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The Walking Dead might have just killed off one of its main characters but that hasn’t stopped it from setting up the death of another.
The AMC drama returned from its mid-season break with a tame outing that finally introduced Alpha (Samantha Morton), the leader of the terrifying Whisperers (catch up on our talking points here ).
With Alpha’s arrival comes fresh danger for our characters, but none more so than for one in particular.
*Warning: comic book spoilers follow*
One moment in the ninth episode, titled “Adaptation”, set wheels in motion for the distressing death of a longstanding character.
We say “distressing” because the twist could be the most devastating death away from Glenn getting bludgeoned by Negan, which was immortalised in the series back in season seven.
The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial momentsShow all 15 1 /15The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Sophia's a walker When: Season two, episode seven What happens? Much of season two's opening half is spent looking for Sophia, the missing daughter of Carol (Melissa McBride). Turns out she was locked up in Hershel's barn as a zombie all along.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Shane re-animates When: Season two, episode 12 What happens? When Carl (Chandler Riggs) guns down a deranged Shane (Jon Bernthal) to protect his father, viewers were shocked to see him turn into a walker despite not being bitten, leading to the revelation that everyone's infected with the virus and will turn, whichever way they die.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Lori dies in childbirth When: Season three, episode four What happens? Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) goes into labour at the very moment a walker siege breaks out at the prison. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it through the procedure leaving son Carl to be the one to put a bullet to her head. That it came in the same episode which saw T-Dog (IronE Singleton) die didn't help matters.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments The Governor slays Hershel When: Season four, episode eight What happens? The Governor makes his dramatic return for a showdown at the prison after he captures Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Hershel (Scott Wilson). Rick attempts to reason with him – but The Governor starts a war when he proceeds to decapitate poor old Hershel instead.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments "Look at the flowers" When: Season four, episode 14 What happens? In a standout episode from the show's fourth season, Carol is forced to take drastic measures when young teenager Lizzie murders her sister Mika in the belief that she'll live on as a zombie. Realising Lizzie's depraved mind would endanger those around her, Carol puts a gun to the young girl's head and, telling her to "look at the flowers," pulls the trigger, fighting back the tears.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Rick turns feral When: Season four, episode 16 What happens? Ambushed by a group of redneck peadophiles, Rick takes matters into his own hands Ambushed by a group of redneck peadophiles, Rick takes matters into his own hands – by taking a chunk out of the leader’s neck before gutting another and mercilessly stabbing another in the stomach. It’s one of the more shocking moments from a character whom, at this stage of the show, blurred the lines between heroism and villainy.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Bob gets eaten When :
Season five, episode two What happens? The threat of Terminus is cemented when we disocver they haven't just kidnapped Bob (Larry Gilliard, Jr) but that they're slowly eating him body part-by-body part.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Beth bites it When :
Season five, episode eight What happens? Beth (Emily Kinney) is kidnapped and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital managed by Atlanta Law Enforcement. Forced to reside there against her will, the group – including Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) – eventually find her, only for Beth to be accidentally shot in the head by her captor. The worst thing? Her sister Maggie (Lauren Cohan) had just arrived outside.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Glenn's fake death When: Season six, episode three What happens? With an innumerable number of walkers catching up with the group on their way back to Alexandria, Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Nicholas find themselves trapped in an alleyway. Climbing onto a dumpster, the two are surrounded by the undead with no discernible escape. Nicholas draws his gun, utters a "Thank you" to Glenn before shooting himself in the head, his flailing body pulling Glenn into the pit of walkers below. Despite the episode leading you to believe he died, it emerges four episodes later that he managed to crawl away as the walkers feasted on Nicholas' corpse leading to fan furore.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Carl takes a bullet to the eye When: Season six, episode nine What happens? Season six returned from its mid-season break in typically dramatic fashion when an iconic moment from the graphic novels came to life: Carl takes a bullet to the eye.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Richonne When: Season six, episode 10 What happens? Following the stress of Carl surviving a bullet to the eye, Rick and Michonne realise they have more than just friendship in common. It was a welcome deviation from the comics that disarmed a number of the show's fans, and has been a relationship that's continued to shape the DNA of the series to this day.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Negan kills Abraham When :
Season seven, episode one What happens? Season seven opened in brutal form as we discovered it was Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) at the opposite end of Negan's baseball bat. "Suck my nuts," the soldier growls as the Saviours' leader brings Lucille raining down on his head until nothing remains but a pulpy mess.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Glenn's actual death When: Season seven, episode one What happens? ...that wasn't all. Negan decides to punish the group once more after getting clocked round the face by Daryl. Without expectation, he thwacks Lucille round the head of poor Glenn. With his eyeball popping out of his head, he manages: "I'll find you, Maggie" before Negan proceeds to finish the job, ending Glenn's life.
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Shiva When: Season seven, episode two What happens? In a moment that comic book readers never expected to manifest on screen, we meet Shiva – a living, breathing tiger belonging to the Kingdom's leader, Ezekiel (Khary Payton). Carol summed it up best: "I don't know what's going on in the most wonderful way."
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The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Carl dies When :
Season eight, episode nine What happens? Having had a near-miss with a walker episodes before, fans were left blindasided by the reveal that Carl, in fact, giot bit by the walker and was slowly succumbing to his wounds. It's been the biggest deviation from the comics and one that fans were unanimously upset by.
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The character in question is Rosita (Christian Serratos). Viewers learned in the latest episode that the character is pregnant, a moment that also occurs in Robert Kirkman’s comic book series before the Whisperers start, not only killing off members of Alexandria but placing their decapitated heads on spikes to mark their territory. It’s the discovery of Rosita’s head that sparks war.
Serratos has been on the show since its fourth season and, following the departure of both Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan and Danai Gurira – who will leave in season 10 – will be one of the series’s oldest characters.
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