Over its 11-season run, The Walking Dead saw many characters come and go. Some left a lasting impact, while others barely had time to make their mark. But one great character almost didn’t make it past season 1. This character was quite controversial due to his morally ambiguous decisions and intense conflicts with other main characters. But overall, he was loved by many fans.
That beloved character is Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal). Shane was Rick Grimes’s best friend and police partner before the zombie outbreak. When Rick was shot and believed to be dead in season 1, Shane stepped up to protect Rick’s family amid the zombie apocalypse and assumed a leadership role within their survivor group. He even began an intimate relationship with Rick's wife, Lori, and became like a father figure to Carl, Rick’s son.
However, things went south after Rick came back alive and Shane’s authority and role were immediately challenged. It didn't help that he was having an affair with Lori, and Lori decided to break things off with him as soon as Rick returned. By The Walking Dead season 2, Shane starts acting like an antagonist. He becomes more aggressive, unpredictable, and obsessed with Lori, which makes him jealous of Rick.
Shane even starts making harsh decisions, like being willing to abandon or even kill people he thinks are weak or dangerous to the group’s survival, and he shows no moral concern for people outside the group. This all leads to a final showdown between him and Rick in the penultimate episode of the second season titled "Better Angels."
After taking Rick to the woods, Shane pulls a gun on Rick to kill him. Rick doesn’t fight back or draw his weapon, instead daring Shane to shoot him while he’s unarmed. He continues talking to Shane calmly, which allows him to get close enough to suddenly stab Shane in the chest, killing him. After coming back as a walker, Shane is then shot in the head by Carl.
But while all of this happens in the second season of The Walking Dead, Shane would have died even sooner if the show had followed the comics. In TWD comics, Shane dies in the sixth issue of Volume 1: Days Gone Bye when he and Rick get into a violent altercation, and Carl fatally shoots Shane in the neck to save his father.
This early death in the comics contrasts with the TV show’s extended storyline, which allowed for deeper exploration of Shane’s complex character and his fraught relationship with Rick. If the zombie series had followed the comics, then Shane would have most likely died in season 1 instead of season 2. However, we appreciate the extra time the show gave us with this iconic character.