The Walking Dead: 5 Characters Who Died Too Soon (& 5 Who Should’ve Died Earlier) – Screen Rant

In the zombie apocalypse series, The Walking Dead, people tend to die. While fans were happy to see some characters go, they mourned others.

In any TV show with an ensemble cast as big as The Walking Deads, there are invariably going to be some characters that fans love and othersthat they hate. Since the rise of Peak TV, plenty of modern TV dramas have abruptly killed off major characters in the middle of their arcs, but few do it quite as often as AMCs zombie-infested post-apocalyptic horror series.

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Fans have been devastated to see some characters go, and glad to never have to see certain others again. So, here are five Walking Dead characters who died too soon, and five who shouldve been killed off earlier.

The Daryl Dixon character was specifically created for Norman Reedus when he was deemed to be too sympathetic to play Merle. Having Daryl around made Merle confront his own flaws and become a more likable character.

Unfortunately, as soon as he started to have a change of heart, he was killed off. Michael Rooker is an incredible actor, and it wouldve been fun to see him stick around for another couple of seasons.

Fans of The Walking Dead have hated Lori Grimes since her first appearance in the shows second episode. After the pilot followed Ricks quest to find his wife and son, the subsequent episode began with Lori sleeping with Ricks best friend Shane in the middle of the woods.

Lori died during childbirth when she went into labor in the prison, but this plot point couldve been bumped up and the shows most hated character couldve been killed off sooner.

After the first Beth-focused arc, in which she got separated from Daryl and holed up in a hospital with a sinister cop, she got herself killed in the dumbest way possible. She stabbed the cop in the shoulder with scissors, earning herself a bullet in the head.

Just when Beth was starting to develop into a distinctive character, she was shot dead. There was a ton of potential in her burgeoning dynamic with Daryl, but she was sadly brought down in her prime.

Gregorys gruesome death by hanging on Maggies orders almost made the fact that he stuck around for so long bearable. He was a total nightmare from the beginning. Although he was the leader of the Hilltop community, Gregory was severely lacking in the spine department.

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He flip-flopped his allegiances at the drop of a dime, siding with whomever was winning the war for rule over zombie-infested Georgia, then crawling back to the Hilltop when that inevitably blew up in his face.

In the first three seasons of The Walking Dead, T-Dog didnt get a chance to really grow into a character. Hes remembered more as a meme than a human being.

He was killed in a pretty triumphant way, heroically sacrificing himself when walkers invaded the prison, but it was too soon. And whats even more heinous is that, when T-Dog did die in a blaze of glory, his sacrifice was overshadowed by Loris death.

Although there was a small subset of teenage fans swooning over Chandler Riggs, Carl Grimes has always been a pretty universally despised character. As much as fans adored Rick, they hated everyone he loved.

Carl eventually got a subdued death scene that Riggs dad later outed as a firing as opposed to a mutual parting of ways. Carls storylines were always boring at best and actively irritating at worst, so he shouldve been killed off a lot earlier.

When Hershel was first introduced in season 2, he was kind of a jerk. But he grew into one of The Walking Deads most beloved characters as Scott Wilson played him as a sweet old man imparting wisdom on his fellow survivors.

Tragically, Hershel was struck down in season 4 when the Governor confiscated Michonnes katana. Decapitation was a nasty way to die and it was far too soon for Hershel to go.

During the destruction of the Greenes farm in the season 2 finale, there was a perfect opportunity to kill off Andrea and get her out of the way. Unfortunately, she was saved by Michonne and ended up sticking around for another season.

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Fans never took to Andrea, and her season 3 arc, which saw her striking up a romance with the Governor at Woodbury, didnt do her any favors.

Tyreese escaped from some truly hazardous situations over the years, like fighting off a live cannibal and a horde of the undead to protect Judith. Thats why it was such a shame when he was killed by a stray walker in a clichd mirror mix-up that can be seen in every zombie movie.

It was also a shame because Tyreese was a great character with untapped potential, and Chad L. Coleman was one of the shows most likable cast members.

As far as Walking Dead villains go, the Governor is pretty lame. Hes not sadistic enough to be sickly intriguing, like Negan, and hes not human enough for us to care, like Shane. The Governor made a great adversary in the shows third season, but after the fall of Woodbury, he just stuck around.

Season 4 had three whole episodes dedicated to explaining what the Governor was up to, and fans simply didnt care. He did eventually get a satisfying death, but it was way too late.

NEXT:Ranked: The Longest Surviving Characters On The Walking Dead

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Ben Sherlock is a writer, filmmaker, and comedian. In addition to writing for Screen Rant and CBR, covering a wide range of topics from Spider-Man to Scorsese, Ben directs independent films and takes to the stage with his standup material. He's currently in pre-production on his feature directorial debut (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema and BabbleTop.

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The Walking Dead: 5 Characters Who Died Too Soon (& 5 Who Should've Died Earlier) - Screen Rant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero