The five best deaths from AMC’s The Walking Dead

Hershel

Hershel’s death is one of the best, if not THE best, in all of The Walking Dead. Period.

I’ve talked a lot about the “impact” deaths have had on the show before, but, when you look at it, this one might have the biggest. Think “the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs” sort of impact.

Hershel’s was decapitated by The Governor in the season 4 midseason finale, “Too Far Gone”, and was an earth-shattering moment in the series.

Why? Well, when Dale died, Hershel took much of the “moral compass” role Dale had filled in the comics, and became something of a father-figure to Rick, helping both to gently guide Rick to a more peaceful existence, and at times, being the proverbial “Good, swift, kick in the ass” that Rick needed to get him back on track (Like when Rick first went to Crazytown after Lori died). I mean, if you need any further evidence of his importance to Rick, look no further than Hershel’s appearance in Rick’s hallucinations as he seemed to be at death’s door in his final episode, “What Comes After”.

And, losing that moral compass? That father-figure? It, quite literally, broke the group.

Those who had survived the Governor’s attack were now scattered, and their home lay in flaming ruins. Never before had Rick’s group found themselves in such dire straits, and the combination of losing Hershel, and the situation they found themselves in after that loss, deeply affected them, perhaps none more so than Rick.

For Rick, the loss of Hershel was the shattering of the entire world they had struggled so mightily to build, but, that wasn’t all it shattered. When the group were holed up in Father Gabriel’s church, Rick sat Carl down and warned him that he is not safe, no matter how many people are around or how clear the area seems, and to never let his guard down; This is because Rick believed that the prison was safe, and Hershel’s death shattered that illusion.

For the next season and a half, Rick became the unchallenged Mayor Of Crazytown, becoming increasingly suspicious, violent, and merciless, even gunning down an unarmed Atlanta police officer after hitting him with a car for failing to stop running when he told him to.

And, this version of Rick would keep resurfacing time and time again until his final season, with Rick even killing a group of unarmed Saviors, after promising not to do that very thing. Sure, Rick first went Crazytown before Hershel died, but, he became the mayor for several non-consecutive terms after.

Of course, it wasn’t just the impact Hershel’s death had on the characters of the show, but, also, to some degree, the viewers of the show.

Much like with Sophia before him, Hershel’s death was a crushing reminder of how cruel and bleak the world of The Walking Dead was. Here was Hershel, the surrogate grandfather of the group, the man who was constantly, even up to the moment of his death, trying to find and/or encourage a peaceable solution to a conflict, being brutally killed. It was a massive gut punch, and, established that, from that point forward, the days of seeing the group being carefree, having a large safe place, and everyone feeling relatively safe (Be it the characters or us the viewers) were gone. And, I think it goes without saying, it did what a character’s death in The Walking Dead should do: It made you both sad and angry.