
The Walking Dead's midseason premiere earlier this year featured the disappearance of Lauren Ridloff's Connie, who got trapped underground after everyone else had already escaped the cave system. Her chances didn't look that great in the moment, though characters like Magna and Yumiko have kept the faith that she would eventually return. Granted, the real BTS reason Ridloff had to back out of The Walking Dead is because she was in the midst of filming Marvel's Eternals, but fans have been wondering when Connie will return to keep building on her friendship with Daryl. (Yeah, everybody wants to see them get freaky, though I'm not sure Daryl is even capable of it at this point.)
The Walking Dead will finally get to air the Season 10 finale on AMC on Sunday, October 4, at 9:00 p.m. ET, and it will be immediately followed by the series premiere of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. To see what other new and returning shows are on the way in the near future, head to our Fall 2020 TV premiere schedule.
