The Walking Dead: 30 most heroic moments of all-time

21. Hershel Saves Carl

Season 2, “Bloodletting”

When Rick ran up to door of the farmhouse, Hershel didn’t have to let them in. In fact, he probably shouldn’t have let them in. Later in the apocalypse timeline, after people started getting craftier and more desperate, he could have been risking the lives of all his family and losing his farm by letting strangers in. And since the farm was pretty isolated, they had been doing ok for themselves and Hershel was risking their idyllic existence.

Hershel could never say no to helping anyone though, especially an injured child. Hershel made a split second heroic choice to do all he could to save Carl and that changed Carl’s story forever. It gave Carl a future because without Hershel’s medical help he would have died.

Choosing to help strangers in need wouldn’t have seemed heroic to Hershel. It was part of his faith and part of his deep belief in the spirit of humanity to give freely his expertise, his food, shelter, or anything else that he had that could help people survive. But it was a heroic moment because it saved more than just Carl. It saved Rick, and Lori, and the entire group. By being able to regroup at the farm they were able to come to terms with the stark realities of life after the world changed.

If they hadn’t been able to take the time to adjust and prepare themselves and bond as a group, they never would have made it all the way from the farm to Alexandria together. Hershel made all that possible with the decision to try and save Carl’s life after Otis mistakenly shot him.