SPOILERS  *  SPOILERS  *  SPOILERS *  Can’t make it anymore clearer, if you have not yet seen the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead then do NOT read below!

Do you guess it?  Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) did give off a small hint recently when he said that before *the* scene was filmed he cried for upwards of an hour to ensure he wasn’t too emotional during filming.  This of course led us to believe Carol or Beth could be in danger.

We’ve come to expect death during the big episodes of The Walking Dead and usually, it’s a death we can learn to accept (Andrea/Hershel) or want (Lizzie/The Governor) but when it comes to a character we’ve grown to love…well, it’s a different story.

So it’s safe to say by this part of the post that yes, Beth died and quite shockingly too.  Part accident, part murder, part her own fault really but nonetheless, it does not take away from the sadness that followed when Beth’s sister Maggie was confronted with the image of Daryl approaching holding Beth’s lifeless body.

Beth over the course of the show has gone from a minor player managing to survive by basically being invisible to being the girl who gave sex eyes to Carl to being a kickass side kick to Daryl to being the reason Carol is alive today.  Her growth is not unlike that of Carol’s though where Carol seems genuinely upset about the road she’s traveled, Beth has taken it all in her stride knowing she has little control over her road ahead and as she said “I don’t cry anymore”.

One could argue Beth’s sudden push forward into a strong willed and gutsy character was a sign her end was near as it’s no secret that showrunner Scott M. Gimple has a habbit of beefing up characters before they die (Bob anyone?)

Season 5, so far, has been leaps and bounds better than season 4 (not that season 4 was in anyway bad) and most of that is due to the fact our band of survivors were brought back together after spending a large portion of season 4 scattered among the land. But with Beth’s death and Noah joining the group, where does this lead us for the rest of season 5? – Surely the end scene of Morgan arriving at the church that was recently evacuated by Carl, Judith, Michonne and the why-is-he-still-alive Father Gabriel will be a big player.

Are you sad to see Beth die?  What do you think is in store for the rest of the season?  Is Morgan tracking down Rick for good or bad>  Sound off in the comments below!

Check out the return trailer and the post credits scene with Morgan below!

The Walking Dead continues with season 5 in Feb 2015.