Season 11 of The Walking Dead kills one of its primary characters off-screen, indicating but not fully explaining how the tragedy occurred. How did they pass away?
In The Walking Dead season 11, Alden ultimately passes away, however it's unclear how Callan McAuliffe's character passes away. Maggie's food-gathering vengeance mission against the Reapers has come at a high cost. Despite the fact that the majority of the victims are unimportant background characters whom we never had the pleasure of meeting, other victims possessed higher status in The Walking Dead's hierarchy. Season 11 smartly used the opportunity to cut most of Maggie's stragglers (save Elijah, who is by far the coolest), but Alden got the short end of the stick from The Walking Dead's main characters.
Alden suffered the most wounded in the lopsided battle between Maggie's Alexandria crew and Pope's Meridian Reapers, but The Walking Dead remained tight-lipped on whether or not his wounds were fatal. On the one side, Alden began his "just in case I don't make it back..." spiel, while Maggie pledged she'd come back for him once the job was completed. While his friends (those in better health) went to finish off the Reapers, Alden clung to consciousness in a nearby church. For the rest of The Walking Dead season 11, part 1, Alden was nowhere to be seen.
When Maggie goes to the cathedral in "No Other Way," part 2 of The Walking Dead season 11, Alden's awful fate is confirmed. Maggie expects to find her friend alive and well enough to take back to Alexandria, but instead is met with an Alden-like reanimated corpse. There's another zombie in the building as well, but how did Alden die? Was it because of his previous injuries? Or what about the second zombie lurking in the church? Despite the fact that Alden may not have lived long enough to see Maggie again, little elements in his final scene show the Reapers were the ones who killed him.
Alden's throat has been slit, though it is not immediately apparent. Callan McAuliffe's zombie form has likewise been reduced to dragging itself on the floor, when when Maggie last saw him, Alden could at least hobble around cautiously. These additional injuries (particularly the sliced throat) indicate that Alden was discovered by a Reaper after Maggie had abandoned him, the unfortunate man compelled to fight despite the massive amount of claret already gushing from numerous holes that shouldn't be there. The second zombie Maggie encounters in the pews is disguised as a Reaper, implying that Alden was able to apprehend his assailant and relieve the Meridian team of one more threat. Shortly before they left ways, Maggie handed Alden a knife, which was most likely the weapon. Shortly before they left ways, Maggie handed Alden a knife, which was most likely the weapon he used in his final moments.
As a means for Alden to escape The Walking Dead, dying at the hands of a Reaper makes a lot more sense. What would be the point of the "left in the church" sub-plot in Season 11, Part 1 if Alden was doomed to die from wounds he already had? Knowing a Reaper did it benefits both Alden's and Maggie's storylines. It's the gory icing on a guilt-ridden cake - a final figurative stab through the conscience - when Maggie hears her revenge mission cost yet another dear friend. The off-screen image of Alden valiantly fighting a Reaper, on the other hand, speaks to his moral character. Alden was constantly trying to help his friends, and putting down a villain in his final moments is certainly how he'd want to go out.
When Pope finally revealed himself in The Walking Dead season 11's "Rendition," Alden's predicament was predicted. The Reaper commander claimed to have a special relationship with God, who saved him from certain death in a burning building. Pope also mentioned a "church on the outskirts of town," which is most likely the same structure where Maggie left Alden. Alden's hiding place was always going to be rumbled if Pope's Reapers were already familiar with their local house of worship. Unfortunately for him, this is exactly what occurred.