The Walking Dead: 5 Characters Who Got Better As The Show Went On (& 5 Who Got Worse) – Screen Rant

Some of the character arcs on The Walking Dead have been truly dramatic, with people who have done complete 360s from who they originally were pre-apocalypse. Others, meanwhile, stayed pretty consistent.

Glenn, for example, was sadly killed when he was at his best, a fierce warrior, a moral center for the group, and a loving husband and soon-to-be father. But lets face it: he was pretty awesome from the moment we saw him with the baseball cap in the first season-savingRick. Likewise, while Eugene has come into his own, he was always great in his own unique way from the get-go.

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So which characters have changed the most, getting better as the series progressed? And which ones got worse? Heres a look at 5 of each.

Daryl started out with a massive chip on his shoulder, a redneck rough-around-the-edges guy from the wrong side of the tracks who dealt with an older brother who always put him down. But then he started to find a purpose among the group thanks to his amazing tracking skills. And then, well, he held baby Judith, called her lil a**kicker, and it was all changed.

He picked up a bow and arrow, started to develop a close and touching friendship with Carol, even going on the hunt to look for her daughter Sophia, and has now emerged as one of the groups fiercest and most trustworthy leaders.But he still maintains that edge.

Morgan has moved over to the spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead, where his fate remains unknown until next season. But his journey on The Walking Dead went completely downhill. He started as the brave man who rescued Rick Grimes after he woke up from the hospital, surviving for the sake of his son.

He emerged years later having completely lost his mind after losing his son, attacking anything and everything he saw, then again with a new sense of morality where he refused to kill at all. He was all over the place but finally seems to have found some footing with his new crew.

When we first met Gabriel,he was frightened and holed up in his church. We later learned that the priest locked his congregation out of the safety of the church following the onset of the apocalypse and had been living with the guilt ever since.

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Unable to fight at all, he did a 180 and is now one of the best fighters and a fantastic leader to the group who, while still living by his faith, has more confidence and is willing to bend the rules in this new world.

Ezekiel has both literally and figuratively gotten worse. He lost his mojo, so to speak, after losing his tiger Shiva and watching many of his people from the Kingdom die. He felt he didnt deserve to be a leader and was no longer interested in putting on his brave king act.

But in the latest season, its also revealed that he has likely gotten cancer, which means he has also physically gotten worse. Even despite that, Ezekiel is no longer the powerful leader he once was. And what was with that kiss with Michonne anyway? Bad move.

Arguably the character who has evolved the most in a positive way, Carol entered the apocalypse as a timid, battered housewife who was being both mentally and physically abused by her husband. Thanks to those in her group and following the death of her husband, she started to come out of her shell.

She made some questionable decisions and always found herself in positions where she had to make difficult ones. But she has proven to be resourceful, clever, and an unassuming chameleon who can easily survive on her own or with a big group.

Andrea only appeared in the first three seasonsbut her journey demonstrated a pretty quick descent. She started out as a feisty woman who wasnt afraid to speak her mind. But then she got herself caught up with the governor and seemingly turned against her own people.

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This decision was the end of her as the Governor locked her in a room to fight off walkers. She managed to take them out, but not before getting bit. She redeemed herself in the end before committing suicide. But there was so much more the character could have done had she taken a different path.

This one is debatable as we still dont really know what Negan is really thinking. But it seems as though being locked in an underground cell for years has somewhat changed, or broken him. While hes still the manipulative, insulting, foul-mouthed man he always was, stripping him of his freedom, dignity, and Lucille has softened him a bit.

Now, hes striking up friends with Judith, going to bat for kids like Lydia, and potentially infiltrating the Saviors to show his loyalty. Heres hoping this is Negan 2.0.

Magna didnt exactly start out as the most approachable person. We know she was in prison prior to the apocalypse and that Yumiko was her lawyer. But she slowly began to accept the new group and found her place there.

In the last season, however, we learn that Magna may still feel like she doesnt fit in and is looked down upon. She admitted to stealing supplies from their home. But the biggest revelation: admitting that she was guilty of the murder for which she was charged all along, much to Yumikos surprise, who always thought she was innocent.

Judith could have simply been another child in the apocalypse, but she became so much more. With Rick Grimes as a dad and Michonne as a mom, its no surprise that she has become a precocious, intelligent little girl with a serious talent for fighting walkers and negotiating with people three times her age.

She started off as a baby but has become one of the most compelling and fascinating characters on the show. Being born in the apocalypse, she doesnt know any other way of life.

How could this villainous man have possibly gotten any worse? Oh, he did! The Governor certainly showed his cunning, cruel, and callous ways early on. But as the series progressed throughout the time of his arc, he became worse and worse. He brutally killed people for no reason, demonstrated sociopathic behavior, and, of course, theres that scene with Hershel.

He became more and more unhinged, especially after Michonne killed his walker daughter who he was keeping caged up thinking she was still there. Eventually, he completely lost his mind and flew into a psychotic rage to get what he wanted.

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A professional writer and editor with 18+ years of experience, Christine, now a freelance writer/editor, is a self-professed TV fanatic with tastes that vary considerably from comedies to dramas, sci-fi, and more. She can usually be found binging a new show at night, coupled with a glass of red wine. With a long history writing in the field of consumer tech, she now also writes on topics from entertainment to parenting, lifestyle, marketing, and business. She resides in Toronto, Ontario in Canada with her husband and young son.

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The Walking Dead: 5 Characters Who Got Better As The Show Went On (& 5 Who Got Worse) - Screen Rant