It’s been a long road for the AMC hit series, The Walking Dead, and it’s officially reached its tenth season last Sunday. Who knows how much longer the show will go on, but one of the many things that has kept it going all these years is it’s cast of memorable characters. The show has done a fantastic job of keeping up with its suspense aspect by keeping us worried about which character is going to become walker food. Granted, fans of the comic book series have had the tendency to use that as a reference, but the show has thrown those fans clever curveballs by going off script from the source material. This has led to some characters from the show to meet different fates compared to their comic counterparts. Some characters have outlived their counterparts and others have met the same exact fate, but at different moments in both iterations. These unforeseen curveballs have only made the fans even more uneasy as their favorite character from the comic can die at anytime. That being said, there are very few characters who felt like they could’ve stuck around a little bit longer, even if their deaths felt satisfying. For the sake of more character development or missed opportunities for a better arc, the show might have made a mistake when they killed off some characters. Here are five characters The Walking Dead killed of way too soon.
5. Axel
Who would’ve thought that a surviving prisoner in a heavily walker occupied prison would be such a kind-hearted character? Axel was one five surviving prisoners hiding in a secured wing in a walker infested prison. However, despite his crime of armed-robbery, he was anything but violent and didn’t even know how to use a pistol. His comic counterpart was just as friendly, with his television version borrowing his famous line, “You follow me?” What made Axel’s death in both iterations so sad is that they were both just so fast, that viewers didn’t have time to comprehend what happened. They both took a bullet to the head, the only difference being that the show version was killed directly by The Governor. Comic Axel lived way longer than show Axel, leaving fans a bit disappointed that he didn’t stay alive longer until the final assault on the prison. Being the last of the prisoners to stay alive the longest, Axel was just starting to become a trusted member of Rick’s group and even building a friendship with Carol. Could this have turned into a romance? The show certainly teased it, but poor Axel was killed before we could see it happen. Regardless if he was going to be Carol’s new boyfriend, the whole group could have used Axel’s optimism and humor to keep their spirits up and their smiles going. Such a light-hearted character will be missed.
4. Nicholas
Okay, now this choice is probably going to get some blowback, but there is a case to be made. Right off the bat, Nicholas was a cocky buffoon, second only to his equally boneheaded friend, Aiden. He only dug his own grave even deeper when his cowardice caused Noah to be devoured by walkers, a very horrible death that Glenn had to witness. His next deplorable act was luring Glenn into the woods with the intention of killing him. To everyone’s surprise, Glenn decided against killing him, sparing his life with the hopes of making him a better man. The upside is that Nicholas did take the opportunity to redeem himself, volunteering to steer away the massive walker horde that posed a major threat to Alexandria. Unfortunately, his redemption arc didn’t last too long, his fear of the walkers overcoming him; he decided to take his own life to spare himself the horrible death of being eaten alive. We can hardly blame him for that, except he unintentionally almost caused Glenn to die again. Glenn luckily survived, but Nicholas never got the chance to fully redeem himself. Fans of the comics recall that Nicholas was initially hostile and cowardly, but later fought to redeem his actions, even sacrificing his life to save Rick. The show had a good opportunity to flush out this redemption arc, making a seemingly irredeemable character a better person, but it was cut short for the sake of shock value. Was Nicholas truly beyond redemption? He made an attempt to better himself, but usually that’s a death sentence.
3. Jesus
Yes, Jesus is dead. Any chance he might be resurrected and not as a walker? Probably not, but this is one character that wasn’t nearly as properly utilized as he should have been. What separated him from other characters is that he was basically Batman in the zombie apocalypse. He could sneak in and out of places like a ninja, effortlessly escape from bonds, and his most defining character trait was his uncanny abilities in martial arts. This was awesome to watch, the problem is we didn’t get to watch enough of it. In the comics, Jesus made a habit of head kicking walkers almost every time we saw him. His show counterpart, while indeed a skilled fighter, had limited fight scenes, much to the disappointment to fans and even his actor, Tom Payne. He even fought Negan in the comics and won, something that we never got to see in the show, a scene that would have cemented his place as the best fighter in The Walking Dead. Most of his scenes relied on him preaching his sense of morality to others, which wasn’t bad, but it’s a crying shame that the show chose to sideline his awesome fighting ability. Guess there’s no use of martial artist in the zombie apocalypse.
2. Shane
Here’s another choice that will probably receive some blowback, but Shane has been a pivotal character from the very beginning. As Rick’s best friend turned enemy, Shane played a crucial role in Rick’s transition from the group’s heroic leader to its demanding dictator. The show version greatly outlived his comic counterpart, giving us an extended character arc that made the character even more interesting (not to mention Jon Bernthal’s superb performance). So what could the show have done with Shane even though he seemingly lived long enough? Well, imagine if he actually did leave the group, only to reencounter Rick and the group much later on, especially after Lori’s death and Judith’s birth. His primary motivation behind his betrayal of Rick is now gone, and his legacy is still living through Judith. This would most probably lead to some violent conflict with a more hardened Rick, who would likely kill Shane in an attempt to hide the truth. It would’ve have been an intriguing story arc, but it’s one that we can only dream about. Can you imagine Shane being a loyal soldier to Negan?
1. Andrea
Poor Andrea, she was just a magnet for bad luck. She was always romantically involved with the major antagonists of the show, lost her little sister, and was caught in the middle of a war between Woodbury and the Prison. Her fan reception was not very kind either, as she overall paled in comparison to her comic counterpart. She did, however, had some interesting qualities that would have been fun to explore in the present seasons. She was capable of being a leader, a strong fighter, and had a heck of a shot. Her transition from frightened woman to skilled sharpshooter set the early stages for what could have been a much more memorable show version of Andrea. If she were still alive on the show today, she most likely would have had a similar role to her comic counterpart, being with Rick, leading the people of Alexandria, and still sharpshooting walkers. Sasha kind of filled in the void for Andrea’s absence, but her death just felt untimely and honestly robbed us of the true development of a great character. Don’t worry, Andrea, you are still missed.
Final Thoughts
The Walking Dead has many characters to continue the story with, some of them more charismatic than others, but they all serve their purpose. There will most likely be more missed opportunities for current and future characters, but the show has recently learned from its past mistakes, so hopefully more characters will be flushed out to their fullest. What are your thoughts? Check out the next episode of The Walking Dead this Sunday on AMC.
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