- 5 months ago
No one is safe in this apocalyptic world! Join us as we count down our picks for the most shocking deaths throughout "The Walking Dead." Our countdown includes Carl Grimes, Glenn and Abraham, the Whisperers Pike victims, Beth Greene, Shane Walsh, and many more heart-stopping moments that left fans devastated. Which character's demise shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the 30 most shocking and
00:09famous deaths throughout The Walking Dead.
00:1630. Shiba, Some Guy
00:19Not even tigers can escape the dangers of the zombie apocalypse, but at least Shiba went out
00:33on her own terms. Ezekiel, Jerry, and Carol are running from some walkers when Ezekiel tells them
00:39to leave him behind, as his injured leg is making their escape difficult. Well, Shiba isn't having
00:44that, and she intervenes to save her good friend, even throwing a zombie into a barrel. Unfortunately,
00:49this attracts the attention of the other zombies, and they soon surround the tiger and rip her
00:54apart, much to the horror of her devoted owner. We don't know if it's the most shocking death in
00:58the series, but it's probably the saddest. Poor kitty.
01:07Number 29. Eric, Monsters
01:10It's always sad seeing a human character become a zombie. Eric was
01:19reluctant to fight the saviors, but he agreed to it in order to support his husband,
01:23Aaron. Unfortunately, the war cost him his life. Eric is shot in the abdomen during the attack on the
01:28saviors, and Aaron finds that the bullet went all the way through. Knowing that there is little he
01:33can do, Aaron leaves his grievously wounded husband to rejoin the battle. There's a small segment of his
01:38brain that clings to hope, but unfortunately, that hope is dashed when he returns, and sees that
01:43Eric is now a mindless walker. It's unclear what happens to zombie Eric after this, but either
01:48way, human Eric is gone.
01:50He's dead. Eric's dead. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't just let him. Eric, that's not you.
02:07Number 28. Amy, Fados
02:09Where are you going? I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here.
02:16One of the show's first major deaths was that of Amy Harrison, the late and often forgotten sister
02:22of Andrea. The group is having a fun dinner when Amy excuses herself to go to the bathroom. However,
02:27the camp is ambushed while she is away, and when she leaves the RV, she is grabbed and bitten by a
02:32walker. To make her demise even more tragic, she then turns in her sister's arms, and Andrea is
02:37forced to put her down. Amy was never a big character, but her death still came as quite the
02:42surprise, utterly destroying any semblance of safety and comfort that the camp provided.
02:47I'm here now, Amy. I'm here. I love you.
02:59Number 27. Reg Monroe, Conker
03:02You're not one of us. You're not one of us!
03:06Characters like Reg are meant to remind viewers of the simpler pre-apocalypse days. He had a good
03:12job in the old world, and he's just trying to live a simple life with his family in the
03:15Alexandria safe zone. But his time still comes, and not at the hands of the zombies. A drunken
03:20Pete barges in on a heated town hall meeting, holding Michonne's katana. Reg, perhaps a bit
03:26naively, tries to intervene and rushes towards Pete, only to get his throat slashed by the sharp
03:30blade. He is then buried in the Alexandria graveyard, a stark reminder that no one and nowhere is
03:36safe in the zombie apocalypse, not even the so-called safe zone.
03:40Okay.
03:42Do it.
03:48Number 26. Benjamin, Bury Me Here.
03:52Let's do it.
03:54Okay.
03:56A young soldier of the kingdom, Benjamin worked closely with his brother, Henry. On the faithful
04:02day of his death, Benjamin follows Ezekiel to a supply drop with the saviors, where Gavin
04:07discovers that they are short one cantaloupe. He then tells Jared to kill Richard in retaliation,
04:12but Jared shoots Benjamin instead, and right in the femoral artery. The shooting is a nice
04:17fakeout, and the incredible blood loss instantly spells bad news for poor Ben. They try rushing
04:22him to safety, but even they know that he's done for. Sure enough, Benjamin bleeds out on
04:27Carol's table, and is ultimately stabbed through the head to prevent his reanimation. Not a great
04:31way to go.
04:32It's okay. It's okay. It's an injured opponent. It's an injured yourself.
04:46Number 25. Gavin, Honor.
04:48We did not expect the bad guy to die at the hands of a child, but if The Walking Dead is
05:01known for one thing, it's keeping us on our toes. Gavin is shot in the leg and retreats
05:06to a shed, where it looks like Morgan will finish him off, but Henry gets retribution for his late
05:10brother, and stabs Gavin in the throat with his stab, shocking everyone, viewers and characters
05:15alike. And just like Benjamin, Gavin is then stabbed in the head to prevent him from becoming
05:20a zombie. It's one of those deaths that come as a surprise in the moment, but in retrospect,
05:24it couldn't have gone down any other way.
05:26I had to. You were supposed to stay at the cottage. This wasn't what you were supposed to do. This
05:33wasn't for you.
05:33Number 24. Merle, This Sorrowful Life.
05:37Is this your thing then? You take out the trash?
05:39Don't be so hard on yourself, darling.
05:43Just because someone has a redemption arc doesn't mean they're immune from being killed off.
05:47We thought that maybe, just maybe, Merle would make it, considering his heroic turnaround,
05:52but alas, that was not the case. Still, at least he goes out in a heroic manner by sacrificing himself.
05:58Human Earl is killed by the governor, who severely beats the already weakened man before shooting
06:03him in the chest. Zombie Merle is then put down by Daryl, and in a particularly grisly fashion at that.
06:09Merle's death is a huge moment, but it's Norman Reedus who steals the scene here,
06:13giving the performance of his career.
06:24Number 23. The Governor. Too Far Gone.
06:36We all knew that the governor was going to die.
06:38We just didn't know how, and we never could have predicted this.
06:41The governor is tackled by Rick just as he's about to enter the prison,
06:45and the two engage in fisticuffs that eventually ends in the governor's victory.
06:48But just as he's in the process of murdering Rick, the governor is stabbed from behind by Michonne.
06:53We figured it would be Michonne who eventually took down the big bad,
06:56given their morbid history, but we didn't expect a sudden attack from behind.
07:00And his death is particularly bad.
07:02He writhes in agony before being put down by Lily,
07:05and his corpse is then unceremoniously devoured by the walkers.
07:08Don't look back, Carl. Just keep walking.
07:13Number 22. Sasha. The first day of the rest of your life.
07:17You know what's going to happen. How this is going to end.
07:22Just as she found a new lease on life,
07:24Sasha is imprisoned by Negan and asked to join his saviors.
07:28He hopes to use her in an attack on Alexandria, but Sasha has other plans.
07:32During the attack, Sasha asks to be placed inside a coffin and takes a pill that Eugene had previously
07:37given her. It's a devastating death, but the pain is lessened a bit by the sheer audacity of Sasha's
07:42plan. Negan later opens the door and a now zombified Sasha leaps out, the resulting chaos
07:48aiding the survivors. She also takes a meaty chunk out of Roy's face in the process.
07:52Zombie Sasha is then put down by Jesus and Maggie, bringing a profound and emotional end to a wonderful
07:58character.
08:18Number 21. Sofia. Pretty much dead already.
08:22Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you gotta fight for it. I'm talking about fight,
08:27right here, right now. While her prolonged disappearance caused a lot of frustration at the
08:32time, we think the dramatic payoff was well worth it. The first half of season two devotes a lot of
08:37time to finding Sofia as she vanishes in the middle of a zombie attack. Her whereabouts remain unknown for
08:43some time until Shane learns that Herschel is hoarding zombies in the barn. He opens the door and out
08:48spills Sofia, now a mindless walker. The reveal breaks Carol and serves as the show's most dramatic
08:54moment up to that time, as Rick is forced to take drastic action. The reveal was right there
08:59in the episode's title, pretty much dead already. We just didn't want to believe the obvious clue.
09:03Number 20. Theodore T-Dog Douglas. Killer Within.
09:15A relatively peaceful day at the group's prison was ruined when a bunch of walkers appeared without
09:24warning. T-Dog didn't hesitate to try to contain the outbreak by closing a fence to trap a group of
09:29them. Suddenly, one of the walkers T-Dog didn't see snuck up on him and got his shoulder.
09:40Since there wasn't a way for him to take care of the wound, we were already prepared to lose
09:43one of the group's moral centers. But the show shocked us again by having T-Dog sacrifice himself
09:49to save Carol's life. No one could have foreseen that a key member of the group would fall on a
09:53day that began so beautifully. Number 19. Morales. Monsters.
10:01So why are you here, Rick? I know you. Just like before.
10:08In season one, we knew Morales as a family man and trusted ally to our main heroes.
10:13That's why our jaws dropped when we saw him pull a gun on Rick seven seasons later. During an extremely
10:19tense conversation, we learned that Morales went down a dark path after losing his family. However,
10:24it seemed like Rick was willing to try to save his old friend Sol. I'd at least try to find another
10:29way. Yeah, why? Because we knew each other for a few days back at the start. His good intentions
10:33came to a crashing halt when Daryl arrived and took Morales down permanently. We definitely weren't
10:39expecting to see this ally turned enemy return at all. So seeing Morales die so quickly after his
10:44appearance was an unforeseen end to his story. Number 18. All but one member of the scavenger
10:54group, the lost and the plunderers. The scavengers that lived in a junkyard had a nasty habit of
10:59betraying people they were supposed to be working with. This garbage-based society got away with it
11:04until they crossed the saviors a second time. Initially, Negan wanted his lieutenant Simon
11:20to eliminate just one scavenger to send a message to the entire group. However, the mustachioed savior
11:30ends up losing his temper during the mission. We gasped as Simon ordered his people to fire on the
11:36entire group. When the smoke cleared, only scavenger leader Anne was left standing. It was beyond
11:41surprising to see this traitorous group get almost wiped out in the blink of an eye.
11:51Number 17. Andrea. Welcome to the tombs.
11:54After spending most of season 3 away from her friends, it looked like the tough and resourceful
12:03Andrea was finally going to rejoin Rick's crew. But the governor made her journey much harder by
12:08restraining her to a chair and leaving her in a room with a man about to turn. Once Andrea finally
12:13freed herself, it looked like she'd dispatched the new walker in her way and escape. We were stunned
12:18when her friends arrived and discovered she'd been bit. Since Andrea survived significantly longer
12:26in the comics, seeing her perish here was a huge twist. Her demise left us wondering how the story
12:32would move forward without such a major character. Number 16. Spencer Monroe. Heart still beating.
12:46Instead of trying to stop the vicious Negan with force, Spencer wanted to win over the villain with
12:50diplomacy. Oh crap. Is that for me? We haven't officially met. I'm Spencer Monroe. The two actually
13:00seemed to have a nice day together drinking and playing a game of pool. Once Spencer saw an opening,
13:04he tried to undermine Rick and request to be the new leader. Negan rejected this leadership offer
13:10by shockingly stabbing the wannabe politician on the spot. While we were still reeling from Spencer's
13:28sudden end, Rosita tried to remove the bat-wielding villain from the earth. In the wake of her failed
13:33assassination attempt, Negan ordered his follower, Arat, to take the innocent Olivia's life without warning.
13:38Barat. Kill somebody. No. It was me. No!
13:47Seeing two named characters die in one afternoon showed how truly unpredictable the big bad could be.
13:52Number 15. Siddick. Open your eyes. I heard what happened.
13:58Don't want to talk about it. Resident Doctor Siddick was never the same after he was captured by the
14:03heinous whisperer group. The memories of the night continued to haunt him, whether he was asleep or
14:08awake. Although it seemed like Siddick was safe from the villainous group in Alexandria,
14:12our hearts dropped when he realized his ally, Dante, was actually a whisperer spy.
14:23While the Doctor wasn't the group's most skilled fighter, we still thought he'd be able to beat his
14:27wolf in sheep's clothing. But Siddick couldn't overcome Dante or his demons. The Doctor's
14:32incredibly depressing end really rocked us because it was hidden in an already unexpected spy reveal.
14:38I'm sorry, but you just missed it. Can I help you with it?
14:46Number 14. Lori Grimes. Killer Within.
14:49No, baby's coming now. We have to get back to our silk walk and have her help.
14:53No, we can't risk getting caught out there. You're gonna need to give birth to this baby here.
14:57If The Walking Dead has taught viewers anything, it's that no character is safe. Lori Grimes brutally
15:02reminded us of this fact in one of the show's most pivotal episodes. While trying to stay away from
15:07walkers within the prison, the pregnant protagonist went into labor. Unfortunately,
15:11it becomes clear that the baby will need to be delivered via c-section that Lori can't recover
15:16from. We sat there stunned as we realized we were watching this character's final moments.
15:31The fact that Lori also dies in the source material should have prepared us for this demise. However,
15:36we in the cast still find ourselves caught off guard by the final decision she made for her daughter.
15:41Can I help?
15:46I'm sorry.
15:47Number 13. Paul Rovia. A.K.A. Jesus. Evolution.
15:51It's about 130, 140 of them. You ever see him do this before?
15:57No. Never. Although the cast of Walking Dead is huge, Jesus stood out because he was an athletic
16:05fighter who could get out of anything. And we knew he'd make it to the end of the series,
16:09because he's one of the few that survives the entire comic story. So we weren't even slightly
16:14worried when Jesus faced a bunch of walkers in a dark and smoky graveyard. After skillfully taking out
16:20multiple foes, we gasped when his last target dodged his blade and retaliated.
16:25You are where you do not belong. We couldn't believe this was the end for the fan favorite
16:32character. While this scene served as a memorable intro for a new enemy group,
16:35we still have trouble accepting that he fell way before his time.
16:38Number 12. Lizzie Samuels. The Grove. I know what I have to do now. I know.
16:52It's ugly. And it's scary. And it does change you.
16:56Once we learned of Sophia's fate in Season 2, it was clear that even young Walking Dead characters
17:01weren't safe. Yet, we still couldn't have predicted how Lizzie would go. The disturbed survivor left our
17:06jaws on the floor when she ensured that her sister, Mika, would become a walker.
17:11I'm sorry. I pointed my gun at you. I just needed you to wait.
17:16In the wake of this incredibly disturbing scene, Carol and Tyrese realize that Lizzie crossed a line
17:21of no return. The adults decide that there's only one way to move forward. Every fan remembers where
17:26they were when Carol told Lizzie to look at the flowers, Lizzie.
17:36Just look at the flowers. Thankfully, the show gave us plenty of time to sit and process this
17:42absurdly dark turn of events with the characters before moving on to more walker action.
17:46Number 11. Tyrese Williams. What happened and what's going on?
17:50Went the way it had to. The way it was always going to.
17:54Just one episode after the series said goodbye to a major character we will talk about later,
17:58Tyrese visited Noah's fallen community. The duo finds themselves looking around a seemingly lifeless
18:03home. So, neither we nor a very distracted Tyrese saw it coming when Noah's reanimated brother
18:09surprised the formidable survivor with a bite. The wounded warrior still appeared to have a chance.
18:14I'm not giving up. You hear me? I'm not giving up. Not only did Tyrese fight to stay alive,
18:21but we thought his friends acted quickly enough to stop the wound from being fatal. However,
18:26the cruel reality of the situation was that it was too late. Having Tyrese's death come an episode
18:31after another significant character died made for an unpredictable and tragic twist.
18:36It's okay, Tyrese. You gotta know that now.
18:39Number 10. Jesse, Sam and Ron Anderson. No way out. When the Anderson family's home was overrun with
18:46walkers, the trio found a way to successfully camouflage themselves in a horde with Rick,
18:51Carl and Michonne. But the young Sam Anderson gets too nervous and draws too much attention to himself.
19:02Moments after he's attacked by walkers, his horrified mother Jesse also meets her end.
19:07A disturbed Ron attempts to shoot a member of the Grimes family as retaliation,
19:11although Michonne takes the would-be assassin down. Carl gets a permanent facial injury due
19:15to a stray gunshot. What really made this deadly scene stand out is that multiple shocking twists
19:20happened over the span of around three minutes. Even if you knew their ends were coming,
19:25this sequence will still leave you breathless.
19:27I thought after living behind these walls for so long that...
19:31maybe they couldn't learn. Number 9. Dale Horvath. Judge. Jury. Executioner.
19:40This new world is ugly. It's...
19:44harsh. It's a survival of the fittest. And that's the world I don't want to live in.
19:50This turn hurt the viewers almost as much as it did Jeffrey DeMunn's Dale. His demise was set in
19:55motion after Carl foolishly motivated a walker to head towards the group farm. Later on, Dale
20:01investigates the demise of a cow in his safe zone. Suddenly, the walker Carl goaded earlier
20:07executes a terrifying jump scare. Dale tragically receives fatal injuries from the undead foe in the
20:12ensuing struggle. While his end was unexpected on its own, the fact that actor Jeffrey DeMunn asked to
20:19die after behind-the-scenes production shakeups made this scene surprising in real life too.
20:24At the end of the day, fans were left disoriented while trying to process how Carl's negligence
20:29and actual events led to Dale's end.
20:33Sorry, brother.
20:35Number 8. Denise Cloyd. Twice as far.
20:38I can ID the meds. I know how to use a machete now. I've seen roamers up close. I'm ready.
20:45You good with this? No.
20:46As soon as a secondary cast member gets too much screen time on the show,
20:50it often means their demise is imminent. However, we still had our guards down when Denise got a
20:55starring role in Twice as Far. We'd watched her grow from a doctor who doubted herself into a
21:00strong-willed survivor who spoke up for what she wanted. So, we were ecstatic to see her give a
21:05fantastic speech to Daryl and Rosita while they were out on a run.
21:08And I wanted you here because you're alone.
21:12Probably for the first time in your life.
21:13And because you're stronger than you think you are, which gives me hope that maybe I can be too.
21:19But Denise's speech was shockingly cut short when former savior Dwight assassinated her
21:24with one crossbow bolt. Unless you were in the writer's room or on set that day,
21:28it was impossible to see the sudden death of this developed character coming.
21:32I mean, I get that you'll just have to take my word for this, but...
21:37She wasn't even the one I was able for.
21:40Number 7. Noah. Spend.
21:42So you're in it for the long haul?
21:46Yeah.
21:47We absolutely loved watching Tyler James Williams play Noah. Although he had been through severe
21:51trauma, he was always likable and cared deeply about his friends. Noah was even willing to risk
21:57his life to get him and his friends out of a revolving door surrounded by walkers on all sides.
22:02Unfortunately, he was stuck inside of this cramped location with the cowardly Nicholas.
22:07When the fearful survivor failed to follow the plan, he created an opening that spelled Noah's doom.
22:15We could only scream at our TVs as one of our favorite characters was suddenly removed from the
22:20story in one of the show's most brutal deaths. Nicholas definitely deserved to be decked by Glenn for
22:25suddenly sealing Noah's fate.
22:30Number 6. Shane Walsh. Better Angels.
22:41Fans love to imagine an alternate reality where long-time friends Rick and Shane could have
22:45worked together like real partners through the series. Unfortunately, their vastly different
22:50views of what it took to survive made them an incompatible team. After almost two seasons of
22:55tension, their conflict came to a head when Shane decided to end Rick. We were preparing for the
22:59series to follow the source material and have a third party intervene.
23:15However, Rick actually managed to calm the situation down before attacking Shane with a knife. We were hugely
23:21surprised that Officer Friendly actually went through with this decisive act and took down one of
23:25his own. But we knew that Shane left Rick with no other choice but to take this extreme measure.
23:36Number 5. Beth Greene. Coda.
23:39This is it. This is who you are and what this place is until the end. This place saved you.
23:45While we've long accepted that The Walking Dead isn't concerned with whether or not it hurts our
23:49feelings, this twist felt unnecessarily cruel. We spent half a season following the group's search for
23:55Beth. When she's finally reunited with her friends, a sinister leader named Dawn Lerner announces that the
24:01lovable Noah can't leave with the group. Although he agrees to this arrangement, Beth can't let this
24:13slide. She moves in to attack the cruel leader. A moment later, a gunshot ends Beth's life. Daryl
24:19immediately retaliates by eliminating Dawn before we've even gotten a chance to take a breath. We
24:23never thought the chances for a reunion we waited half a season for would disappear with the flash of a gun.
24:29It's over. It was just about her.
24:34Number 4. Herschel Greene. Too far gone.
24:37Nobody's gonna hurt you.
24:42I don't believe that.
24:43No family on this show has had more tragic deaths than The Greens. Before we lost Beth,
24:47we painfully parted with Herschel. This character was wise, a moral compass, and a constant source
24:53of hope for his friends. Herschel even managed to defy the odds and survive both a walker bite and leg
24:58amputation. After all he'd been through, we had faith he'd survive being kidnapped by the despicable
25:04governor. When the villain threatened to end Herschel's life with a sword, Rick gave an
25:07inspiring plea for unity and forgiveness. We get to come back. I know we all
25:15can change. But the governor swung the katana anyway. Watching the compassionate Herschel fall
25:22in this horrible twist made us feel like the Greene family was doomed to suffer.
25:26Don't look back, Carl. Just keep walking.
25:30Number 3. The Whisperer ambush victims. The calm before.
25:34I've marked the border to the north. You'll see it as you leave.
25:37Alpha thought the best way to prove the Whisperers were not to be messed with was with a horrifying show of
25:43force. During a joyful fair, she and her followers targeted a random selection of innocents and ripped
25:48them from their loved ones. After Alpha and her people took the lives of their captives,
25:52they publicly showed their gruesome work to the other survivors. Our hearts skipped a beat
25:57after each new deceased face was revealed.
26:05In one fell swoop, we lost Tara, Enid, Henry, and several other great characters. Since the lineup
26:11differed from the ones who died in the comics, there was no way to prepare for what we'd see.
26:15The startling sight of these undeserving victims sent a powerful and unforgettable message.
26:21In the end, their time was cut short. Ours keeps going.
26:28Number 2. Abraham Ford and Glenn Rhee. The day will come when you won't be.
26:33I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order.
26:39Anyone who was familiar with the Walking Dead comics knew Glenn was meant to perish at the
26:43end of Negan's bat. So, when the imposing villain had multiple heroes at his mercy,
26:48we had a strong idea of where the weapon would fall. But the show threw a tragic curveball by
26:53revealing Abraham was Negan's first direct victim. Although his sudden death rattled us,
26:58we thought we'd been through the worst of it. And then, Daryl punched Negan. The angry villain
27:02decided to prove a point by picking Glenn as his second victim. This absolutely brutal turn of
27:15events managed to defy and confirm our expectations at once. Whether you are a hardcore fan or new
27:21viewer, this brutal bat sequence caught you by surprise.
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27:45There is no Walking Dead death that was more controversial and unexpected than the demise
28:02of Carl Grimes. Not only does he far outlive his father in the comics, but his survival seemed to
28:07be Rick's main motivation for all of his actions. But despite Carl's importance in both mediums,
28:12the writers revealed that he had been bitten in an absurdly shocking twist. The fact that he
28:17received this wound while completing a relatively standard survivor task also turned heads.
28:21You okay?
28:27Yeah. Although Carl's decline was handled well, a number of viewers refused to watch any more
28:31Walking Dead without him. While the show succeeded at creating the biggest shock of the series,
28:36this story came at a heavy cost in the real and fictional worlds.
28:40I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you.
28:43Which death shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below.
28:47I'm so sorry.
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