There Was One Major Death in The Walking Dead Finale, And It Sucked
A classic Walking Dead cliché has made its final appearance.
Warning: the following article contains spoilers for The Walking Dead season 12 finale
After 12 seasons, The Walking Dead can finally rest in peace as the show went out with a bang on Sunday, even killing off one of its main characters, Rosita Espinosa.
However, according to many fans, the scene of her death could have been handled so much better and not with the use of the classic series cliché of the "hidden bite". The good old device of The Walking Dead characters dramatically lifting their clothes to reveal that they have been bitten by a zombie is as iconic as it is frustrating, and certainly wasn't a good enough storytelling tool for series finale.
With Rosita, despite the actor's impeccable performance and how bittersweet her final moments were, fans are still disappointed. Because the show once again resorted to the infamous cliché, some fans even believe that her death was "outshone by Luke's." He wasn't the main character and people weren't as invested in his story, but still, his death was much more of a "gut punch" than the death of one of the show's most important characters, and that says something.
Still, the way Eugene had to be the one to put Rosita down before she could reanimate as a zombie was heartbreaking for many people. Some fans were actually okay with Rosita having one of the most peaceful deaths on the show, rather than being torn apart by violent living corpses.
The show actually changed the way Rosita died in the comics, and many people noted that they were happy with that. Even the cliched reveal of the bite gave fans something to cry about.
Rest in Peace was not only the season 12 finale, but it also brought the entire series to an end, so even with the questionable way Rosita was killed off, fans are left emotional and heartbroken after the episode.
Still, some of The Walking Dead's characters will be returning soon in a number of spinoffs planned for the future. Negan and Maggie will return in Dead City, and a Rick and Michonne series is also planned for 2023.