The Walking Dead’s 10 Most Devastating Deaths

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.