User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 402: Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon, Review./@comment-1359322-20140929144423/@comment-25111584-20141001064126

The only reason I'm saying Jellal is because she doesn't have anybody else besides Sho, Wally and Milliana ... and killing them is quite random. And Jellal has had only one real death flag till now, the Etherion thingy. The Self Destruction Spell, the recent Zero thingy were hardly those. Besides, a relatively injured commander giving his troops a big mission is considered a death flag for the commander, only sometimes though. Not to mention his death will also give Meredy a much-needed role. And the OS, instead of being put out by it, might even work harder to acheive the dreams of their fallen leader. Yeah, quite cliche. >.>

Silver had been 'alive' for about 17 years, he was only seen recently. One might say that Jellal was also supposed to have died in the Etherion incident, this whole time was just a reprieve. I know, grabbing at straws, but still. For Lucy, it's more of a serieswise huge powerdown besides the fact that she lost something her mother gave her. As for the love interest thing ... never been one for romance, so don't really care there. I know, biased. >.> Plus, killing Igneel (or forcing him back into Natsu or something like that) is imperative if Mashima doesn't want to end the series here. On the other hand, if he does mean to do that, then Jellal will also mp not die. If Igneel and Jellal die, well, Natsu, Gray and Erza will have lost somebody equally close to them.

A character appears and dies? /me looks at Brain. Well, the guy did deserve that there, but also shows Mashima does pull that stunt. ... Actually, that comparison is retarded, forget it. Just saying that it isn't completely unprecedented. Simon appeared out of seemingly nowhere and died too.

The only point I'll agree on is the popularity thing, though I hate to admit it. ACD was also forced to resurrect Holmes because of the popularity thing. He wanted to end the series and do something new, but wasn't allowed to do so. Poor guy. So, yeah, this might be the only reason I'll agree that Jellal lives.

Well, in the end, what Mashima decides goes. These are just theories (mixed with dreams :P), one can support or oppose. You can neener-neener me if he survives the Tartarus Arc, I won't even say the whole of FT, I'll thumb my nose at you if he doesn't. ;)

Plus, we all know that he loves Jerza, but not all authors like to end romances happily, many might like to take the tragic route. >.>