If you’re still reeling from the trauma of that lineup, you’re not alone. Honestly, it’s the one question that still haunts fans who checked out of the show years ago. People always ask: what season does glenn from walking dead die? The short answer is Season 7. But if you remember him "dying" under a dumpster in Season 6, your brain isn't just making things up.
The showrunners pulled a massive bait-and-switch that left a lot of people feeling genuinely betrayed.
The Exact Moment: Season 7, Episode 1
Glenn Rhee officially dies in the Season 7 premiere, titled "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be." It aired on October 23, 2016. If you want to get technical, the scene is a direct continuation of the Season 6 finale cliffhanger. For six agonizing months, fans had to wait to find out who Negan bludgeoned with his barbed-wire bat, Lucille.
The episode starts with a lot of psychological torture. Negan has already killed Abraham Ford. Everyone thought Glenn was safe because, well, the "rule" of the lineup seemed to be one person only.
Then Daryl Dixon loses his cool.
Daryl punches Negan. Because of that outburst, Negan decides he needs to shut things down "right out of the gate." He turns around and cracks Glenn across the skull. It was visceral. It was gory. It was probably the most controversial moment in cable TV history.
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Why the Season 6 "Death" Confused Everyone
A lot of the confusion about what season does glenn from walking dead die stems from Season 6, Episode 3, "Thank You."
Remember the dumpster?
Glenn and Nicholas are trapped on top of a dumpster, surrounded by a sea of walkers. Nicholas loses his mind, says "Thank you," and shoots himself. As he falls, he knocks Glenn into the horde. The camera zooms in on Glenn’s screaming face as guts are ripped apart.
The internet went into a total meltdown.
For three weeks, Glenn was missing from the opening credits. Fans analyzed the footage frame-by-frame. Eventually, it was revealed that the guts belonged to Nicholas, and Glenn had crawled under the dumpster to survive. It was a miracle—or a cheap writing trick, depending on who you ask.
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How the TV Death Compared to the Comics
In Robert Kirkman’s original comic series, Glenn’s death happens in Issue #100. The show followed the source material pretty closely here, right down to Glenn’s heartbreaking final words to Maggie: "Maggie, I’ll find you."
However, the show added the "double kill" twist.
In the comics, Negan only kills Glenn. Abraham had actually died an issue earlier from an arrow through the eye (a death that went to Denise in the show). By killing Abraham and Glenn in the same TV episode, the producers basically gave fans a glimmer of hope just to snatch it away again.
Steven Yeun’s Take on Leaving
Steven Yeun has been pretty open about his exit. He actually wanted Glenn to die like he did in the comics. To him, that moment was iconic. He felt it was a "natural end" for a character who had started as a pizza delivery boy and became the moral compass of the group.
He’s since gone on to do amazing things—Minari, Beef, Nope. Looking back, leaving in Season 7 was probably the best thing for his career. But for the show? That’s a different story.
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Did This Moment Kill the Show?
There is a huge debate about whether Glenn’s death was the beginning of the end for The Walking Dead.
The ratings tell a pretty clear story. The Season 7 premiere had over 17 million viewers. By the end of that season, the numbers had dipped significantly. Many fans felt the gore was "torture porn" or that the show had become too mean-spirited.
Glenn was the heart. He was the one character who hadn't lost his humanity. Once he was gone, the show felt a lot darker. A lot of people just didn't want to inhabit that world anymore.
- Season 6: The fake-out dumpster death.
- Season 7, Ep 1: The real, final death at the hands of Negan.
- Impact: A massive shift in tone that led to a long-term ratings decline.
If you're planning a rewatch, brace yourself for the transition between Season 6 and 7. It’s a rough ride.
The best way to process the loss is to look at how it propelled Maggie’s character. She went from a grieving widow to the leader of the Hilltop and eventually a powerhouse in the later seasons and the Dead City spin-off. Glenn’s legacy basically became the fuel for the rest of the series.
If you want to revisit the exact scene (if you have the stomach for it), you can find "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" on most streaming platforms that carry AMC content. Just maybe don't eat while you're watching.
To dig deeper into the aftermath, you should check out the Season 7 behind-the-scenes features, which show the "alternate" death scenes the crew filmed for every character to prevent spoilers from leaking. It’s wild to see versions where Maggie or Eugene take the hit instead.