You’ve got to hand it to the writers of zombie drama The Walking Dead. Viewers have stuck around for eight seasons despite the fact that favourite characters (RIP Glenn) die in horrific, gruesome ways ALL THE TIME. You’d think we’d have boycotted the series long ago but apparently we all like putting themselves through the grief and pain anyway. Here, we round up the 10 most shocking moments of the show (so far).
Sophia is found – season 2
Carol’s (Melissa McBride) daughter Sophia had gone missing and search parties were sent out to find her. As viewers, we had little hope that she’d survived, but Carol was always hopeful. That all changed when Shane (Jon Bernthal) forced open Hershel’s barn and found a horde of walkers – one of which was Sophia. Seeing Carol try and run toward her little girl was damn heartbreaking.
Rick kills his best friend – season 2
There was tension building between former best friends Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Shane, and we knew it would come to a shocking end. Believing that he was the right (and only) person to look after Rick’s wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (Chandler Riggs), Shane leads Rick to the forest and turns his gun on him. But while Shane momentarily looks down, Rick stabs him in the heart, saying: “Damn you for making me do this.”
Carl shoots his mum – season 3
Although Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) was starting to get on our nerves, we weren’t expecting her to die the way she did. While giving birth to her daughter Judith in the middle of a zombie prison riot, Lori bled out during an amateur C-section and couldn’t be saved. The truly shocking moment was when Carl had to shoot his mum in the head to stop her from becoming a walker.
Hershel loses his head – season 3
Sweet, sweet Hershel (Scott Wilson) was captured by villain The Governor (David Morrissey), and held in front of Rick’s group with Michonne’s sword at his neck. After Rick delivered a moving speech, we thought he might be safe. But this is The Walking Dead after all and The Governor chopped off his head while his family looked on.
Lizzie loses it – season 4
When Carol and Tyreese (Chad Coleman) return to the house, they discover that young Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino) has murdered her little sister Mika (Kyla Kenedy) to show them how lovely it is to be a walker. Realising how disturbed she is, Carol leads her into the woods and kills her.
Beth is shot – season 5
Stuck in a hospital run by Dawn (Christine Woods), we assumed young Beth (Emily Kinney) would live to see better days after her character’s build-up in previous episodes. So we couldn’t believe it when she was shot in the head by Dawn, after Beth stabbed her with a pair of scissors.
BBQ Bob – season 5
Terminus initially seemed like a sanctuary for Rick’s group of survivors but they soon learnt the people there were chowing down on other humans. When the group escapes, Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr) is captured. In a chilling scene, we see him without a leg – but it was spit-roasting on the fire just behind him. Ick.
Tyreese is bitten – season 5
Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman), Sasha’s brother, joined Rick’s group of survivors in season 3, and he always showed loyalty to those he cared about. So when he tried to help Noah (Tyler James Williams) but was bitten by a walker (who was actually one of Noah’s younger brothers), we just wanted to rewind time. Even more painful, Tyreese had hallucinations involving many of the show’s dead characters. SOB.
Glenn meets Lucille – season 7
The phrase ‘Eenie, meenie, miny, moe’ is officially ruined forever. Ever since Glenn (Steven Yeun) saved Rick from the tank in season 1, he’s been our favourite pizza delivery boy. When Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) captured Rick and his friends, we knew his bat Lucille would give someone a battering. Comic fans knew it had to be Glenn, but we all breathed a sigh of relief when Abraham got hit first. But Glenn couldn’t escape death after all and he was up next. Honestly, we don’t know if it was sadder seeing him die or watching Maggie’s reaction.
Sasha sacrifices herself – season 7
After the death of Abraham, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) lost her way a little. So rather than allowing Negan to use her as a bargaining chip against Rick, she decided to take a suicide pill, which Eugene (Josh McDermitt) originally made for other Saviours, while being transported in a coffin. When Negan opened the coffin, an undead Sasha came spilling out.
