The Walking Dead is the classic zombie show adapted from Robert Kirkman’s comic book. It reigned as one of the most watchable television series of the 2010s. The show follows Rick Grimes, a sheriff in a past life who tries to navigate a world that has fallen into a zombie apocalypse. The Walking Dead introduces some of the best characters throughout its run, but very few have survived all the way through the series’ run. Like the characters in Game of Thrones, no one was safe.

The Walking Dead had no issues killing off a fan-favorite or a tenured character that anchored the show. By the final season, the number of survivors from the first season of The Walking Dead can be counted on one hand. Those who were able to stay alive did so through their bonds with other characters, leadership, and willingness to be morally ambiguous in a chaotic world.

4Carol Peletier Abandons Weakness for Survival

Carol Peletier

First Appearance
Season 1, Episode 3, “Tell It to the Frogs”

Like any of the survivors in The Walking Dead, Carol Peletier has one of the saddest starts. Carol feels trapped in an abusive relationship while she does all the work caring for her daughter Sophia. Her family bands together with Rick and others for the sake of survival, but Ed Peletier isn’t any less miserable or abusive. After her husband is killed in a zombie attack, Carol vents her frustration at his corpse, smashing it to bits. When Carol’s daughter goes missing, it becomes everyone’s mission to try to find Sophia, with Daryl leading the charge. When her daughter is finally found, Sofia has already turned into a walker, shocking everyone.

Frank Darabont offered Melissa McBride the role of Carol Peletier without an audition after seeing how talented she was in his film The Mist.

Thankfully, Carol’s story in The Walking Dead isn’t all loss. She grows close to Daryl Dixon after he helped look for Sophia when she went missing. After she loses her entire family, she does her best to overcome it all, training in weaponry, learning medical practices through Hershel, and even remarrying. After her adoptive son dies and the Kingdom colony falls to a massacre, she leaves her new husband, Ezekiel, and moves back to Alexandria with Daryl and Maggie. After Daryl leaves to look for more out in the world, he promises to come back but never does. Daryl never returning prompts Carol to finally leave, to both experience the world outside a secured town, but also to find Daryl.

3Morgan Jones Takes Time to Come Back to Reality After Losing Everything

Morgan Jones

First Appearance
Season 1, Episode 3, “Tell It to the Frogs”

Morgan Jones is one of the first characters that Rick meets in a world overrun by walkers. When Morgan and his son are out killing zombies, his son mistakes Rick for a walker and hits him in the face with a shovel. They briefly aid Rick, getting him up to speed about the apocalypse, but Rick doesn’t linger with them for very long. Rick tells Morgan that he’ll be in contact with him through their walkie-talkies, but Morgan never answers.

When Morgan is seen again in The Walking Dead, he is broken after the loss of his son. He had already lost his wife and could never bring himself to shoot the changed version of her. Morgan finds himself mentally unstable with only a bloodlust to constantly kill walkers. After finding some inner peace, Morgan leaves his home and ventures to find Rick and others in whatever civilizations are forming.

Morgan was the first person to refer to zombies as “Walkers” in The Walking Dead.

Morgan Jones is also featured in the spin-off show Fear the Walking Dead, joining the show in its fourth season. Morgan works to overcome his past, finally leaving his blinding rage behind him. In the show, his point of view was represented by a hazy red, where he would kill anything in his path. This stemmed from losing all of his family. Morgan takes on an adoptive daughter and later reunites with Madison Clark, one of the main protagonists in the show. In the end, he leaves for Alexandria with his adoptive daughter in the hopes of finally linking back up with Rick Grimes after years. Morgan’s story is given a good send-off in the end, where he comes to terms with his past, accepts death in some ways, and looks to the future for once.

2Daryl Dixon Loses a Brother but Builds the Most Trust Alongside Rick

Daryl Dixon

First Appearance
Season 1, Episode 3, “Tell It to the Frogs”

Daryl Dixon is initially introduced as the angry, brazen, and misunderstood brother of Merle Dixon. They are the only survivors of their family, so they stick together, even though Merle’s behavior is very volatile. Daryl is a skilled huntsman, navigator, and keen observer of everything. Initially dismissed as someone with a low IQ, he is later seen as a major asset to the surviving members of Rick’s team. Daryl grows as one of Carol’s closest friends after Sophia goes missing, and he helps her hunt for her. He also quickly but briefly builds a bong with Beth, before her untimely death in the show.

When Rick loses his wife, Lori, Daryl acts as a leader to the best of his ability, helping take care of Rick’s newborn daughter. When the colony is attacked by the Saviors, leading to a war, they defeat them and Daryl is briefly the new leader of the Saviors, taking them toward a different way of life. After the presumed passing of Rick after a bridge explosion, Daryl takes refuge in the woods looking for Rick’s body.

Norman Reedus initially auditioned for the role of Merle Dixon. Although the producers didn’t give him that role, they kept him in mind because of his impressive audition and created the role of Daryl especially for him.

Upon venturing out into the world, Daryl meets a dog that quickly becomes his companion. Daryl also becomes romantically linked to the owner of the dog, Leah. However, it’s short-lived because Daryl kills Leah when she tries to kill Maggie. In the end, Daryl returns to the Commonwealth colony, only briefly staying with the people he loves. Daryl still felt like he needed to explore outside the colony and maybe even discover some information related to the missing Rick and Michonne. Daryl Dixon’s fate leads him to France after some bad people kidnap him. His story continues in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, another spin-off that follows his journey returning from France.

1Rick Grimes Always Tries to Keep Things Together

Rick Grimes

First Appearance
Season 1, Episode 1, “Days Gone By”

Rick Grimes was the sheriff’s deputy who was shot and fell into a coma. When he wakes up months later, Rick finds himself already in the zombie apocalypse, struggling to get out of the hospital. He first meets Morgan, but leaves him, promising to stay in contact as he hunts for his family. When Rick eventually finds his family, the dynamic of the surviving group changes, as Rick becomes a leader. His partner before the apocalypse, Shane, feels somewhat outcast since he was leading the people before Rick showed up, which leads to numerous fights and betrayals between them. Rick kills Shane in the end due to his aggressive behavior and Rick’s son, Carl, shoots the walker Shane when he comes back to life.

Rick was the first member of the group to learn that anyone infected with the zombie virus would reanimate after death, no matter what, unless the brain was destroyed.

Unlike many others at the start of The Walking Dead, Rick finds his loved ones still alive but unfortunately loses almost all of his family later in the show. His wife Lori dies during the childbirth of their daughter, Judith. His son Carl dies valiantly while saving a stranger. Rick gets romantically involved with Michonne Hawthorne and they have a child soon after. Rick prevails over the evil of the Saviors, who orchestrate an all-out war against the Hilltop colony. After their victory, Rick vows to keep a democratic and peaceful state for the people, but he struggles to keep everyone on the same page.

Rick sacrifices himself and blows up a bridge to prevent walkers from overrunning the Hilltop colony. In honor of his sacrifice, the survivors keep to Rick’s wishes to keep their safe haven civil and peaceful. The Civil Republic Military takes Rick, healing his wounds, but ultimately recruits him as an asset. His storyline continues in The Walking Dead: The One Who Lives, where after reuniting with Michonne, he realizes that his goal is to get back to his new family and escape the republic.