Every Major Walking Dead Character Who Died (So Far) – Screen Rant

The Walking Dead has killed off more characters than just about any other show out there, and here's all the major deaths to happen so far.

The Walking Dead has killed off more characters than just about any other show out there, and here's all the major deaths to happen so far. Game of Thrones is one of the only contenders, but since that ended, Walking Dead will probably have many more years to cement its place at the top of the mountain, with AMC showing no desire to end its flagship drama. Some may want it to end, feeling The Walking Dead has outlived its usefulness, but cash cows are seldom put out to pasture early.

Over the ten seasons of The Walking Dead to air so far, dozens and dozens of characters have died, at the hands of zombies, by the doing of humans, and even by disease. The dead have included heroes and villains, main cast members and one-off bit players, all serving to fill the massive graveyard earned by the show. This makes sense, as a zombie apocalypse isn't exactly the safest of situations, with potential death lurking around every corner.

Related: Walking Dead: Every Character Who Could Be The Masked Stranger

Without any further build-up, here's the full rundown of all the major characters to have died so far on The Walking Dead, a list that will continue to expand with each new season to come. For the sake of clarity, we're only focusing on series regulars, so short-lived characters won't be included.

Shane Walsh, played by future The Punisher star Jon Bernthal, began The Walking Dead as Rick Grimes' best friend, but they ended up at each others' throats due to a mutual love for Rick's wife Lori and a mutual desire to lead the group. Shane attempts to kill Rick, but Rick gets the upper hand and stabs him to death late in season 2. Carl then shoots Shane after he turns into a zombie.

Lori Grimes, the aforementioned mutual love of both her husband Rick and post-apocalyptic boyfriend Shane, met a particularly bad fate early in season 3. Treacherous ex-con Andrew allowed zombies into the prison to try and kill Rick, and during the invasion, Lori began to go into labor with baby Judith. She ended up needing an emergency c-section from Maggie for the baby to survive, but the shock and blood loss killed her. Carl then shot his mom to prevent her reanimation.

Andrea's undoing ended up being her terrible decision to get romantically involved with Philip Blake, aka The Governor. Andrea met her maker in the final episode of season 3, after The Governor turned on her and left her to be eaten by the reanimated Milton. Andrea escaped her restraints, but still ended up getting bitten by Milton. She later shot herself in the head with friend Michonne by her side.

Related: Why Walking Dead Killed Andrea In Season 3 (& What The Original Plan Was)

One of the most likeable of the initial survivors, Dale dies through no real fault of his own, late in season 2. His death was indirectly caused by Carl, as a zombie the boy had been bothering earlier in the day managed to find its way to the farm. He isn't bitten, but gets disemboweled, which is objectively much worse. Daryl ends up shooting Dale to provide him a merciful death, as his injuries are critical.

Glenn might be the most likeable character on The Walking Dead to date, managing to hang onto his humanity a lot longer than most others. He also formed a sweet couple with Maggie, and the two eventually married, before preparing to have a child. That is until Negan showed up, and bashed Glenn's brains in with Lucille to kickoff season 7, in perhaps the show's most infamous death ever.

Carl started The Walking Dead as kind of the annoying kid that had to be watched all the time, lest he do something stupid or dangerous. As Carl got older though, he rapidly matured into a teen badass, and later a moral compass his dad could look too when he started to stray too far into cruelty. Even Negan liked and respected him. Sadly, Carl was bitten by a zombie while escorting Siddiq to Alexandria during season 8, then later shot himself in the head after saying goodbye to Rick and surrogate mother Michonne.

Hershel was at odds with members of Rick's group at first, due to his attachment to the walkers residing in his barn. Once everyone had fled the barn for the prison though, Hershel evolved into a father figure for the survivors at large, and also a close mentor for Rick as he attempted to lead the group to prosperity. That was until he was violently decapitated by The Governor halfway through season 4, right in front of his daughters Maggie and Beth.

Related: Walking Dead: Why The Governor Killed Hershel (Not Michonne) In Season 4

To call Merle Dixon a complicated man would be an understatement. In season 1, he's shown to be both a violent loose cannon and a virulent racist, and it's hard to feel sorry for him when Rick leaves him to die on a rooftop. By season 3, he's become the lead henchman for The Governor, but Merle is shown to have a conscience after all when he turns on his boss to save Michonne's life, only to violently die for it. Later, zombie Merle is found and put down by a tearful Daryl.

Speaking of The Governor, Philip Blake was The Walking Dead's first real main antagonist, a contemptible person the survivors could truly unite against. Well, except for Andrea, as mentioned above. In the same episode in which he killed Hershel, The Governor was stabbed to near-death by Michonne's sword, then later shot in the head by brief romantic interest Lilly Chambler to finish the job.

Beth Greene, Hershel's daughter and Maggie's sister, really became a fan-favorite as her time on the show went on. She even appeared to be making a possible romantic connection with Daryl, but everything fell apart during season 5, after she was kidnapped and taken to a hospital. While attempting to kill her captor, evil cop Dawn, Beth was shot in the head and killed. Daryl killed Dawn in return, but was immediately overcome by grief afterward.

While Tyreese was a popular character in both The Walking Dead comic book and TV series, many feel he wasn't used to his full potential onscreen, despite a game performance from actor Chad Coleman. He met his maker midway through season 5, after being bitten by two walkers, one of which was Noah's little brother. Michonne amputated his arm to try and prevent the infection from spreading, but he later died of blood loss.

Related: Why The Walking Dead Killed Tyreese In Season 5

Played by future Star Trek: Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green, Sasha had a longer tenure on The Walking Dead than her brother Tyreese, and became a favorite of many. She tried to assassinate Negan after his murder of her boyfriend Abraham, but was caught instead and offered a chance to join the Saviors. She instead took a suicide pill crafted by Eugene, and by the time she was transported to Alexandria inside a coffin as part of an ambush, she'd turned into a zombie, surprising Negan. She was later put down by close friend Maggie.

Bob wasn't much help when he first joined Rick's group in season 4, as he was struggling with alcoholism and depression related to being the sole survivor of his prior post-apocalyptic communities. His outlook improved after making it out of the prison alive, and even more during his romantic relationship with Sasha. Unfortunately, his life ended badly, first being bitten by a zombie, then captured by the cannibals from Terminus and having his leg eaten, then finally being put down prior to reanimation by Tyreese as a devastated Sasha looks on.

A tough guy with a heart of gold, Abraham Ford was another fan-favorite who met a horrifically awful demise, being the first onscreen victim of Negan's signature weapon Lucille, prior to Glenn's aforementioned murder. This emotionally destroyed both his current girlfriend Sasha and ex Rosita, and angered Daryl so much that he punched Negan, indirectly causing Glenn's death. Defiant to the end, Abraham taunted Negan up until he couldn't.

Tara started at odds with Rick's group, as her family aligned with The Governor after meeting him under a different identity. However, they eventually came to their senses, and Tara subsequently became a valued member of the community. That was until the penultimate episode of season 9, in which Alpha and the Whisperers kidnapped and murdered multiple survivors during The Fair, leaving their heads on pikes for the rest to find, Tara among them.

Related: Everyone Who Died During The Walking Dead's Fair

The leader of Terminus, Gareth promoted his community as a sanctuary, but it definitely wasn't, as the residents had been driven to cannibalism after a traumatic experience. For a time, Rick's group is held hostage in Terminus, but they escape. Gareth gets a measure of revenge by eating Bob's leg, but an attempted ambush at Father Gabriel's church goes awry, with Rick getting the upper hand, then hacking Gareth to death with a machete.

Jessie Anderson entered The Walking Dead picture after Rick's group reached Alexandria. Rick eventually killed her abusive husband Pete, and the two later embarked on a romantic relationship. Unfortunately, things ended in horrifying fashion, after a swarm of walkers invaded the town. Jessie's son Sam lost it, leading to his being eaten by the walkers, which caused Jessie to go into shock and be devoured by them next. This left Jessie's older son Ron alive to hold a grudge against Carl and Rick for his family's deaths.

Spencer was the treacherous son of Deanna Monroe, Alexandria's original creator and leader. Following her death, Spencer made it his mission to oust Rick from power, feeling he could do better. However, his attempt to persuade Negan to kill Rick and put Spencer in charge backfired, as Negan wasn't impressed by Spencer's cowardly and backhanded approach. Negan gutted Spencer, and Rick put him down after reanimation.

Thankfully, Deanna didn't live long enough to see her son get gutted, as she was bitten when the zombie horde invaded Alexandria. Months later, she's found wandering the woods as one of the undead, and Spencer ends her for good. Before her death, Deanna, passed leadership of Alexandria to Rick, accidentally causing the conflict that would get her son killed.

Related: The Walking Dead: Why Reaching Alexandria Hurt The Show

Jesus' death was one of the biggest on The Walking Dead since Glenn, as the compassionate character had quickly become a fan-favorite. That's why it came as such a shock when he was suddenly stabbed through the heart by a Whisperer midway through season 9. Aaron, who had become his friend and potential lover, was forced to destroy his brain to prevent reanimation.

One of the most unlikable scumbags on The Walking Dead to date, Gregory was Hilltop's original leader, and became jealous when Maggie and other members of Rick's group rapidly became more trusted by his people. Gregory loses a vote for leadership, then convinces a grieving Earl to try and kill Maggie. Earl fails, as does Gregory himself. For that betrayal, Maggie has Gregory publicly executed by hanging.

Despite appearing somewhat affably evil at times, Simon was definitely one of the most dangerous Saviors under Negan's command, but it's when he eventually tried to mount a coup against his boss that Simon met his own grisly fate. Simon's attempt was foiled by Dwight, who informed Negan of the plan. Negan and Simon then fought one-on-one for leadership, with Negan strangling Simon, then leaving him to rot as a walker on the Sanctuary fence.

Enid took a while to warm up to Rick's group, as she was traumatized by being the sole survivor of her family. She ended up forming a close bond with Carl, and becoming a valued member of the community. Although crushed by Carl's death, she takes up medicine after Rick defeats Negan, learning under Siddiq, and forming a new relationship with Alden, a reformed Savior. Sadly, Enid's head ended up on a pike alongside Tara thanks to Alpha.

Related: The Walking Dead Killed Off Carl For The Wrong Reasons

Another fan-favorite to die in the last few seasons, Siddiq became Alexandria's doctor after Carl found him alone and brought him back to town. Carl got bit in the process and ultimately died, but Siddiq did his best to make Carl's death not be in vain, and later conceived a child with Rosita. While working at the Hilltop, and struggling with being the lone survivor and witness to Alpha's massacre, Siddiq was betrayed by fellow doctor Dante, and killed by the Whisperer spy. Gabriel later killed Dante in retaliation.

Alpha's death proved to be one of the most satisfying in The Walking Dead's long history, following her murder of so many characters at The Fair. It took a while to happen, but Negan was able to gain Alpha's trust, then use it against her to orchestrate her demise by decapitation. Negan then presented Alpha's head to Carol, earning a measure of revenge for Carol's adopted son Henry's death. Oddly, Negan and Alpha seemed to form a genuine bond along the way, with the former arch villain feeling a bit bad after carrying out his mission.

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Michael Kennedy is an avid movie and TV fan that's been working for Screen Rant in various capacities since 2014. In that time, Michael has written over 2000 articles for the site, first working solely as a news writer, then later as a senior writer and associate news editor. Most recently, Michael helped launch Screen Rant's new horror section, and is now the lead staff writer when it comes to all things frightening. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. He also loves both Marvel and DC movies, and wishes every superhero fan could just get along. When not writing, Michael enjoys going to concerts, taking in live professional wrestling, and debating pop culture. A long-term member of the Screen Rant family, Michael looks forward to continuing on creating new content for the site for many more years to come.

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