WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead season 11, part 1.
The Walking Dead risks repeating another Heath mystery in season 11. The character disappeared in season 7 and has not been seen since, with no official explanation in-universe for his fate. As of season 11 part 1's end, it seems the same is happening to another character: Alden.
In The Walking Dead season 7's "Swear," Heath is on a run with Tara when the two are attacked by zombies. While she is able to escape after falling off of a bridge, Heath stays behind to fend off the zombies. By the end of the episode, Tara fails to find him but finds evidence that he at least managed to escape the zombies. Due to landing a starring role on 24: Legacy, Corey Hawkins, who plays Walking Dead's Heath, decided to leave the show, which led to his character's departure. Since Legacy's cancellation, Hawkins has had several major roles in film, with his most recent being as Benny in the film adaptation of In The Heights.
Four seasons since Heath's disappearance, The Walking Dead seems to be repeating this same trick with Callan McAuliffe's Alden. Following an attack from the Reapers in season 11's "Hunted," the character is severely wounded after a Reaper repeatedly slashes his stomach. With the wounds preventing him from continuing further, Maggie and Negan decide to leave him to recuperate at a church. The Walking Dead's Alden has not been seen in season 11 since nor is there any indication of what his ultimate fate will be.
As it stands, The Walking Dead's Alden's fate is in limbo, very much like Heath's was in season 7. However, what's tricky is that this is the final season of the show and Alden's current situation would make it tricky to leave his fate remaining as a hanging thread. In Heath's case, the writers were able to work around his departure by having him separate from the main group and then from Tara. By the time the latter tries to find him, too much time has passed in between the separation to determine his whereabouts. In Alden's case, it's much trickier because he remains held up inside the church, is far too wounded to go anywhere else, and Walking Dead's Maggie and Negan know exactly where he is. It would be far too jarring for the two of them to just forget about him. All this is to say that Alden's fate will likely be revealed sooner rather than later.
For now, what happened to Alden in The Walking Dead remains a mystery. Fortunately, the way his fate was left hanging leaves it impossible for the show to ignore, so it's likely that fans will know what's become of him once season 11 returns. As for Heath, it's unclear whether fans will learn his fate anytime soon. He may return in season 11, or even make an appearance in the Rick Grimes movies. It all depends on whether Corey Hawkins returns to The Walking Dead or the show recasts him. For now, at least fans likely won't have to wait as long to find out whether Alden survives or not.
The Walking Dead season 11 returns on February 20th at 9 pm on AMC and one week early on AMC+