Finest ‘Strolling Lifeless’ Franchise Characters, Ranked

The Strolling Lifeless is over, however just like the zombies on the coronary heart (er, brains?) of the story, the franchise lives on. 

Clocking in at 11 seasons and 177 episodes all informed, the AMC horror drama shuffled off into the afterlife, solely to start a bevy of spinoff reveals, most of which heart on beloved characters from the unique sequence just like the Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) reunion sequence The Strolling Lifeless: The Ones Who Reside. Past these persevering with adventures, there are additionally the spinoffs with out too many overt ties to the “flagship” Strolling Lifeless, together with the very first of those spinoffs, Worry the Strolling Lifeless (additionally now within the grave, joined there by the two-seasons-and-out The Strolling Lifeless: World Past and single season anthology sequence Tales of the Strolling Lifeless).

Why the veritable Wikipedia entry? As a result of it highlights this central characteristic throughout all the numerous Strolling Deads: there are a whole lot of characters embedded within the collective reminiscence for fandom. A lot of them are fondly remembered. A few of them? Not a lot. And a few of them supposed to not be remembered fondly. And others, once more, not a lot. 

Sitting down and itemizing out each single character who ever crossed paths with a walker just isn’t precisely an inconceivable feat, nevertheless it’s shut. Type of like surviving the zombie apocalypse. Rating these characters is less complicated, however solely barely.

What follows doesn’t cowl each single main and minor participant within the Strolling Lifeless franchise’s historical past. As an alternative, it teams a number of totally different people into classes, underscoring the easiest of the very best and, in some circumstances, the worst of the worst. Apologies to you and your favorites who didn’t make this checklist. For the remainder of you, roll on for a roundup and rating of the very best characters.

Prime 4 Heroes: Carol, Daryl, Michonne, Rick

Three of those 4 have been round for the reason that very starting. With out Andrew Lincoln, there isn’t a Strolling Lifeless, interval, although the ultimate few seasons of the present would really like a phrase. Then there’s the platonic very best of a platonic couple, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride), so dynamic they spawned their very own spinoff with Daryl Dixon and season two’s The Guide of Carol, regardless of rising from principally zero comedian ebook foundation. (Daryl doesn’t exist within the comics, and Carol’s portrayed very otherwise.) Lastly, Danai Gurira’s sword-slinging samurai Michonne minimize into season three, following a cliffhanger tease one season earlier, rising as some of the very important figures in Strolling Lifeless lore. The sequence is solely unimaginable with out Rick, Carol, Daryl and Michonne.

The Very Finest Hero: Glenn

It’s no coincidence that viewership dropped sharply following Steven Yeun’s ugly exit from the sequence. A daring storytelling selection in Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s comedian books, Glenn’s dying was meant to go away Rick’s group with a jolt of despair. The present’s model as an alternative turned essentially the most broadly publicized spoiler from the comics right into a summer-long cliffhanger, performed up as an thrilling TV second, buying and selling horrific tragedy for watercooler buzz. Glenn’s dying was at all times designed to be merciless, however as tailored for tv, it was needlessly merciless, an unfitting sendoff for a personality who, as much as that time, was arguably the center of the sequence. Relating to Strolling Lifeless, there’s BG and AG: Earlier than Glenn, and After Glenn. As a lot because the sequence nonetheless has a pulse in its newest incarnations, the Glenn period will at all times reign supreme.

Prime 4 Villains: Shane, The Governor, Negan, Alpha

Jon Bernthal’s Shane dominated the primary two years of Strolling Lifeless, offering Rick with a pleasant foil who would foreshadow all of the a lot worse dangerous guys nonetheless to return. Followers didn’t have to attend lengthy for the subsequent large dangerous, as David Morrissey introduced certainly one of Kirkman and Adlard’s most iconic villains, the Governor, from paneled web page menace to horrifying small-screen life. And this villain was eclipsed but once more, within the type of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan, essentially the most enduring and game-changing antagonist of the complete sequence — to the purpose that today, he’s not a lot of an antagonist in any respect, although Maggie (Lauren Cohan) might need a number of ideas on that topic. Although the ultimate season of the flagship sequence lacked a robust villainous hook, its penultimate yr was haunted by Samantha Morton’s terrifying Alpha, queen of the Whisperers, and the girl who introduced the AMC zombie drama again to type underneath the sensible management of showrunner Angela Kang.

The Very Worst Villain: Nicholas

Okay, an exaggeration, however Nicholas deserves a particular place on this checklist for a few causes. For one, he’s emblematic of the sorts of cowardly survivors whose self-preservation-above-all instincts get noble people killed, like Tyler James Williams’ Noah, proprietor of the only most disgusting dying in Strolling Lifeless historical past. Nicholas additionally almost received Glenn killed, after taking pictures himself and bringing Glenn down right into a horde of hungry walkers. Positive, Glenn survived, nevertheless it opened the flood gates for “Glenn Gate,” a controversial interval during which the Strolling Lifeless staff tried to persuade followers that Glenn was useless, solely to disclose he was miraculously alive, solely to kill him for actual a yr later after the aforementioned months-long cliffhanger. So, in a means, Nicholas is mainly accountable for one of many worst intervals of the Strolling Lifeless, making him somebody we now have to speak about within the context of horrible villains. However credit score the place it’s due, Michael Traynor performed the character brilliantly, making all of it too straightforward to purchase into this determined man’s closing days on earth.

Prime 4 New Period Characters: Jerry, Mercer, Ezekiel, Connie

After Glenn’s dying, The Strolling Lifeless hit a wall for a time, what with a protracted warfare in opposition to Negan spanning two whole seasons. Even within the midst of that, some super new characters arrived on the scene, resembling Khary Payton’s King Ezekiel, in addition to his wingman Jerry (Cooper Andrews), electrical and expressive characters with dramatic and comedic chops to spare. When Angela Kang stepped in as the brand new showrunner, she introduced another notables into the combo, with nobody higher than Lauren Ridloff’s Connie, the one real love of Daryl Dixon — and we is not going to hear any arguments in any other case. Lastly, there’s the final season of the present value contemplating, during which certainly one of comedian ebook artist Adlard’s most notably rendered figures involves beautiful life through Michael James Shaw. Mercer wasn’t the only most electrical character within the sequence, however rattling if he didn’t make killing walkers look cool.

The Very Finest New Period Character: Judith Grimes

All of the flowers on this planet to Cailey Fleming, who debuted because the older model of Judith “Little Ass-Kicker” Grimes in her fictional father’s farewell hour. Shedding Carl (Chandler Riggs) was one of many present’s very largest errors, and dropping Rick was a horrible blow as effectively. So Judith was left to carry down the unique Grimes mantle, alongside mama Michonne, and he or she did it with ease. Judith’s relationships with numerous characters on the present, from Daryl to Negan and past, saved the unique beating coronary heart of the Grimes household firmly in tact for the ultimate few seasons. Might we be so fortunate as to get pleasure from a full-scale Judith Grimes spinoff sequence in some unspecified time in the future down the road. Talking of spinoffs…

Prime 4 Spinoff Characters: Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Negan

Yeah, this isn’t precisely truthful. Can we actually say 4 of the easiest Strolling Lifeless characters are additionally the 4 easiest spinoff characters, when there are dozens of parents who by no means appeared exterior of their very own silo reveals? Positive, we completely can. And it’s value stressing that even when the principle Strolling Lifeless sequence misplaced some steam in its closing season, the aftermath has been implausible. Each Lifeless Metropolis and Daryl Dixon have been completely pleasant, and the 4 faces on the coronary heart of each reveals deserve their kudos for maintaining the Strolling Lifeless universe spinning for a lot of moons nonetheless to return. However let’s look away from giving bonus factors to Daryl, Carol and Negan (although props to Maggie, who ekes out a spot on our checklist by this hack), and provides a shoutout to 4 different characters from throughout the Strolling Lifeless universe…

Prime 4 Spinoff Characters, For Actual: Alicia, Morgan, Strand and Madison

With respect to The Strolling Lifeless: World Past and even Tales of the Strolling Lifeless, the breakout spinoff of the sequence was, for higher and sometimes for worse, Worry the Strolling Lifeless. There are two distinct intervals of the present: earlier than unique showrunner Dave Erickson’s departure, and after. The primary three seasons of the sequence are uneven at greatest, however stuffed with a number of the most devastating moments throughout the complete franchise, as fueled by Kim Dickens’ Madison, Colman Domingo’s Strand and Alycia Debnam-Carey’s Alicia. Then there’s Morgan. Lennie James hopped over from the principle Strolling Lifeless into Worry beginning with its fourth season, headlining the present all the way in which till his considerably sudden departure halfway into the ultimate yr. Morgan was a standout on the unique Strolling Lifeless, and typically a little bit of an anchor on Worry. But when we didn’t deal with him with respect on this checklist, who is aware of which model of Morgan may come knocking on our door late at evening. Finest to play this one secure.

The Very Finest Spinoff Character: The Croat

Say it with me now, as our collective Zeljko Ivanek voice intensifies: “NEEEEEGAN!” The Croat is a cartoon character, full cease, performed by Ivanek, usually among the best dangerous man actors our small screens have to supply. Intertwined with the franchise’s historical past through his connection to Negan, whereas concurrently changing into a cackling, cowardly lunatic of his personal mildew totally, the Croat is proof optimistic that there’s nonetheless extra juice within the Strolling Lifeless franchise. So long as the powers that be need to maintain having the Croat shout the phrase “NEEEEEEEEGAN” from a New York Metropolis skyscraper, we’ll be watching.

The Very Finest Ensemble: The Season 5 Solid

Let’s shut this one out with a glance again on the GREATM-est period of The Strolling Lifeless. Season 5 kicks off with an action-packed jail break, headlined by Carol. It escalates simply two episodes later when Rick buries a machete within the cannibal Gareth’s (Andrew J. West) head, ending the person who seemed to be the present’s latest large dangerous with solely 4 episodes of screen-time. It received darker from there. That is the season the place the gang needed to eat street canines and fan out throughout highways in an effort to keep alive, having beforehand lived life contained in the walled jail neighborhood. The interval proper earlier than Alexandria is the present at its survival-horror peak — thanks in no small half to the very best assortment of characters the present ever sports activities, together with the aforementioned lineup often called GREATM: Glenn, Rosita, Eugene, Abraham, Tara and Maggie. When pondering again on all of the characters within the Strolling Lifeless‘s historical past, the collective season 5 sequence regulars are those who all come to thoughts.

The six-episode season of The Strolling Lifeless: The Ones Who Reside releases its finale Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC and AMC+. Head right here for a refresher on Rick and Michonne’s story.