The Walking Dead was one of the most successful TV shows ever, but some moments were too much for viewers. The Walking Dead ran for 11 seasons from 2010 to 2022. For a show that utilized time jumps, some storylines moved painstakingly slowly and had a tedious resolution. Other developments were controversial because of the impact they had on major characters.
With massive viewership in its earlier seasons, many episodes after big events suffered from notably lower numbers than usual. While some of these viewers would eventually return, even lasting to The Walking Dead series finale, others had their fill earlier, with one moment causing them to quit the show for good.
The Action Moves To Hershel’s Farm
The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 2: “Bloodletting”
The Walking Dead season 1 charted Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and the rest of the survivors going into the city to the CDC building. However, in season 2, the action shifted to the farm owned by Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson). The location change started with a bang due to Hershel’s farm hand shooting Carl (Chandler Riggs), but the plot slowed down from there.
Thankfully, the farm did help introduce fan-favorite characters like Maggie (Lauren Cohan), who went on to headline The Walking Dead: Dead City. There were many decent storylines at the farm, such as her burgeoning romance with Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Hershel keeping the reanimated corpses of his loved ones in the barn. Still, many viewers were probably happy that the farm was overrun by Walkers at the end of The Walking Dead season 2, finally making way for a location shift that should have happened in the midseason finale.
Lori Gets a Brutal Farewell
The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 4: “Killer Within”
Lori was immediately at a disadvantage with viewers because she was revealed to be having an affair with Rick’s former partner, Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal). Rick was determined to make their relationship work after learning of the affair because they had Carl. The news of Lori’s pregnancy was a shocker, but the way the birth was handled was downright cruel.
Lori went into labor during a fight at the prison but was bleeding profusely. Recognizing that something was wrong, she demanded Maggie perform a Cesarean section to save her unborn child. Lori didn’t spend any time with her daughter because she bled out and died immediately following the surgery, with Carl forced to shoot her in the head to prevent her from returning as a Walker. While it was hands down one of the show’s most brutal deaths and likely caused some viewers to tune out, it blew the show’s storyline potential wide open for the rest of the season.
Andrea Dies at Her Own Hand
The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 16: “Welcome to the Tombs”
Andrea (Laurie Holden) was one of the best characters in The Walking Dead comic book series, so there was every indication that the same would be true in the TV adaptation. But that didn’t turn out to be the case, with many criticizing her actions, such as getting into a romantic relationship with the Governor (David Morrissey) and straying too far from the group she started the show with. Despite all of her flaws, Andrea realized that the Governor was making some genuinely horrifying decisions and thought the only way forward was to turn against him.
Sadly for Andrea and the viewers waiting for her to blossom into her comic book counterpart, Andrea’s arc came to a horrible conclusion when the Governor realized she was conspiring against him. She was bitten and shot herself because she didn’t want to turn into a zombie. It will go down as one of the most polarizing storylines because, on the one hand, the TV iteration of Andrea wasn’t very well written, but there was always hope from fans of the comic books that she would get the material she deserved.
David Morrissey Returns as the Governor
The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 5: “Internment”
Despite turning in a frighteningly good portrayal of a man who lets the power go to his head, Morrissey’s return as the Governor in The Walking Dead season 4 is a plot that should be forgotten. It could be argued that if the show wanted to flesh out the Governor and show him getting into a relationship with Lilly (Audrey Marie Anderson), then the pace of The Walking Dead season 3 should have been elevated to pack it all into that time frame.
By the time the Governor returned in season 4, he had started a new life but couldn’t help holding on to his resentment towards Rick, making his comeback tedious and unsatisfying. The only good thing about dragging the storyline out was that viewers learned a lot about Tara (Alanna Masterson) before she became a member of the team. But the arc as a whole wouldn’t have been nearly as frustrating if it didn’t spill into The Walking Dead season 4.
Carol Kills Lizzie in a Haunting Fashion
The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 14: “The Grove”
Carol (Melissa McBride) helped the survivors escape harm’s way on countless occasions and became known as one of the most cunning characters in The Walking Dead universe. Still, one of her most shocking storylines involved brutally gunning down an 11-year-old child named Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino). Carol had taken Lizzie and her sister Mika (Kyla Kennedy) into her care after the death of their father but was forced to kill Lizzie because of the threat she posed to others.
In one of the most haunting deaths in The Walking Dead, Carol told Lizzie to “look at the flowers” before fatally shooting her in the back of the head. While the episode has since been hailed as one of The Walking Dead‘s best, many viewers didn’t continue watching because the storyline was too uncomfortable. There were consequences for Carol, as Rick basically excommunicated her, only for her to redeem herself by bringing an explosion to Terminus.
Carl Dies Without Rick
The Walking Dead Season 8, Episode 9: “Honor”
Carl Grimes cheated death countless times throughout his eight seasons on The Walking Dead, but nothing could prepare him for being bitten in a Walker battle while trying to save Siddiq (Avi Nash). Viewers didn’t learn about the bite until The Walking Dead season 8 episode 9, “Honor,” which found the youngster revealing all to Rick and Michonne. Carl got to say goodbye to the people he loved, but knowing that he pulled the trigger on himself to avoid becoming a zombie was heartbreaking, especially because no one was with him in his final moments
The development is arguably one of the most polarizing of the series, partly because Andrew Lincoln exited shortly after, and one of the best ways to keep Rick’s memory alive would have been to keep Carl in the mix. Additionally, as an original The Walking Dead star, Riggs deserved better. Given the backlash to Carl’s death, there’s a good chance creatives wouldn’t have gone through with it if they knew how negatively fans would react.
Rick Is Taken by Jadis and The CRM
The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 5: “What Comes After”
The Walking Dead started with Rick, so viewers naturally thought it would end with him. He wasn’t a perfect leader by any stretch of the imagination, but he was the glue that held the show together. Keeping The Walking Dead alive without Rick wasn’t enjoyable for many viewers. It didn’t help matters that AMC announced a trilogy of movies to chart what happened to Rick after he was whisked away by the CRM. Viewers were led to believe Rick’s story would come to a definite conclusion with his final episode, so asking them to follow him to a trilogy of movies was a tough sell.
There were still many stories to tell for Rick, so Lincoln’s decision to exit the show left fans wondering whether to continue watching. They’d only recently said goodbye to Carl, and the storylines started going in circles. Had The Walking Dead season 9 not jumped forward in time, the show probably wouldn’t have been able to recalibrate and deliver one of its finest seasons in years.
Michonne Leaves Her Kids Behind To Search for Rick
The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 13: “What We Become”
The Walking Dead struggled to keep its cast members in its later seasons. By the time the show hit season 10, Danai Gurira’s career was on the rise, and she was ready to try different things. As a result, Michonne traveled with Virgil (Kevin Carroll) to an island to get weapons, but she didn’t find anything to help in their fight. Instead, she found Rick’s cowboy boots and some more of his belongings, confirming that he didn’t die following the bridge explosion as first thought.
Determined to find Rick, she followed him on the road and located a couple who needed help. Later, she realized they were part of a large group of people, but it’s left up for debate whether they knew anything about Rick. Michonne’s decision to leave Judith and R.J. behind didn’t go down well with viewers, who couldn’t believe she’d walk away from her children to find him.
Carol and Daryl Walk Away From Each Other
The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 21: “Diverged”
“Diverged” is widely considered The Walking Dead‘s worst episode. Ironically, it wasn’t supposed to exist in the first place. It was a part of the six bonus episodes added to The Waking Dead season 10 after it was revealed there would be a long wait in store following the COVID-19 pandemic. In the episode, Carol and Daryl’s relationship hit a snag because of Carol’s reckless decision to run into the cave, leaving everyone to fear the worst for Connie (Lauren Ridloff) and Magna (Nadia Hilker).
In the aftermath, Daryl was trying to come to terms with the potential loss and how he could realistically find a way to move forward as an ally to Carol. Their relationship pretty much imploded in this particular episode of The Walking Dead, with them both going their separate ways. Viewers didn’t take too kindly to watching Carol do mundane activities like making a stew while trying to find rats in the kitchen. The episode suffered from repetition, with the pair parting ways a second time later on.