The most selfless characters ever to appear on The Walking Dead

T-Dog

While T-Dog did not get a ton of character development or complexity compared to some of the original survivors from season 1, what we did see showed that he was one of the more caring and selfless people in The Walking Dead.

The first moment of selflessness from T-Dog came in season 1 when he decided to free Merle despite all of the incredibly racist comments Merle made early on in Season 1. While he accidentally dropped the key and had no choice but to leave Merle, the fact that T-Dog was willing to give a second chance to somebody who had been so terrible to him shows that he had maintained his humanity even when the world was falling apart around him.

While his attempt to help Merle showed a glimpse of his humanity, T-Dog’s selflessness was most prevalent when he sacrificed himself to save a fan-favorite character: Carol. After being bitten in the shoulder when a herd invades the prison, T-Dog and Carol are trapped in a dark corridor with two walkers closing in. Knowing that he was already bit, T-Dog pins the two walkers against the wall while they tear him apart, allowing Carol to run past them and escape. T-Dog could have easily tried to save himself in the small hopes of surviving his bite, but he knew he had to do the right thing by sacrificing himself.

Without T-Dog, The Walking Dead would be a much different show going into season 10. He is a great example of the positive long-term impact that a selfless character can have on the show.