In 2003, Robert Kirkman began publishing a comic series called The Walking Dead. Seven years later, AMC aired the first episode of the TV adaptation of The Walking Dead starring Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori Grimes, and Jon Bernthal as Shane Walsh.
The series has been praised by critics over the years and even spawned a spin-off show called Fear the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead has seen many characters come and go over the years, but the series is still going strong with the 10th season due to come out in a few weeks, plus some movies and more spin-offs in the future. The quality of the show has varied over the years, producing some fantastic, and some truly meager, episodes of television.
Updated on November 23rd, 2022 by Jordan Iacobucci: After over a decade and eleven seasons on the air, The Walking Dead has come to an impactful ending, closing a chapter on this era of the franchise. With several spinoff series on the way, the world of The Walking Dead is far from over, but the flagship show has now aired every episode in its arsenal, meaning that fans can finally look back on the definitive best (and worst) episodes in the series.
Worst Episodes Of The Walking Dead
“The Other Side” (7×14) – 6.6
The season seven episode “The Other Side” saw Simon and his group of Saviors put increased pressure on Hilltop for supplies and loyalty. Meanwhile, Rosita and Sasha seek to get revenge on Negan for the death of Abraham by assassinating the Savior leader before a war can break out.
“The Other Side” suffered from a problem that many other episodes in The Walking Dead do in that it brings the action to a halt in anticipation of an upcoming finale. While the episode could have easily set up the final act of the season, there were still two more episodes to fill, making the writers feel obligated to provide filler that doesn’t particularly add to the story in the meantime.
“Time For After” (8×07) – 6.5
“Time for After” picks up after Rick is imprisoned by Jadis and the Scavengers, who make him battle an armored walker in order to regain their support in the upcoming battle against the Saviors. Elsewhere, Eugene works up the courage to make a stand against Negan as the war reaches its peak.
While the battle between Rick and the armored walker is enthralling, little else in this episode is particularly appealing. Eugene’s story continues to be stretched out far beyond its limits, with surprisingly little action in this all-out war arc.
“Monsters” (8×03) – 6.4
“Monsters” is one of the many episodes in season eight that features a battle between the Saviors and Rick’s group. Here, Rick and the others raid one of the Savior outposts with the help of Ezekiel’s militia. As Rick attempts to take the Office Outpost, Morales stops him, but is then shot in the head by Daryl.
This episode suffers from season eight’s bloated and overall underwhelming storytelling. To make matters worse, viewers began to realize that the all-out war that had been built up for two years was going to be far less exciting than the showrunners had promised, causing this episode to leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths.
“Find Me” (10×18) – 6.2
“Find Me” is the second of season ten’s six bonus episodes, which filled the gap between the end of the current season and the beginning of season eleven. The episode takes place primarily in flashbacks, as the audience is shown a portion of Daryl’s life shortly after Rick’s disappearance wherein he meets Leah Shaw.
Despite fan-favorite character Daryl Dixon playing a major role in this episode, “Find Me” was an utterly boring take on what could have been a compelling story. Leah’s introduction as Daryl’s secret love interest felt forced and uninspired, causing her upcoming arc in the following season to feel rather dry as a result.
“The King, The Widow, And Rick” (8×06) – 6.1
“The King, The Widow, and Rick” is appropriately titled, as the three main storylines have to do with Ezekiel, Maggie, and Rick. In the episode, Carol pleads with Ezekiel for him to become King again, but he is hesitant to do so as he just lost many of his people against the Saviors.
While “The King, the Widow, and Rick” has some interesting character moments, it still has the misfortune spreading itself too thin, following three separate storylines at once. Although the show has found a way to make this kind of storytelling work, this particular episode doesn’t give audience enough reason to care about any of its plotlines.
“Swear” (7×06) – 5.7
“Swear” is a bottle episode following Tara and Heath on their scavenging mission. The two become separated, leading Tara to discover the isolated village of Oceanside, which has been subjugated by the Saviors. After a prolonged period of captivity in Oceanside, Tara finally manages to make it back home, albeit without Heath.
“Swear” is one of The Walking Dead‘s worst-rated episodes for several reasons. Not only does this remarkably actionless chapter fall right in the middle of the all-out war arc, it also comes far too late and proves far too underwhelming to properly explain Heath and Tara’s absence from the series for almost a full season. And, while Tara has been a strong character in other arcs, she does not prove interesting enough to carry this particular storyline.
“Splinter” (10×20) – 5.1
“Splinter” picks up after the shocking ending to what was the original finale of season ten, wherein Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Princess are apprehended by a mysterious community later revealed to be the Commonwealth. The episode follows Princess as she attempts to learn more information about their captors.
Like many of season ten’s bonus episodes, the writing of “Splinter” is far inferior to the improved quality of the past two seasons of The Walking Dead. And, though Paola Lazaro is strong as the episode’s lead, the storyline is frustratingly circular, as barely anything is achieved in the episode’s runtime.
“Diverged” (10×21) – 4.1
In the second-to-last of The Walking Dead‘s season ten bonus episodes, “Diverged,” Daryl and Carol go their separate ways after a prolonged period of tension between the two best friends. The two characters each go on separate side quests as they work out their anger toward one another.
“Diverged” is an episode that has no reason to exist. Not only did it fail to expand on the already established tension between Daryl and Carol in a compelling way, but it also proves to be exceedingly boring. A large chunk of the runtime is dedicated to Carol cooking soup–not a particularly enjoyable way for the audience to spend forty minutes of their lives.
Best Episodes Of The Walking Dead
“Thank You” (6×03) – 9.2
Near the beginning of season 6, Rick and company have to save Alexandria from a herd of Walkers that are threatening the safety of the community. The group breaks off into teams, with Glenn and Nicholas narrowly escaping death from a walker horde by climbing on top of a dumpster. Not seeing a way out, Nicholas shoots himself and says, “Thank you” to Glenn before he pulls the trigger. His body knocks Glenn off of the dumpster, where his fate is left unknown for quite some time.
Although the episode proved heartbreaking, it is difficult to deny the effort that went into its production. The episode is filled with iconic imagery and its cliffhanger ending that appeared to leave Glenn dead was utterly horrific, though many fans would later take issue with the show faking the character’s death.
“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” (7×01) – 9.2
“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” picks up immediately after the season six finale cliffhanger, finally revealing Negan’s victim to be Abraham Ford. Over the course of the episode, Negan continues to try to break Rick and his companions down, taking a second victim in Glenn Rhee.
While certain scenes in this episode may be difficult for viewers to watch, it is difficult to deny the masterfully crafted horror evident in every second therein. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Andrew Lincoln both shine in their respective roles and the audience is made to feel the same fear and desperation that the episode’s characters do.
“What Comes After” (9×05) – 9.2
Rick’s final episode on the series comes early in The Walking Dead‘s ninth season. As a wounded Rick tries to make it back home, he begins to see visions of several of his dead companions, who try to convince him to give up his fight. The episode ends with Rick narrowly surviving a massive explosion before being taken away by a mysterious helicopter.
As a sendoff for the show’s protagonist “What Comes After” is perfect. The episode nails everything that makes Rick one of the best-written protagonists in television, as he struggles once more with his inner humanity and willingness to survive. Furthermore, the episode’s ending has been a source of fan debate for years as people continue to theorize about what may have happened to Rick after all this time.
“The Killer Within” (3×04) – 9.3
The fourth episode of season three, “The Killer Within,” proved to be one of The Walking Dead bloodiest episodes ever at the time of its premiere, featuring the death of both T-Dog and Lori Grimes, who dies while giving birth to Judith.
This episode perfectly portrays heroism in the face of tragedy as Lori gives everything she can to making sure that her baby is born. T-Dog behaves similarly, sacrificing his own life so that Carol can survive the swarm of walkers within the prison. To this day, this remains one of the show’s most memorable episodes.
“The Calm Before” (9×15) – 9.3
“The Calm Before” continues the conflict with the Whisperers, who are still trying to kidnap Lydia back from the Kingdom. Alpha infiltrates the Kingdom during the fair and finds Lydia, who refuses to go back with her mother, who retaliates by killing Ozzy, Alek, D.J., Frankie, Tammy, Rodney, Addy, Enid, Tara, and Henry, placing their heads on pikes marking the border of her territory.
This episode is infamous for its closing sequence, which masterfully revealed the victims of Alpha’s slaughter one by one, with alternating shots between their head on a spike and their loved ones realizing they are gone. The pike scene manages to top even Negan’s introduction, establishing the Whisperers as villains to be utterly feared.
“Too Far Gone” (4×08) – 9.6
The mid-season finale of season 4 deals with the final battle at the prison. The Governor has Michonne and Hershel held captive, who he uses against Rick to hand over the prison. War quickly breaks out between the two groups, with the Governor brutally decapitating Hershel. People begin to evacuate their home, but all of the commotion causes walkers to start infiltrating the prison.
This episode is the perfect culmination of the rivalry between Rick and the Governor, perfectly delivering on the year-and-a-half build up to their final battle. “Too Far Gone” also showcases Rick’s development, as he desperately tries to reason with his enemy rather than allowing for more bloodshed.
“No Sanctuary” (5×01) – 9.6
The opener for season 5, titled “No Sanctuary,” sees the group being dragged from the train car and brought into a slaughterhouse. Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Bob let their friends out of the other train cars, before escaping the area. They reunite with Carol and Tyrese, the latter of which was protecting Judith. The episode ends with the reveal of Morgan, who is following trees marked with strange markings.
“No Sanctuary” kicks off season five with a band, as the protagonists savagely take down their enemies over the course of a single episode. The episode also perfectly works with the theme of the season, which sees its characters delve deeper and deeper into the darkness in order to survive.
“No Way Out” (6×09) – 9.6
“No Way Out” is the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead‘s sixth season and the most action-packed episode in the entire series. After a herd of walkers infiltrates the walls of Alexandria, the remaining survivors are forced to fight their way through the swarm, defending their home from the dead in what could be their final stand.
This episode is famous for its twists and turns, as major characters die, certain others redeem themselves, and, in a most memorable scene, Carl Grimes is shot in the eye. “No Way Out” culminates in one last push to clean Alexandria’s streets, as Rick’s group and the Alexandrians work together to save their home. This episode is euphoric, groundbreaking, and utterly intoxicating as the season’s spread-out plotlines converge into one epic showdown of the living versus the dead.
