The Walking Dead: Have we seen the last of Virgil?

Virgil played a pivotal role on the last episode of The Walking Dead. Will he return?

The Walking Dead has left key characters’ fates hanging before. Sometimes we get an answer – they return, as Morales did, or we find out later they’ve died. But sometimes, we don’t know what’s happened to a group or a person at all.

An example of unknown fate would be the survivors at Grady Memorial Hospital. We still don’t know their fate. Are the alive? Are they dead? We have no idea.

Personally, I kind of like not knowing the fates of others the characters we follow come across. I like assuming they’re still surviving somewhere. Not only is it too predictable if new people we meet end up joining our group or dying, it also defies common sense – even with the world collapsed, there will be other survivors than just the ones we see.

This brings me back to Virgil. He knows Oceanside exists and where it is, and may know about Alexandria, even if he might not know its location. He may even know about Hilltop. (Or what’s left of it) Ditto for the Kingdom and its ruins.

So I have an easy time picturing an episode later this season or in season 11 in which Virgil returns, probably to Oceanside. I predict at some point, he’ll be able to let his deceased family go, and he’ll move on from the island. Maybe it will be out of loneliness. Maybe he will be struggling too much to survive by himself. Maybe walkers will be washing up and he can’t deal with them, so he takes off.

Certainly, there likely won’t be as many survivors showing up at the island this far into the apocalypse. Those who were on water likely have landed – pun fully intended – somewhere on the mainland by now.

Yes, he’ll need to build a new boat (or hope one washes ashore). But Virgil seems crafty enough to do it.

Virgil arriving back on the mainland isn’t the only way he could reappear. It’s also possible that one of the groups of survivors we follow could seek him out, for whatever reason. Or perhaps they could stumble upon his island by accident while searching for supplies (perhaps on a literal fishing expedition?). Or perhaps he comes back to the mainland and paths are crossed.

The other three survivors Michonne rescued from Virgil’s island may play a part. It’s not shown what happens to them after Michonne is dropped off, but my guess is she directed them towards one of the communities. Assuming they don’t fall victim to walker or Whisperer, I imagine they’ll end up with our gang. This means that they could tell someone like Aaron or Cyndie how to find Virgil, if need be.

I have no foreknowledge of Virgil’s fate from the comics. I don’t read them. But the character seems far too interesting to be left to an unknown fate. Kevin Carroll’s acting hasn’t hurt, either.

We will see Virgil again, almost certainly alive – although there’s an outside chance he returns as a walker, or simply a dead body. Until then, I hope he lays off the tea.