As a fan of The Walking Dead, I am so happy some characters made it to the very end. Daryl (Norman Reedus) is off in his own spinoff, and so are Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). They've kept this world alive and given us the stories we’ve wanted for ages.
But with eleven seasons and so many amazing episodes, there were also times when characters faced an untimely end. I’m talking about the characters who really deserved better than what they were given. Here are five that I must talk about.
Beth
Beth (Emily Kinney) was a character whose death shook the fans of The Walking Dead. If you can’t recall, she died in the season 5 mid-season finale, “Coda,” when she was reflexively shot in the head by Dawn (Christine Woods). Her demise was soul-crushing and often made people, especially me, question if I even wanted to keep watching the series.
There have been some graphic deaths on this show, but none have ever really shaken me the way hers did. And truthfully, a big reason is that I always believed she deserved so much more.
We were really starting to get to know Beth in season 5. Up until then, she had really been Maggie’s little sister, the one who sang and was also there to take care of newborn Judith. But when her personality finally started to show, and she was forced to grow up due to dire circumstances, fans really began to like her. A lot was going for her. And then she was just taken, like that.
I still think her death ruined the show in some way, because it felt like anyone could be taken at any point, despite the story clearly moving toward her having a bigger role.
Tyreese
I will never, ever, ever forgive The Walking Dead for killing Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) in season 5, literally the episode right after Beth. In “What Happened and What’s Going On,” Tyreese was bitten by a walker and had his arm cut off, but he eventually died of the blood loss.
Fair death, honestly. I’m shocked that didn’t happen more in the show. But I think it was just the way he was killed off. Tyreese had played a pretty important role in the show by that point and was a steady presence for his sister, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green). And he genuinely had barely a bad bone in his body.
Sure, he did kill things, but it was to protect his family and his loved ones. He was genuinely a kind man. He could have done great things at Alexandria. I know it. And then they took him just like that.
Carl
I don’t even need to get into why Carl (Chandler Riggs) deserved better. He just did.
Sure, I wasn’t a huge fan of Carl at first, but that’s just personal taste. I’ve never been a child-actor lover, and it's rare that I really love them. But once Riggs grew into the role and Carl started to grow up, I ended up really loving him.
So when Carl’s death happened in the season 8 midseason premiere, “Honor,” I was so upset. The entire story of The Walking Dead is supposed to be his story: watching his dad become a leader and a fighter and learning powerful lessons.
But then he was killed off, and we didn’t get to see any of that. I can only imagine how amazing the show would have been if, when Rick (Andrew Lincoln) was “killed off” and Carl was left alone, he could have really grown into himself. But no, we didn’t get that.
T-Dog
Played by IronE Singleton, T-Dog is a character we often forget is dead because it happened so quickly. He had been part of the show since season 1, and then walkers took him out in season 3 when they tried to take over the prison, in episode 4, "Killer Within." Just like that.
And honestly, that doesn’t do it for me. Any character that had been around since season 1 really deserved FAR more than what they got in season 3 of the show. He at least deserved to go out fighting, not from a simple walker bite. I would have loved to see how he would have reacted to something like the Governor (David Morrissey) or even Negan later on. Those Walking Dead villains changed the game for these survivors.
I’m not saying I wish he survived all the way until the end, but something more intense than a walker bite after two full seasons of caring about him would have been better.
Andrea
Oh, Andrea (Laurie Holden). She was done dirty. Andrea was such a great character in the comics, but the show treated her terribly. Her story was completely redone, her connection with Rick was shot, and everything she did was so different from what fans expected.
Honestly, I’m almost happy the character was put out of her misery in the season 3 finale, “Welcome to the Tombs,” because she never would have become the character that we knew in the comics. But that being said, she deserved better than what she got, and I will always hold a grudge over that. I’ll live through her sniping and personality via the comics.
You can watch all 11 seasons of The Walking Dead on Netflix.
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