Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead served fans with disturbing and shocking death scenes galore. And the latter emotion was definitely felt across the apocalyptic world’s community when Beth Greene was suddenly wiped from the storyline.
Beth, played by Emily Kinney, joined AMC’s television show during season 2 in 2011 as the 16-year-old daughter of Herschel Greene (Scott Wilson), the owner of the farm where most of the season took place. After the farm fell, Beth stuck with her father and half-sister Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and joined the main cast of survivors on the road. They eventually found refuge in a prison, where Beth lived until its ruin in season 4.
She escaped the walker-infested prison grounds alongside Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus). Daryl is the most famous example of a character in The Walking Dead universe who doesn’t exist in the comics. However, many may not know that Beth is also a show-only survivor. In fact, Daryl and Beth bonding in the outside world and later, the scene of her final arc — Grady Memorial Hospital — weren’t a part of Kirkman’s comics at all.
Daryl and Beth were split up from the other members of their group, and traveled together until Beth was kidnapped by police officers near the end of season 4. Beth’s storyline in season 5 began with her waking up in Grady Memorial Hospital, the location where the police and other residents were living. Its leader, Dawn Lerner (Christine Woods), forced Beth to stay at the hospital and help Dr. Steven Edwards (Erik Jensen) care for his patients. Long story short, Beth was ultimately killed off during “Coda” — season 5, episode 8 — which aired in late 2014 and acted as the mid-season finale.
Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl, and the rest of the crew eventually located Beth, and they attempted to exchange hostages with Dawn.
It worked. However, Beth campaigned for Noah’s (Tyler James Williams) freedom, leading to Beth stabbing Dawn with scissors. Dawn instantly reacted to the attack by shooting Beth in the head and killing her. Daryl then avenged Beth by shooting and ending Dawn. A truce was called between the two parties, and Daryl carried a lifeless Beth out of the hospital.
Beth’s death left Maggie as the cast’s only surviving Greene. We see Beth a few more times in flashbacks and hallucinations throughout The Walking Dead’s 11-season run.
Considering Beth’s character wasn’t in the comics, her quick and untimely demise was a jaw-dropping moment in a series with many of them.
