Glenn Rhee

Lore & Background

In the comic book series, Glenn is resourceful and clever, making it out of Atlanta and coming upon the group of survivors on the outer limits of the city. Due to his knack for scavenging, he is often nominated to sneak into the city and find supplies. On one of these runs, he finds Rick Grimes and brings him back to the group, reuniting Rick with his family (Lori and Carl), who are already at the camp. Glenn develops a nascent crush on Maggie, but his shyness initially prevents him from acting on his feelings. Maggie eventually realizes this and confronts Glenn about his feelings and they start a relationship. After Maggie's father Hershel catches him in bed with Maggie, Glenn and Hershel have a brief argument. Despite the rocky start, Hershel understands that he cannot stop his daughter from wanting to be with Glenn. In the comics, Glenn is later imprisoned by the Governor, an encounter that leaves him with physical and mental scars; Glenn is beaten and forced to hear the Governor brutally rape Michonne in a neighboring cell. After his escape and return to the prison, Glenn grows to love Maggie and proposes to her with a ring stolen from a zombie's finger. In the television series, Hershel kicks Glenn out after catching him with Maggie, but accepts Glenn's decision to stay with Maggie. In the TV show, the couple later marries in a private ceremony in Season 3, Episode 16 ('Welcome to the Tombs'). In the television series, Glenn's parents were originally from Korea. Glenn grew up in Michigan with several sisters and moved to Atlanta. He worked as a pizza delivery boy, giving him in depth knowledge of Atlanta's layout. When the outbreak occurred, Glenn encountered another survivor named T-Dog and the two escaped Atlanta together and took refuge in a camp outside of the city led by Shane Walsh.

In Their Own Story

In the television series premiere episode "Days Gone Bye", Glenn's voice is first heard using a radio to talk to Rick when Rick is hiding in a tank in the city of Atlanta. In the episode "Guts", Glenn uses the radio to rescue Rick from the horde of walkers surrounding the tank, and guides Rick to the location of his group, which consists of Andrea, T-Dog, Merle Dixon, Jacqui, and Morales, hiding in a department store. As the walkers try to break through the plate glass doors of the store, Rick decides to try to reach a box truck at a nearby construction site. To reach the truck, he and Glenn cover themselves in the blood and viscera of a dispatched walker, allowing them to successfully pass among the walkers, until a brief rainstorm washes off enough of the blood scent that they begin to draw attention. Glenn drives a Dodge Challenger, its alarm blaring, to draw the attention of the walkers away from the store, while Rick drives the box truck to one of the store's cargo doors. The entire group (other than Merle, who is trapped on the roof of the store) is able to escape the city in the box truck, apart from Glenn, who drives away in the Challenger. In the episode "Tell It to the Frogs", they meet up with the rest of the survivors at the Atlanta campsite, where Glenn helps distribute supplies and assist others when needed. He later goes with Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog to find Merle in the city and help Rick regain the guns previously dropped near the tank. In the episode "Vatos", Glenn ends up getting kidnapped by a nursing home crew posing as gang bangers, who try to exchange him for weaponry. Glenn is released, but his group then finds out that the truck which they used to drive to the city is missing, leaving them with no choice but to return to the campsite on foot. Glenn and the rest of his teammates return to the camp just in time to witness a herd of walkers invade and kill many of the survivors. In the episode "Wildfire", in the wake of the massacre, he assists in dealing with the corpses and insists that the group bury their people instead of burning them as they did the walkers they previously killed. Ultimately, he and the rest of the group leave the campsite.

Reader's Guide

Glenn is known for being quick thinking and resourceful, which makes him the group's primary supply runner. In the comic book series, his use of MacGyver-like tactics to outsmart and kill walkers enabled him to successfully recover guns for Jim, another of the group's members. Glenn tests a new idea of how to clear walkers on the fence: by attaching knives to plywood so it's easier to retrieve them after stabbing. When the group tries to make a permanent home at the prison, he moves into the same cell as Maggie. Later on, Hershel gives Maggie permission to be in a relationship with Glenn, and helps him settle into a prison-turned-refuge with Maggie and helps the group find fuel and supplies. After his escape from the Governor and return to the prison, Glenn grows to love Maggie and proposed to her with a ring stolen from a zombie's finger; Hershel marries the couple shortly after. Glenn's skills and agility make him a suitable applicant to once again be a scavenger and a replacement for the wounded Scott in the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Rick asks Glenn, due to his loyalty, to steal back their guns and weapons, which were taken by Douglas Monroe, when they first came to the Safety-zone. Glenn creates a distraction for the Community's survivors while he looks for the weapons. Rick and Glenn find the armory, and Glenn sneaks in. Rick distributes the weapons amongst the members of their group. After the issues with Douglas are solved, Glenn and Maggie live in Alexandria for some time and decide that Alexandria would be the best place to raise a child, something they had wanted to do for some time. After a few attempts, Maggie gets pregnant. However their celebration is short-lived; a group called the Saviors attempt to break into the community numerous times. During one such invasion, Glenn helps Eugene escape. After Abraham is killed by Dwight, one of the Saviors, Glenn convinces Maggie to leave the community with him and Sophia, and head toward the Hilltop Colony, which he believes to be a much safer place. As they are camped on the road resting for the night after driving halfway to the Hilltop, Rick says goodbye to Glenn, and states that he is happy for him. They are ambushed by the Saviors soon afterward. The leader of the Saviors, Negan, selects Glenn to die as "punishment" for the Saviors Rick's group killed; he then bludgeons Glenn to death with a baseball bat. Glenn dies while helplessly crying Maggie's name. Rick and everyone else are left with Glenn's mangled corpse as the Saviors drive away, with Rick swearing to avenge Glenn's death. His death initially leaves the group shattered, with Maggie quickly descending into an emotional mess and Rick on the verge of yielding to Negan's power. Glenn's body is later driven by the group to the Hilltop, where it is buried in a matter of days. To honor Glenn's final wishes, Maggie chooses to remain at the Hilltop with Sophia and start a new life while awaiting their baby.

Did You Know?

• Glenn's full name in the television series is Glenn Rhee.
• In the television series, Glenn's parents were originally from Korea and he grew up in Michigan with several sisters before moving to Atlanta.
• Glenn proposed to Maggie with a ring stolen from a zombie's finger in the comic book series.
• Glenn was beaten and forced to hear the Governor brutally rape Michonne in a neighboring cell while imprisoned in the comic book series.
• Glenn's death by Negan's baseball bat was a turning point in the quality of the show, according to many fans.