When does Hershel die in The Walking Dead series?

Hershel Greene was the patriarch of the Greene family in The Walking Dead. This character was portrayed by the late Scott Wilson, who died in October 2018. Hershel and Wilson are both missed by the fandom as the character was much loved and the actor even more so.

In season two of The Walking Dead, Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) was accidentally shot by Otis (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a resident of the Greene Farm. He told Carl’s father Rick (Andrew Lincoln) that Hershel would be able to help. This would be the fandom’s introduction to Hershel in the series.

Hershel was a veterinarian by trade, but beggars can’t be choosers in a zombie apocalypse. Rick was willing to do whatever it would take to save his son. Hershel would provide much-needed medical care to Rick and his group from this point on.

Hershel Greene’s death on The Walking Dead

When the group decided to use the prison as their home, much work needed to be done to ensure everyone’s safety. One of these tasks was to clear the cell blocks of the undead. In season 3, episode 2, “Sick,” Hershel would be bitten on the leg, and in a shocking but brilliant act, Rick would chop off the wounded appendage, which stopped the spread of the virus and saved Hershel’s life.

Hershel would continue doing most of the things he had done before. When an aggressive virus overtakes the prison, he saves many lives with his knowledge of medicine.

The unexpected happens in the midseason finale of season four. The Governor (David Morrissey) convinces his new group to take over the prison. He paints Rick and his group as the bad guys and has Hershel and Michonne (Danai Gurira) as leverage.

Rick tries to talk sense into The Governor at the prison fence, but he looks at Rick calls him a liar before using Michonne’s katana to partially decapitate Hershel. His daughter, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Beth (Emily Kinney) watch in horror as their father is killed.

In the following episode, the midseason premiere of season four, “After,” Michonne comes up on Hershel’s reanimated head and puts him down. It was a sad sight to witness as viewers had not yet gotten over the fact that Hershel was dead.

Losing Hershel was tragic. He was a rational voice in this chaotic world everyone had been thrown into. Initially, he thought the undead could be saved from their “sickness.” Still, once he realized the truth, he became an extraordinary leader who often reasoned with others from making terrible mistakes, making him a valuable member of Rick’s group.

The fandom mourned the loss of Scott Wilson and honor his memory by celebrating Spaghetti Tuesdays on Wednesday. This was a celebration Hershel made up during the virus outbreak at the prison.

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