“The Walking Dead” is an unkillable franchise sustained as much by hatewatchers as it is by loyal fans. Over the course of seven seasons, characters have dropped in and out as Rick and his team have slashed their way through the walker hordes. So which ones have stood out and which ones make us want to watch whatever’s on HBO instead? Here are the members of Rick’s group that appeared in at least six episodes, ranked from worst to best.
40. Judith
Never contributes to the group! WTF, Judith.
39. Lizzie and Mika
There was a long stretch of “The Walking Dead” where you just could tell the writers were frustrated at being saddled with these two and were trying to figure out a way to write them off. Having Lizzie murder Mika because she can’t tell the difference between walkers and people, and then having Carol kill Lizzie, was probably the most “Walking Dead” thing that’s ever happened. That’s not a testament to them as characters, though.
38. Shane
Shane’s demise was one of the most important deaths in the entire series, but now that Jon Bernthal has moved on to world of Marvel, we can’t help but imagine how The Punisher would do in “The Walking Dead.” We’re guessing he’d become the walkers’ natural predator.
37. Olivia
Exactly bland enough to get killed off abruptly without it really mattering to anyone watching.
36. Carl
Rick’s son has all of his old man’s corruption narrative, but with twice the heartbreak (and half the eyeballs). There’s a reason he’s the only one who doesn’t flinch at the prospect of Negan braining someone to death with ol’ Barbie. He’s become numbed to the sight of people dying around him constantly, much like a good chunk of the show’s audience.
35. Lori
Oh, Lori. You tried so hard to cling to pre-apocalypse life. Unfortunately, you just became an example of how life among walkers is often just a daily struggle to not die. And also how it can make you pretty insufferable to be around. (Not that she’s unique in that regard.)
34. Spencer
Earned a spot on this list by virtue of having somehow lived long enough to qualify despite having done nothing of note aside from hooking up with Rosita.
33. Beth
She went from having barely any lines in season 2 to getting added to the main credits and having her own major arc in season 5. Of course, getting upgraded from extra to major character on “The Walking Dead” is often the TV equivalent of getting fattened for slaughter. And, uh, yeah.
32. Amy
Getting bit by a walker while trying to go to the bathroom is pretty lame, Amy.
31. Aaron
It’s hard to remember this guy exists most of the time, because he’s as vanilla as any recurring “Walking Dead” character could ever be.
30. Sam
He had maybe the stupidest death on “The Walking Dead” — years after the advent of the zombie apocalypse, he freezed and started crying because child walkers make him so darn sad. And then he got eaten.
29. Deanna
The nicest thing I have to say about Deanna is that it’s cool that she was gender-swapped in the adaptation — her comic book counterpart was a man.
28. Abraham
He has a tendency to be really unchill — which we get, given his depressing backstory. And yet he’s still pretty annoying most of the time. And his facial hair is stupid.
27. Jessie
Sam’s total inability to look at zombies without crying got his mom killed too. You reap what you sow.
26. Morgan
“The Walking Dead” loves having characters who function as moral counters to Rick’s murderous nature, but Morgan is probably the worst of them just because he goes too hard the other direction. Though that’s started to shift a little bit, at least, in season 7.
25. Tyreese
He was both the hottest and coolest person on the show until Karen died. After that he snapped and got dumb and irritating, until they finally killed him off.
24. Enid
We get that potential romantic options for teenagers on “The Walking Dead” are necessarily pretty limited, but still. Enid, who seems like an otherwise not-dumb person, hangs out with Carl all the time. We just cannot abide that.
23. Oscar
We’re still pretty peeved they killed Oscar off the same season they introduced him. He was a good dude with a hard edge, and that’s exactly the kind of character “Walking Dead” usually likes to keep around for three seasons or so. So he gets righteous sympathy points for that.
22. Andrea
She wants to commit suicide after putting down her bitten sister, and gets convinced to try her best to keep living…only to end up killing herself after being bitten by a walker. There’s a reason this show is called “serialized misery.”
21. Axel
Despite taking place entirely in the South, “The Walking Dead” has given us very few corny redneck characters. Axel gets point mostly just for being one of those few — it’s pretty much just been him, Merle and Eugene so far — but otherwise Axel is unimpressive.
20. Rick
In a world where it’s either survive or get your guts eaten out by your undead neighbors, is there any room for heroism? Rick’s adventures have taken him far away from the path of the righteous man. But at least he usually looks sad about it.
19. Eugene
One of the only legit comic-relief characters the show has ever had, which means he’s a keeper despite his lack of any perceptible practical skills.
18. Jacqui
It’s hard to fault her decision to let herself get blown up at the CDC, given how annoying everybody in the group was back in season 1.
17. Denise
She’s one of those characters who has one specific skill (being a doctor) and is bad at pretty much everything else. So of course she insists on going on a run with Rosita and Daryl and ends up dead. Damn it, Denise.
16. Tara
Everybody’s gay best friend has a propensity for getting with ladies who end up dead, Denise being the most recent. I’m not saying it’s her fault, but…
15. Sasha
“The Walking Dead” writers wanted so badly for Sasha to seem like a normal, relatable person that they forgot to give her characteristics. However, her lack of characteristics is exactly why it’s good to have her around — she never does anything particularly irritating.
14. Merle
Despite him being just a terrible human being, we like Earle because he found joy in all the horrible stuff going on in the world. That was at least fun to watch.
13. T-Dog
“I’m the one black guy. You realize how precarious that makes my situation?” Fortunately for T-Dog, he beat that horror movie stereotype by surviving to season 3. Unfortunately, he died pulling a Hodor against two walkers so Carol could escape. So that makes him quite the standout.
12. Jesus
Is a true “Walking Dead” anomaly in that he’s a good person, generally has good ideas, and I don’t want him to be killed. Counting him as an honorary member of Rick’s group because he works so closely with them.
11. Glenn
When a character’s close encounters with death become a running gag, you know you have a problem. But, hey, at least that’s over now.
10. Maggie
Another character turned from sweet and innocent into a hardened fighter by grief and loss. She’s watched her father die, thought her sister died, discovered she was alive, and then saw her die for real the same day. Now she’s pregnant, so given this show’s track record, we won’t be surprised to see her get killed off this season.
9. Dwight
In 2017, the story of a guy who did and supported many bad things for a long time (being a member of the Saviors) before finally swallowing his pride and switching sides should be something we can all get behind.
8. Dale
Like Hershel, Dale did his best to convince the group to hold on to whatever human decency they could in this rotten world. But also, he has lots of bad ideas. Or he did until he was killed by a single walker in an empty field. Fitting.
7. Father Gabriel
His initial appearance was not flattering, but he’s come to be the kind of guy who spouts Jesus quotes from the Bible before murdering somebody. So he’s great now, is what I’m saying.
6. Carol
No force from God or Man can stop this woman. Even after being abused by her sick husband and losing her daughter to the walkers, Carol has become a one-woman killing machine. She may not be happy about that (in the image for this slide she’s about to murder a living child), but we’re happy about that.
5. Rosita
One of the few “Walking Dead” characters who seems like she was probably normal and cool before all the zombie stuff started. But her taste in men post-apocalypse leaves something to be desired.
4. Daryl
Say hello to the Redneck Warrior. While most “TWD” characters end up morally compromised or brutally killed, Daryl has become more badass and heroic as the story goes on. And all he had to do was lose his racist brother.
3. Michonne
No complaints! We like swords.
2. Hershel
It’s been three seasons since he left us, and we still can’t get over Hershel’s death. That’s entirely due to actor Scott Wilson, who believably crafted pretty much the only nice white guy who also was good at surviving that we ever saw on this show.
1. Bob
Just a guy with a drinking problem who liked to chill and could find the humor in watching bad guys eat his leg. Bob was awesome.