The Walking Dead’s 10 Most Devastating Deaths

Over seven seasons, The Walking Dead has picked off its cast of characters with reckless abandon. If you form an attachment to someone on the show, you should know that the chances are they're going to meet a terrible end at some point. So frequently has the series pulled the rug from underneath audiences and written out fan favourite (and not so fan favourite) characters that it has become the thing that most defines the show. It’s a fantastic device that really keeps the viewers on their feet and never lets The Walking Dead sink into a rut. Some fans might argue the writers often throw in a death for the sake of it – losing a character who had more to give to the show in the process – but you can’t argue against its effectiveness. Plus, they're only being “realistic.” These guys are living in a zombie-ravaged post-apocalyptic wasteland. They aren’t going to be skipping around a field making daisy chains all day, right? Out of the many shocking, saddening deaths that have occurred in the show so far, we've whittled it down to the ten most devastating demises. If the one that got you going isn’t on this list, feel free to let us know in the comments section down below. 10) Lori Ok, let’s be honest here. Lori Grimes was not the most popular character on The Walking Dead. Her whiny nature brought everyone else on the show down and her disloyalty to Rick didn’t help endear her to the audience. Even so, her death was a big turning point for the show and a truly powerful moment. While it's hardly one of the more visceral means of death that have been utilized on the show, Lori dies giving birth to baby Judith – which is a sad enough fact on its own. Things get even darker, though, when her own son Carl is forced to shoot her in the head to keep her from coming back as a walker. Tough to watch in both a physical and emotional sense, Lori's death finally made us feel sympathy for the show's most hated character and irrevocably changed Rick and Carl forever. 9) Tyreese A major player in the comics, fans were excited to see Tyreese make a big impression in the TV show when he arrived in season 3. What we didn’t expect was for him to only last a couple of seasons before being shockingly killed off. When investigating Noah’s mother’s house and finding her dead, the usually highly capable Tyreese is caught off guard and bitten on the arm by Noah’s zombified brother. After he hallucinates old friends and enemies, as his mind comes to terms with his regrets and mistakes, he finally passes over. Lots of Walking Dead characters get picked off in swift scenes with no time for any sort of closure, but at least Tyreese got a whole episode centred on his death. With cameos from characters past and present, it was a disorientating yet moving experience which gave him a proper send-off. 8) Noah Speaking of Noah, he also was unable manage to avoid the reaper. Unlike Tyreese, though, Noah didn't get any closure. Instead, he has the unfortunate honour of having the most gruesome death ever on The Walking Dead. And that is really saying something. When the gang are attacked by walkers in a store, they only have a revolving door keeping them safe. In a bid to save his own life, Nicholas selflessly gets himself out – leaving Noah at the mercy of the walkers. Glenn - and us viewers - watch in horror as poor Noah is torn to pieces. And we mean that literally. For someone who was often the comedian of Rick’s group of survivors, it's a horrendously nasty and unexpected way to go - especially as it was all Nicholas' fault. Though, of course, he also got his comeuppance (and redemption) when he later died saving Glenn from the walkers. 7) Shane Rick’s best friend turned romantic rival turned mortal enemy, Shane, was basically the show’s first major antagonist. Over the first two seasons, it became clear that he was willing to go the extra brutal mile to protect the group in a way that Rick was initially not. It was this rivalry with Rick that led to his shocking death. Deciding that Rick is not fit to lead the group, Shane tries to kill Rick. But in a moment that actually proves his worth as leader, Rick beats him to punch and stabs him in the chest. Then, in a jaw-dropping twist, Carl has to shoot him when he shockingly starts to reanimate. Shane wasn't exactly the most blameless character to bite the bullet, then, but his tense and violent death scene was a dramatic way to go. Particularly as it also dropped the massive revelation that everyone is harbouring the virus and that they will come back as walkers no matter how they die. 6) Sophia The disappearance of Carol’s daughter Sophia was an important story arc in season 2, stretched over several episodes to the extent that we assumed she would turn out to be alive somewhere and the group would have to rescue her. That was not to be, however, as her fate was revealed in a hugely devastating moment. After Shane frees the walkers that are being kept in Herschel’s barn, the group are horrified to discover that Sophia is amongst them – having been killed by a walker while trying to sleep. As Daryl holds a shrieking Carol back, Rick walks up and shoots her in the head – finally putting her to rest. Sophia’s death is a hugely significant moment in the development of The Walking Dead as it is really the first moment of the show that demonstrated that no one was safe – not even children. From this moment on, literally everyone’s fate was up in the air. 5) Dale Dale was the original guiding light of Rick’s band of survivors, offering a fatherly presence and a figurehead to these bunch of lost souls. This is The Walking Dead we're talking about, though, so he naturally only lasted until season two before being brutally murdered. When patrolling the farm at night, Dale is attacked by a rogue walker and is left horribly disemboweled. As if that wasn’t enough, Dale holds onto life long enough for Rick, Daryl and the others to find him. When Rick can’t bring himself to put him out of his misery, Daryl takes the sorry duty on board. Apart from not deserving such a painful death, the other tragic dimension to Dale’s demise is that the walker that got him was one Carl failed to kill earlier than day. It's something that has a big effect on Carl, leading to a hardening of his nature and a promise that he will never be responsible for another friend’s death again. 4) Hershel After Dale, Hershel became the second dad of the gang – and met a similarly terrible fate. To prove a point to Rick that he's not going to negotiate, The Governor attacks the peace-loving Hershel with Michonne’s Katana – partially decapitating him. When a fight breaks out, the Governor catches up with him and finishes the job. Later on, Michonne finds Hershel’s re-animated head and finally ends him by stabbing it with her katana. Apart from being queasily graphic, Hershel’s death is particularly horrible as he was the moral centre of the group, always appealing to people’s better angels. He had such an important role in the show that we really didn’t expect him to get the chop (sorry, unfortunate choice of phrase there), yet the show defied our expectations once again. Just as like Rick says to The Governor before his death, Hershel believed "we all can change." Unfortunately, he was wrong – the Governor couldn't. 3) Lizzie Sophia’s death was the first death of a child regular on the show, but the events of Lizzie’s tragic demise were even more devastating. She was a weird kid who didn’t really earn our affections, but her death did create one of the most iconic and powerful lines that the show has produced. The mentally ill Lizzie’s obsession with proving that walkers were only human reached its nadir when she brutally killed her own sister Mika, showing no signs of remorse. Fearing that Judith might also fall prey to Lizzie’s insanity, Carol decides to execute Lizzie to stop her from harming anyone else. With tears in her eyes, she tells Lizzie to “look at the flowers” and kills her. The death of a child is always shocking, but the fact that Lizzie killed her own sister and was then killed herself by Carol makes this one of the most harrowing moments in the history of the series. 2) Abraham In one of the most talked about TV moments in recent history, the cliffhanger to The Walking Dead’s sixth season finale saw some unknown person being killed by Negan. With the whole summer to think it over, and with the occasional clue seeping out, many fans rightly guessed that it was poor Abraham who was on the receiving end of Lucille’s blows. That didn’t make it any less heartbreaking when it actually happened, though. It’s the entirely needless nature of his death that makes it so terrible, as Negan literally just decides his fate with a game of “eeny, meenie, miney, moe.” Abraham’s bravery in the face of certain death makes it all the tougher to swallow - such as his easily-missed peace sign to Sasha shortly before he dies. His loss is definitely a massive one to Rick’s team, and we're still exploring the repercussions of both this death and, of course, Negan’s other victim… 1) Glenn Is Glenn’s shocking fate in the recent seventh season premiere the most devastating Walking Dead death ever? It could be argued that this dubious accolade applies to any of those on this list, but Glenn's death is the one that's still at the forefront of our minds, so he gets the top spot for now. Much like Abraham’s demise, it hurts so much because the reason for it was so arbitrary. Even worse than Abraham’s, though, it could have been avoided. If Daryl hadn’t tried to go for Negan in retaliation for Abraham’s death, Negan would not have punished him by turning around and killing Glenn. It’s also a sickeningly brutal death, as Negan bludgeons him in the head with Lucille – until his eye is left gruesomely protruding from its socket. The final kick in the teeth for the character’s fans are his final words his gives to his wife Maggie: “I will find you.” We can't say for sure who the next character The Walking Dead kills off will be, but whoever they are, experience tells us that their deaths will leave us traumatized all over again.