It's hardly surprising that a TV show centered around the zombie apocalypse would stack the bodies high. The Walking Dead has never been afraid of killing off its characters, even if it means those same characters need to be killed off a second time thanks to an unnamed virus running riot in AMC's post-apocalyptic world.
Though major deaths don't usually occur right away in a typical television series, The Walking Dead wasted no time in dispatching the personas that fans had grown attached to. Few people have made it to the end of this undead adventure, but these survivors never even came close to doing so.
10 Amy Was The First Major Character To Leave The Land Of The Living
The Walking Dead's first major death was accompanied by a whole host of zombie chompings. Unnamed members of the Atlanta camp, along with Carol's abusive scumbag of a husband, Ed, fell to the undead, but it was Andrea's sister, Amy, dying that really tugged the heartstrings and let viewers know that seemingly main characters weren't safe from the flesh-eaters.
It was disturbing to see such a young survivor die so gruesomely, yet The Walking Dead was just getting started. The deaths would only get more gruesome, and tragically, some of the victims would be even younger than Amy in the years ahead.
9 Sophia's Death Broke Hearts & Stunned Audiences
Even after 11 and a half seasons of The Walking Dead, the reveal of an undead Sophia in Hershel's barn remains one of the show's greatest plot twists. After the young girl went missing whilst the group was held up on the highway, Rick, Daryl, and co. searched relentlessly for Sophia, and few could have predicted she had been just a few hundred feet away from them the entire time.
Carol's heartwrenching grief rendered this 3-foot walker one of The Walking Dead's most tragic zombies. Rick Grimes would put Sophia out of her undying misery, but her mother's troubles, just like the group's, were far from over.
8 Dale Was Most Certainly In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
Mr. Morals drew the ire of some of The Walking Dead's fans during his time as resident R.V. driver, though even with that in mind, Dale's death was still incredibly distressing to witness. The kind-natured old man was quite literally torn apart by the dead, and no matter how tiresome his lectures were to some viewers, Dale deserved better.
The little Dixon brother stepped up to save Dale from further horrific pain, and Daryl's uttering of the iconic line "Sorry, brother." stays etched in the minds of long-time fans, even those that were happy to see the old man go.
7 Shane Finally Got What Was Coming To Him
Few deaths in the zombie series could claim to be as major as that of Rick's best friend Shane. Jon Bernthal's sensational performance lifted what was one of the comic's most essential yet brief characters into one of the main reasons to tune into The Walking Dead each week.
After launching an elaborate plot to murder Rick that wasn't quite elaborate enough, Shane found himself on the wrong end of his buddy's blade. Shane would be left to turn, and it would be the younger Grimes man that would put him down a second time.
6 T-Dog Made One Hell Of A Heroic Sacrifice
He may have been an undervalued member of the group, at least in his own eyes, but any fan who disagrees may need reminding that with his heroic passing, Theodore Douglas ensured the survival of who many argue to be The Walking Dead's greatest character: Carol Peletier.
T-Dog may have already been bitten, but nobody deserves to be devoured alive by zombies. A sad demise for sure, and one that established this survivor as one the show's most heroic.
5 Lori's Tragic Passing Was A Major Turning Point For The Walking Dead's Heroes
Unpredictable especially for any fans of Robert Kirkman's comics, Lori's death stripped The Walking Dead of one of its central figures. While Mrs. Grimes didn't last much longer on paper, dying in childbirth only to come back to then be shot by her son was unbelievably brutal even for a show about the end of the world.
Once again, young Carl was left to do the honors when it came to putting the dead back in their graves. Though from all this tragedy came baby Judith, and she herself would become a key player in later years, sporting that King County sheriff's hat with great pride.
4 Merle Redeemed Himself With A Single Act
The character ending that saw a rough racist redneck transform himself into an unsung hero. Merle was hateable at the best of times, but this last stand would see him remembered as a man willing to do anything to save his little brother, and when that little brother is Daryl Dixon, an act such as this is likely to win a few brownie points from The Walking Dead faithful.
Merle attempted to take on The Governor but the one-armed ruffian failed and ended up on the wrong side of the living. Daryl then discovered his big brother brought back from the dead, and that scene made for one of the show's most upsetting scenes.
3 Andrea Left The Walking Dead To The Joy Of Many Fans
By the time of her exit, fans had grown tired of Andrea Harrison's antics, thus leaving her death as a far more welcome one than many would have predicted at the beginning of The Walking Dead.
She had eventually seen the error of her ways and tried to take the fight to her former lover, Philip Blake, but The Governor proved hard to kill once again. He left Andrea as walker-bait, and though she would avoid an agonizing death being eaten alive, she did end up taking her own life as a result of one zombie bite.
2 No One Deserves To Die So Horrifically, Especially Not Hershel Greene
Hershel Greene's tragic death still stands as one of The Walking Dead's most heartbreaking. The old veterinarian had cemented himself as a selfless hero with his unfaltering bedside manner during the prison's flu outbreak, so when Philip Blake swung Michonne's sword at Hershel's neck, most viewers let out a dreadful gasp.
For walker fans, watching one of their favorite characters meet such a brutal, undeserved end made for difficult viewing. This one was a demise every viewer wished they could take back, but sadly The Governor had swiped away any chance of Hershel growing ever older with his loving family protecting him.
1 After Causing So Much Pain, The Governor Finally Fell In Battle
After 10 and a half seasons of the post-apocalyptic series, there are few deaths quite as satisfying as that of David Morrisey's tyrannical Governor. After killing Hershel and once again laying siege to the prison, things didn't exactly go to plan for Woodbury's leader and he quickly found himself on the losing side of one of The Walking Dead's most thrilling battles.
A stab through the back from Michonne certainly had the grim reaper on his way to collect Philip Blake, but it would be a bullet from his former lover, Lilly, that would spell his final ending.
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