Ranking every season of The Walking Dead from worst to best

Season 9

Thanks to Angela Kang taking over as showrunner, The Walking Dead‘s ninth season was a true return to form.

While Rick Grimes’ departure could’ve meant disaster for the show, season 9’s shift to focus more on the ensemble cast worked to great effect. The time jump that occurred in the first episode post-Rick breathed new life into many of the characters who had become stale, and the aging through those six years allowed younger characters, like Judith and Henry, to take bigger roles in the narrative.

This season also introduced some really intriguing new characters who quickly became fan favorites, like Alpha, Beta, Connie, Kelly, and Yumiko, just to name a few. With so many of the show’s original characters dead or missing, there was a need for new characters to shake things up, and boy did season 9 deliver.

Season 9 also contained one of the biggest shocks in the history of the show so far: the pike massacre. This scene resulted in the death of ten different characters, both major and minor, in one of the most heartbreaking moments in the show’s history. While some of those deaths maybe should have gone another way, the moment and aftermath showed that Alpha and the Whisperers were a force to be reckoned with.

Overall, season 9 was a dynamic season full of twists, action, refreshing character arcs, and a return to the show’s early seasons’ horror vibe. This was the season that got me – and many other fans – passionate about the show again, and for that, season 9 ranks right near the top of the list of best Walking Dead seasons.