The Walking Dead: Number of deaths by season yields surprises

The Walking Dead is known for being a show where no one is safe, and character deaths are always around the corner. But is the show getting bloodier?

AMC’s flagship show The Walking Dead is one of the rare shows on television known for high stakes when it comes to its characters. Unlike traditional dramas and comedies, characters on The Walking Dead are almost certain to be goners at some point. Now that the show has departed from its comic book canon, no one is safe. But is the show getting bloodier?

Undead Walking’s Adam Carlson is the unofficial Keeper of the Dead when it comes to tracking the named deaths each season. If you want to take a rather macabre walk down memory lane, his guide to the named deaths by season will jog your memory.

In studying the numbers, though, an interesting trend emerges: The seasons that seem like they would have been the bloodiest are, in fact, not the bloodiest at all. Season 9, with those pike deaths, was not at the top, nor was season 7, the season that started with Negan killing Abraham and Glenn in the season premiere.

The named death counts by season are actually pretty surprising. Below you will find the seasons listed in order of death counts:

• Season 1: 5
  • Notable named deaths: Jenner, Amy, Ed Peletier
• Season 2: 10
  • Notable named deaths: Sophia, Dale, Shane
• Season 7: 13
  • Notable named deaths: Abraham, Glenn, Sasha
• Season 10: 15 (not including 1016)
  • Notable named deaths: Mary, Siddiq, Alpha
• Season 5: 18
  • Notable named deaths: Bob, Gareth, Noah, Beth
• Season 3: 26
  • Notable named deaths: T-Dog, Andrea, Merle
• Season 9: 35
  • Notable named deaths: Henry, Tara, Jesus
• Season 6: 36
  • Notable named deaths: Eastman, Nicholas, Deanna
• Season 8: 40
  • Notable named deaths: Carl, Gavin, Shiva, Morales
• Season 4: 43
  • Notable named deaths: Hershel, the Governor, Mika, Lizzie

The bloodiest season of all was back in season 4, a season where the show lost the likes of Hershel and the Governor in the Governor’s big bloody battle.

Thus far, season 10 is sitting in the No. 7 spot, with the most notable deaths being Siddiq and Alpha.

So…what does all of this mean?

If we were to extrapolate a trend from the data, it would be that it is impossible to predict whether or not a season will be particularly bloody. Season 8 was pretty bloody thanks to All Out War, of course, and the season 10 finale will likely present the conclusion of the epic Whisperer War, but that doesn’t mean there will be more named losses than some of the other seasons.

In fact, in order for season 10 to be the bloodiest season on record there would need to be another 28 named deaths to tie season 4.

Should we expect to see a lot of death in the season 10 finale? Absolutely.

Will it be one of the bloodiest seasons ever? Probably not.

It really makes you wonder what’s in store for The Walking Dead season 11….