The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun Speaks Out On The “Lasting Impact” Of Glenn’s Death

There’s been no shortage of deaths of beloved characters over the past seven seasons of The Walking Dead, and every fan has a different answer for which one hit them the hardest. One of the most significant and most talked about though has to be the tragic – and sickeningly grisly – death of Glenn Rhee in the season 7 premiere. The character had been with the show right from the start and viewers were heartbroken to see him go.

This past weekend, actor Steven Yeun was attending Walker Stalker Con in Nashville, Tennessee and while there, he spoke about what he called “the lasting impact” of Glenn’s death and how he’s proud of what he achieved with the character overall.

“It’s been over a year and everybody is still so cool. They’re so sweet and they’re very sad about the death but that’s awesome. I think the coolest part about the death in and of itself is, I don’t know if there’s ever been a character like Glenn before in any facet, in the way he walks and the way he talks … to have died and to have in death such a lasting impact. I think it’s like awesome. I think if Glenn were to continue, he could at some point fade into the back but there’s this great explanation point.”

Glenn’s death is one of those fairly rare times when the TV show decided to stick close to how events unfold in the comics books from Robert Kirkman. In both versions, Glenn is randomly murdered by Negan after he decides to pick off one of Rick’s group. It’s a testament to Yeun’s popularity in the role then that fans found his death so devastating, even though it technically wasn’t that much of a surprise.

The Walking Dead reaches it eighth season when it returns to AMC this fall, and if early reports are to be believed, it might just be the show’s best outing yet.