Lately The Walking Dead has been a kind of hit and miss show since some people would gladly state that it’s not what it used to be, while others would say that it’s been heating up in a very big way. One thing that’s been pretty constant on the show however is that there are always bound to be villains, and as Megan McCluskey of Time wrote a while back, there are varying degrees of villains out there that grow continually worse as time goes on. Some of them weren’t that bad to start out with, while others were simply out to make sure that they and those who were of like mind with them would survive, and damn everyone else. Some of them were truly horrible while others were made so by circumstances beyond their control. But nearly every villain on TWD earned their spot on this list rightfully and without question, and as a result their end came as kind of a relief to the fans since it meant they’d finally received the justice that was coming to them.
Here are the ten most satisfying deaths on The Walking Dead throughout the years.
10. Ed Peletier
Ed was, more or less, the kind of guy that any respectful individual would want to curb stomp since he treated his wife and his daughter so poorly. He never had much of a kind word for anyone in the camp really early on, and as a result his death wasn’t that much of a concern when he was taken out. In fact Carol might have wept a little for her husband, but for the rest of us the end couldn’t have come soon enough.
9. Simon
Negan’s right-hand man was truly a pain in the backside to anyone that wasn’t connected with the Saviors since he was almost just as bad as his boss, but in a much more obnoxious way, if that was possible. When the Savior’s started tearing at their own ranks though it was obvious that things were going to change in a big way since Negan has never been completely stable as anyone might have noticed, but for a while at least it would have appeared that he was above killing his own command group. That theory was debunked pretty quickly.
8. Gregory
This death was highly satisfying no matter that Maggie did it largely out of spite and not really out of justice, no matter what anyone might want to say. Gregory was weak in many ways, but in a most fundamental way that spoke to his natural drive to betray those that he felt were on the losing side of an argument. Given how strong the Saviors were it wasn’t too hard to see why he bent in Negan and Simon’s direction. But thankfully he was brought to task for it eventually.
7. Martin
There was just something wrong with Martin, some vital, emotional component that a lot of people have but was missing in him somehow. The fact that he was ready to kill Judith was enough to set a lot of fans against him, but it didn’t get any better when he, Gareth, and the others from Terminus decided to try and ambush Rick’s group. He was actually defiant right up until he was told to get on his knees, with the barrel of a gun to convince him against any further defiance. Needless to say he’s not a character that’s missed.
6. Merle Dixon
Merle was kind of on a road of redemption near the end of his life since he wasn’t as bad as some of the other villains on this list. But when he first started out there was no doubt that he was kind of a dick and didn’t really put the survival of those around him high on his priority list. Still, for as much of a pain as he was to everyone, including his own brother, who actually worried about him, Merle deserved a little better.
5. Dante
If there’s one thing that’s bound to get a person on the villains list it’s being a traitor, especially since being a traitor in such dire times is even more cowardly than killing a number of people with your own hands. Dante was without a doubt on the same level as Gregory, but much worse since he had access to a greater number of people due to his position, and because like Martin he was ready to sacrifice a child.
4. Gareth
This one had to have a lot of people saying “Yes!” once Rick kept his promise of finishing Gareth with the red-handled machete. The only moment that really ranks up with the final moments that Gareth and his people spent in the church was the one in which Bob revealed to them that he’d been bitten, a tidbit he gave out once it was established that they’d taken his leg and cooked it for their supper. Oh yeah, it was vindictive, but it was priceless too.
3. The Governor
There were characters in this series that just NEEDED to die, and were well-deserving of their deaths by the time their final breath came. The Governor was someone that was hard to trust from the start even for those that hadn’t read the comics. By the time his true colors were revealed though it was kind of obvious that he was one of the nastiest rats around and he knew how to work that to his advantage. His death couldn’t have come soon enough.
2. Shane Walsh
One could argue that Shane wasn’t such a huge villain the series, but it couldn’t be argued that he was the hero either after what he did to Otto and the fact that he wasn’t ready to stand aside when Rick showed up later on. It feels as though he might have been of more use later on, but it’s also possible that Shane could have done more damage, so a shot to the head from Carl was about the only way to end this.
1. Alpha
One can only hope that people were pumping their fist in the air for this one since she’s been one of the most persistent and dogmatic villains of the series thus far given that she’s somehow outsmarted the survivors at every turn. Thankfully though, accepting Negan into her group was the one time she showed a serious lack of judgment, as it ended up bringing her much-needed downfall.
There are plenty of villains left off the list, but these were among the worst.
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