If a TV series has killed off more major characters than The Walking Dead, well, I haven't seen it! By the end of the series, almost all of the character fans spent years watching navigate the apocalypse, but there was one key death very early in the series that set the tone for what was to come.
Of course, I'm referring to the death of Sophia Peletier, played by Madison Lintz, in season 2. Sophia's death changed everything for The Walking Dead and for fans of the series. Sophia's death proved that no character was safe in this show.
When do they find Sophia in The Walking Dead?
Sophia is the daughter of Carol (Melissa McBride), one of the all-time Walking Dead fan-favorite characters. Early in the series, Carol, Sophia and her parents linked up with the small group of survivors outside Atlanta.
In the season 2 premiere, "What Lies Ahead," Sophia gets separated from the group trying to escape walkers on the freeway. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) saves her life in the woods along the freeway, but shortly after, she disappears. She remains missing for most of the season until we find out exactly what happened to her.
Searching for Sophia, the group makes it to Hershel's farm, where they learn that a group of walkers is being kept in the barn. Then, in "Pretty Much Dead Already," the seventh episode of season 2, Shane (Jon Bernthal) releases the group of walkers from the barn. Sophia, who has turned, emerges, and Rick shoots her in the head in front of Carol and the rest of the group.
It was one of the most shocking and devastating deaths in the history of the show, but it was also the first real heartbreak we experienced as fans of The Walking Dead. We didn't know the show was going to do that, you know?
Obviously, The Walking Dead is not the first zombie show or movie ever made. We've seen families, friends, and foes ripped apart, both literally and figuritively, in these stories, but there was something about this death, how it played out, and what it meant for the series that were just different.
It reminds me of Ned Stark's death in the Game of Thrones season 1 finale. You think, during that sequence, Ned will eventually be spared before the sword falls and his head is cut clean off. Moments like that change the show. Going forward, you knew that the show was never going to be the same. Everything was different.
No, Sophia wasn't a Lord beheaded by child King, but her death proved that, if the show was willing to kill off children, that no character was ever going to be safe. Rick's family, Carl and Lori, were not safe either.
Sophia wasn't killed in The Walking Dead comics
On top of that, it also proved that The Walking Dead, the TV series, was willing to go in completely new directions from the comics. Sophia doesn't die that way in the comics. In fact, the character doesn't die at all. I don't want to get spoilery about what does happen. You can go read those comics if you really want to know, but there are a few Walking Dead characters who get wildly different fates in the TV show from the comics. Sophia is one of them.
Ultimately, Sophia's death wasn't the first change from the comic series for the TV show. There were other changes early in the series, but it was definitely one of the most impactful changes that we saw. And, it launched this series on a completely new trajectory.
I don't know what happens if Sophia doesn't die. Obviously, things would be very different, but her death definitely unlocks something in Carol that, again, completely changes the course of the show for many, many seasons.
To me, Sophia's death changes everything for the worse in The Walking Dead, and I don't think any of us, even almost 15 years later, have ever recovered from it. Thankfully, The Walking Dead featured several more shocking deaths throughout its run to traumatize us even more.