There are so many great episodes of The Walking Dead. With 11 seasons to choose from, it's quite difficult to choose which episodes are actually the best, especially since each season tends to have so many different kinds of storylines all intertwining.
For this list, I looked back at all 177 episodes of The Walking Dead, and I picked the best episode from each season. This is directly coming from a fan who has been there since the very beginning of the hit AMC series.
Let's get started with the best episode of season 1!
Season 1 — “Days Gone By”
The first episode of the first season, “Days Gone By,” is arguably the best. I’ve seen some people argue for “TS-19,” which is a great episode — the finales of this show are always killer. But there's something so raw about the premiere.
What really makes it great is that it’s not too flashy, and it doesn’t have a lot of big battle sequences. It’s mainly just a guy, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), trying to understand what the heck happened while he was in a coma and learning the ropes while riding through deserted streets. It’s eerie in the best way and a great example of how to begin a zombie series.
Season 2 — “Pretty Much Dead Already”
The mid-season finale of season 2, “Pretty Much Dead Already,” is hands-down the best episode. I mean, no one will ever forget the life-altering death of Sophia (Madison Lintz). We spent the first seven episodes of this season just looking for her, hoping she was alive, all for it to come crashing down when her little body stumbled out of that barn.
That episode taught viewers two lessons — one, you really can’t trust anyone, as Hershel (Scott Wilson) kept those walkers in the barn with his family, even if he didn’t directly know she was in there and it was someone else who locked her up. And two, your loved ones could be taken from you without a second thought.
Season 3 — “Clear”
Morgan Jones (Lennie James) is one of those Walking Dead characters with very minimal screen time compared to everyone else. But when he’s on screen, oh boy, he’s amazing.
“Clear” is the 12th episode of season 3, where Rick, Carl (Chandler Riggs), and Michonne (Danai Gurira) go on a run into Rick’s old hometown for supplies, only for him to run into Morgan, the same man who helped him in the pilot. And he’s changed a lot, as he has lost his son. It’s brilliant acting from James and one of the best episodes by far in the series.
Season 4 — “Too Far Gone”
While I don’t think the Governor (David Morrissey) is the best villain in The Walking Dead, “Too Far Gone” was a great way to establish him as a serious threat, as he somehow got a new group together in record time to take out the prison, even though he died in the same episode. And then, of course, there’s the heartbreaking death of Hershel Greene.
I mean, how can you get much better than a complete and utter chaotic war that ends with the entire group getting separated? It’s truly one of the best.
Season 5 — “No Sanctuary"
The premiere episode of season 5 is one of my favorites. “No Sanctuary” is right after the group gets captured at Terminus, and it really shows how Rick’s group is not afraid to get down and dirty to escape and quite literally kill anyone they must.
But the bigger character I love in this is Carol (Melissa McBride). While season 4 changed her, she took those changes to the bank in season 5 and practically blew up Terminus to rescue the group. From that day onward, I was a huge Carol-stan.
Season 6 — “Last Day On Earth”
Do I even have to say why this episode is a killer? (Yikes, now that’s a pun.)
Overall, season 6 was a filler season to me. Yes, we got a huge herd of walkers to take out and had some drama, and Rick and Michonne got busy, but other than that, I’ve forgotten a decent amount.
The finale, “Last Day on Earth,” is the best episode by far, if not just for Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) introduction — utterly fantastic delivery and absolutely terrifying.
Season 7 — “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be”
I can’t get into the amount of pain that rockets through me every time I watch “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be.” I can’t even talk about it that much without getting emotional. But the acting from everyone here — especially Lincoln — deserved awards.
And of course, we bid goodbye to our lovely Glenn (Steven Yeun) in the season 7 premiere, and that was quite controversial. That's for another time. Fly high, my friend, Glenn. I will never quite forgive the show for what they did.
Season 8 — “Honor”
Frankly, season 8 is also another season that feels lost in space because of the amount of drama that happened, but “Honor” is hands down the best episode. Why? Because Carl dies.
I absolutely hate this death and think it ruined the story. But with that in mind, it is arguably the best episode of the season, as the story flows and the acting is great. I still don’t agree with Carl’s demise, but what can I do?
Season 9 — “The Calm Before”
For once, we don’t have the finale of a season, but the penultimate episode. Season 9 episode 15, “The Calm Before,” is the best. I know some might call Rick’s final episode the best, “What Comes After,” but to me, this one stands out more.
It’s the first time the group really understands how much of a threat Alpha (Samantha Morton) and her crew of Whisperers are and how they really don’t mess around with their territory. This leads to them beheading several beloved members of the group — including Tara (Alanna Masterson), who had been around since season 4, and Carol’s kind-of adopted son, Henry (Matt Lintz).
Season 10 — “Walk With Us”
“Walk With Us” is a great example of The Walking Dead getting its stride back a little, because the twists and turns in this episode were crazy. First, we have Alpha’s death, where Negan kisses her (the second time, ew) and then slits her throat not long after.
But then, he brings her reanimated head to Carol — revealing that she planned everything, letting Negan interact with Alpha to get on the inside and take down the Whisperers’ leader. My god, Carol, I didn’t know you had it in you! (That's a lie; we all did).
Season 11 — “On The Inside”
You might be surprised by what I picked, but “On The Inside,” the sixth episode of season 11, is the best of this season — not the finale nor the premiere, but this insane episode.
Connie (Lauren Ridloff) and Virgil (Kevin Carroll), two survivors we’ve gotten to know, take shelter in a home while they’re running from walkers but discover that feral people actually inhabit it. Like, legit, feral people who will kill them. It’s intense and scary and such a shift from a normal Walking Dead episode that I love so much.
You can watch all of The Walking Dead on Netflix to enjoy every single one of these episodes.
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