Will Daryl Dixon kill Lance Hornsby? Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) serves as current main villain, seizing Alexandria and its allies in the Commonwealth's name - albeit without the Commonwealth's knowledge. Lance's power-grab represents the boiling point in what has been a tempestuous relationship between the Alexandrians and Commonwealth-ians since the two first merged. Lance Hornsby will meet a sticky end, The Walking Dead viewers can be almost sure about that, but season 11 is working very hard to convince everyone that Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon will pull the trigger.
In Daryl has a spinoff to attend, that means he ends Lance... right?
Why Daryl Dixon Probably WON'T Kill Lance In The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead so heavily signposting Daryl Dixon killing Lance Hornsby surely means Daryl Dixon won't kill Lance Hornsby. The Walking Dead has even been dropping clues as to who might do the deed instead. Lance has long been theorized as having an association with The Walking Dead's overall big-bads, the Civic Republic Military. Lance's government connections and shady dealings fit the CRM's philosophy perfectly, and a connection would explain why Pamela Milton's Commonwealth hasn't already been targeted by the much larger villainous group, which has a nasty habit of destroying any sizable communities that emerge.
The Walking Dead season 11 hiding a bigger enemy in the shadows makes a suspicious amount of sense. Lance Hornsby probably isn't the final villain of the entire show - he's barely even a minor antagonist in Robert Kirkman's original comics - so using him as a conduit to debut a bigger threat feels distinctly possible. There's always a bigger fish (as a wise Jedi once said), and if the CRM does arrive in The Walking Dead season 11, they could be the ones who kill Lance instead of Daryl Dixon. Given the mess he's currently making, the Commonwealth deputy has become something of a liability, after all.
Pamela Milton Killing Lance Makes More Sense Than Daryl
While The Walking Dead season 11 is certainly brewing bad blood between Lance Hornsby and Daryl Dixon, a more meaningful rivalry could prove the ambitious villain's undoing instead. Every action Lance takes is ultimately fueled by his desire to impress and/or outdo Pamela Milton, having long existed in her shadow. Pamela hasn't shown as much interest in Lance as Lance shows in her, but the Governor's plan to use him as a scapegoat marks a darker shift in their relationship. A peeved Pam could kill Lance after his aspirations for control threaten her own, or she could end him to protect Sebastian's secret.
Pamela Milton killing her own right-hand man offers a more satisfying end for Lance Hornsby than Daryl pulling the trigger. The two Commonwealth higher-ups share a deep history, giving a potential future showdown more personal meaning than Daryl vs. Lance would have. More importantly, the Commonwealth imploding from within plays better thematically than The Walking Dead's heroes rolling in and shooting up the place. Rick Grimes showed mercy was the way forward when he spared Negan in The Walking Dead season 8 which means, unless for the purposes of self-defense, Daryl shouldn't be executing Lance in season 11 - no matter how infuriatingly chipper the villain might be...
The Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.