Glenn lives - for now

The old hiding-under-the-dumpster trick saves Glenn's life.

WHEW! You can all exhale now. That was a close one. It took four episodes but we finally know that our Asian/American hero, Glenn Rhee, (Stephen Yeun) survived. As many of you surmised, Glenn slipped under the dumpster to escape the hungry zombies. The guts we saw being eaten by the undead were the intestines of Nicholas.

That meant four weeks of agony, speculation and grief counseling.

As we breathe a sigh of relief, it may be only a temporary reprieve. Followers of the comic books know that Negan, one of the show's worst villains is about to be introduced. 

STOP READING RIGHT HERE. SPOILER AHEAD!

In the comic book, Negan kills Glenn by bashing his head in with a baseball bat. Is that that be the same fate of the TV show's Glenn? Let's hope not. 

The television show has diverted from the comic book plot several times in the past and has allowed characters live on that were killed off in the pulp version. i.e.. Carol and 

Daryl. 

Besides, he is one of the few genuinely good guys in the show. His wife Maggie is pregnant. Their family represents hope in a bleak world without hope.  "We're not supposed to let the world die," he says in the latest episode.

Besides, Glenn may be the only Asian/American left on the entire planet. Really! In the six seasons of the show, he has been the only one! 

Which gives rise to the far-out theory that Asians may be genetically immune to the zombie disease and are all hiding out somewhere. I don't think very highly about that theory, but anything is possible.

All the other characters are flawed to varying degrees. In a way, even though they are alive, they've become ... the walking dead. 

All you social networkers out there, keep Tweeting, texting, emailing the show. #SaveGlenn, #KeepGlennAlive, #PizzaForAll

UPDATE (NOV. 23): I really need to commend the Walking Dead writers and producers for creating a true interactive experience between the show and its audience. The grief, confusion and speculation came through the TV screen to give us fans a roller-coaster ride of emotions, the like I have rarely experienced.

Shortly after his appearance in "Talking Dead," Steven Yeun's Twitter account was reactivated.

“It proves this world can take the story of the good guy winning sometimes,” The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun told Talking Dead tonight of the reaction of the seemingly apparent death of his Glenn Rhee character on October 25’s show. As fans of the AMC series learned tonight on the penultimate episode of 2015, Yeun’s Glenn is not dead.

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Sunny & Glenn: Asian/American heroic characters dominate Sunday TV,

TONIGHT (Nov. 22) will be the second episode of Into the Badlands, a tale in a dystopian America where the country is divided into 7 fiefdoms ruled by powerful barons.

The opening fight sequence starring Asian/American Daniel Wu is one of the best I've seen as a fan of martial arts films and a follower of the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa. It is just so cool.

If that doesn't make you want to watch AMC's 6-episode series first season, I don't know what will.

Wu 's character, Sunny, may have started out as the stereotypical strong, silent type, a staple of these types of stories, but as the first episode demonstrates, the writers are making an attempt to tell his back-story to explain why he is the way he is.

I realize that this type of show is not for everyone. It's just for fun and we need a little bit of escape from the real world, full of violence, wars, ignorance and terrorism.

Meanwhile, back to the Walking Dead ...

WARNING: Spoilers ahead ...

WHAT THE HECK? The producers of the Walking Dead continue to tease us about fan favorite Glenn Rhee, played by Stephen Yeun.

The last time we see Glenn, we see him trying to avoid being lunch for a herd of zombies. Since that time, fans have been going crazy speculating about his fate. This is another strong prediction.

The general consensus from a variety of sources seems to indicate that he somehow survives (don't ask me how!), 

The question becomes, when will the producers reveal that he's still alive? And if he's alive, is it only a brief respite before his life is in danger again. That depends on whether or not the producers deviate from the comic book storyline, which they have done several times. #SaveGlenn, #KeepGlennAlive

Stephen Yeun plays fan favorite Glenn Rhee.

Most likely, we won't know the answer tonight. The producers need something to draw in fans for the mid-season finale next week. Or, the sneaky creators may decide to withhold the answer until the next February when the series returns.(Curses, on them!)

As the lone Asian survivor of the zombie apocalypse,  we have more than a passing interest in Glenn's story. Not only has he evolved from a pizza delivery guy to a out-and-out badass, his character is one of the very few who has not killed a human being maintaining his own humanity in the show's bleak environment, he is one of the few Asian male to actually get the girl. 

Will the producers throw all that away simply to make a dramatic point? Or, will another one of the characters take Glenn's place when the show introduces villain Negan, the leader of the Wolves, who disposes of Glenn in the comics in a most horrific way? 

Like zombies, fans will continue to tune in to follow the survivors and suffer the highs-and-lows with their favorite characters.

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Walking Dead: Is Glenn dead or alive?

Glenn Rhee played by Stephen Yuen will be back, but in what form?

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

THE FATE of Glenn Rhee is driving fans of The Walking Dead crazy. Is good guy Glenn  who has never killed a living human being, who has transformed from a pizza-delivery guy to action hero, dead or alive?

You know what they say about nice guys.

The producers and writers are clearly playing with the audience's emotions for the last two weeks since we saw everybody's favorite Asian/American survivor of the zombie apocalypse fall off a dumpster into a horde of zombies. The last scene of Glenn screaming and zombies ripping out intestines is ... uh ... gut-wrenching keeps playing over and over in our minds.

Last week as we tuned in a special 90-minute episode expecting to find an answer, we get an episode about Morgan's backstory and his "Yoda." Most aggravating, though, acute observers noted that the credits for the the actor Stephen Yuen, who plays Glenn, were left out!

Last week, the producers stirred up more questions when they felt it necessary to issue a note to viewers of Talking Dead, the show dedicated to the Walking Dead goings-on, reassuring fans that we had not seen the last of Glenn.

So much angst and speculation has been put forth by fan and TV reviewers, the producers and probably laughing and rubbing their hands with glee with all the interest being generated.

"I think it's fun to allow people to speculate on it. There will be some resolution to the debate. I can't wait for that moment because it'll be very intriguing," said executive producer Greg Nicotero. Yeah, right! Nicotero probably tortured his pets when he was a kid.

Here's a new promo about tonight's episode:

Is tonight's episode (Nov. 8) going to provide an answer? I wouldn't be surprised if the creators keep the audience guessing as long a they can. 

UPDATE (Nov. 9): As expected, the Nov. 8 episode of The Walking Dead didn't provide any answers. The producers have left us hanging again and again, we'll probably tune in next week to see if Glenn is alive. In case you need reminding, here is that infamous scene:

The Walking Dead: Oh, no! What if Glenn dies ...?

Maggie and Glenn, played by Lauren Cohen and Stephen Yeun in the TV series The Walking Dead.

WARNING: "Walking Dead" fans - SPOILER AHEAD! Do not read any further if you don't want to know what might happen in future episodes.

DON'T SAY you weren't warned:

As we delve deeper into season 6 of The Walking Dead, there's a feeling of dread for fans of Asian/American character Glenn Rhee.

Six months ago at a press conference after season 5 ended for the wildly popular Walking Dead television series, actor Stephen Yeun, who plays Glenn in the show, teased the possibility that his character might die, a fate that could have his fans go apoplectic.

Yeun's comments during a panel of the 2015 National Association of Broadcasters Show panel held in April, fed fuel to the rumors that his character would meet his end during the upcoming season of the popular series of the zombie apocalypse.

Comic book readers may be smug because they knew all along about Glenn's fate if the TV series followed the comic book storyline.

Asked a leading question (probably from a comic book fan): Yeun answered, "If I go — that could happen. The way that we make the show — the writers and everybody really want to focus on making things poignant and purposeful and meaningful. ... So, if it were for Glenn to go, then it’s probably going to be awesome."

What sparked the question is the rumored introduction of Negan, the villainous character who savagely - I mean, savagely - murders our hero Glenn ... in the comic book version, at least.

I only mention this because the television show has veered from the comic's storyline, most notably in keeping the popular character Norman around, who is absent in the comics and having other characters suffer the death scenes meant for other comic book characters. Also, the major character Carol commits suicide early on in the comic book version of The Walking Dead. But on the TV show, she's still around and evolved into a hardened bad-ass survivor.

Then again, the TV show has not been bashful in killing off major characters, sometimes shocking the audience into therapy - as if a real person died. Indeed, when we invest so much in watching a character grow, his ups and downs, it sometimes feel like a friend passes away when TV characters go to that backstage-in-the-sky.

If fan favorite Glenn were to die - and I said "IF" - he apparently is/was the only Asian/American to have survived the zombie apocalypse. As a die-hard fan, I have not seen another Asian/American character in the show. Glenn's probable death would pretty much decimate the "model minority myth."

The character Glenn, incidentally, has made history in a way as he has turned into a romantic lead with his interracial relationship with Maggie, played by Lauren Cohan. Their love for each other is the only sweetness and sign of hope in a show full of blood and foreboding.  The writers have also hinted that Maggie may be with child. They wouldn't kill off the baby's father, would they? Or, wouldn't that be the perfect emotional setup for Glenn's heartbreaking demise?

How fair is that? Finally, Asian/American pop-culture fans see an Asian/American male get the girl -- something that never happens, you know, -- but, only to have him killed???

I suppose if you bothered to read this far and if you are a die-hard Glenn & Maggie fan, you can start a Twitter campaign to save Glenn

Or, there's a Facebook page to Save Glenn.

Or make sure creator Robert Kirkham and producer Gale Ann Hurd know the socio-historic importance Glenn has become, way beyond the television show. 

Save Glenn!

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