Willow_SheWolf
I want a guns blazing escape: I want to be jumping in my seat, having to squeeze a pillow, and have so much action going on that I feel like I'm about to throw up. And in the end I want both brothers ALIVE.
But it doesn't matter what I want and we'll probably end up losing one before the season's over. Probably Merle. I think the Gov is going to swarm the prison at the end of the season and Merle will either just die in the crossfire, from a dramatic off screne shot by the Gov himself, or trying to protect Daryl.
I think Daryl will make it through the season though. Even Krikman has admitted the importance of Daryl, not only as acharacter, but as a valuable asset to ratings and profit. So for now he's mostly safe.
That is how I want to feel when I watch the episode! Your theory about how Merle might go out sounds very plausible.
I remember back in Season 1, when Jim was discovered as bitten and Daryl tried to kill him, Rick asked Daryl how he'd feel in that situation, which Daryl said "You put a bullet in my head and I'll thank you for it." or something along those lines.
Since Merle and Daryl do share some beliefs, Merle could feel the same way on that. The new episode is titled "The Suicide King", so I think Merle might get bitten while helping Daryl out in some way, and then end his own life to prevent himself from turning into a walker/hurting his little brother.