The Walking Dead's 6 Most Controversial Decisions That Divided The Fanbase

The Walking Dead made several controversial decisions that left fans divided throughout its eleven seasons. Based on the comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore, The Walking Dead depicts the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Although the story often centers on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), The Walking Dead features a large ensemble cast of characters that changes throughout the series. With gory zombie violence and shocking twists, The Walking Dead falls firmly within the horror genre but has transcended its genre to become a global sensation.

The Walking Dead had its fair share of highs and lows over the years, and the show stirred up controversy among its fans on numerous occasions. Some particularly divisive episodes of The Walking Dead led fans to quit watching the show entirely, and the show’s creators made several shocking storytelling decisions. Considering the state of the world in The Walking Dead, it’s no surprise that beloved characters were killed off regularly, but sometimes the way characters died caused a stir. Other times, it was deviations from the source material that created an uproar among fans.

6

Morgan Jones Left The Walking Dead To Join The Cast Of Fear The Walking Dead

Lennie James Made Morgan One Of The Walking Dead’s Best Characters

Morgan Jones (Lennie James) was the first survivor Rick Grimes met after waking from his coma in the pilot episode of The Walking Dead. After that appearance, Morgan did not return until the show’s third season, which left him at a low point after the death of his son. Morgan returned briefly in season 5, before becoming a main character for seasons 6 through 8. Morgan found peace after an encounter with a man named Eastman (John Carroll Lynch), and his leadership style conflicted with Rick’s as Rick grew more violent.

During the war with the Saviors, Morgan killed with brutal efficiency, and he decided to leave Virginia to isolate himself from people and find his peace again. Morgan Jones had long been one of The Walking Dead’s most interesting characters, and his departure felt like a major loss. Jones became the main character in Fear the Walking Dead season 4, which may have increased viewership for that show, but stole the spotlight from other deserving characters like Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey).

5

The Walking Dead Faked Glenn’s Death

The Walking Dead Even Temporarily Removed Steven Yeun‘s Name From Its Opening Credits

In the season 6 episode, “Thank You,” The Walking Dead teased the death of Steven Yeun’s Glenn, much to the annoyance of many of the show’s fans. As Rick and several of the survivors try to lead a herd of walkers away from Alexandria, things take a turn for the worse. Glenn ends up trapped atop a dumpster with Nicholas (Michael Traynor), as walkers close in around them. Nicholas has already been panicking, but he suddenly calms himself down before shooting himself in the head.

8 Worst Character Death Fake-Outs In The Walking Dead, Ranked By How Angry They Made Fans

The Walking Dead franchise is no stranger to bringing back characters from seemingly impossible situations, but some death fake-outs are infuriating.

As Nicholas falls from the dumpster, he takes Glenn with him, and walkers appear to devour them both. While this seemed to be the end of Glenn, The Walking Dead never actually showed him being killed, leading fans to speculate that he had somehow survived. This was confirmed a few episodes later, in “Heads Up,” which shows how Glenn hid under the dumpster until the walkers wandered off. This fake-out seemed to be mostly for shock value and ultimately didn’t add much to the story. Plus, the way Glenn survived felt convenient and unrealistic.

4

The Walking Dead Gave Negan A Redemption Arc

Some Fans Felt That Rick (Or Maggie) Should’ve Killed Negan

Within The Walking Dead universe, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) to thank for his survival. As Carl died, he urged his father to show more compassion and strive for a better future, which led Rick to spare Negan’s life. From a real-world perspective, Negan’s survival likely had a lot to do with his popularity as a character and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s charismatic performance. With Morgan making Negan such a fun and interesting character, it’s hard to blame the writers of The Walking Dead for wanting to keep him around.

Negan’s story continues in The Walking Dead: Dead City, which sees him reunite with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) in what’s left of New York.

Still, that doesn’t mean it was easy for fans to accept Negan after all of the terrible things he did to Rick and his group. Negan brutally murdered Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn in front of the rest of the group, and that’s not something that’s easily forgiven. While it could be argued that everyone who’s still alive in The Walking Dead has done bad things to survive, Rick Grimes killed for far less than what Negan did. Maggie had even more reason to kill Negan, making it more surprising that she held off.

3

Rick Grimes Left The Walking Dead

Rick Appeared To Sacrifice Himself To Save His Friends & Family

Andrew Lincoln made his last regular appearance in The Walking Dead season 9 episode, “What Comes After,” which included lucid dreaming sequences featuring people from Rick’s past. Although the previous episode had teased Rick’s death after he was impaled by a piece of rebar, he remained alive to lead a walker herd away from his people. Leading the walkers onto a bridge, Rick seemingly sacrificed himself by blowing up the bridge to prevent the walkers from continuing on to the Hilltop settlement.

It was Andrew Lincoln who made the decision to leave The Walking Dead, as he wanted to spend more time with his family in the UK.

Although Rick’s fellow survivors believed he had been killed in the explosion, he was actually picked up by Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) in a helicopter operated by the Civic Republic of Philadelphia (CRM). From the beginning, The Walking Dead had primarily been Rick’s story, so his departure changed the show in a big way, allowing the story to focus on other characters. “What Comes After” served as a fitting and emotional send-off that left the door open for Rick’s eventual return in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

2

The Walking Dead Killed Off Carl Grimes

Carl Grimes Was Raised To Be A Survivor, Until He Wasn’t

Carl Grimes began The Walking Dead as a child and grew up surrounded by death. Thanks largely to his father, Rick, and support from other adults in his community, Carl grew to be a hero who was willing to sacrifice himself to save others. In the season 8 episode, “Honor,” it’s revealed that Carl was bitten by a walker as he brought Siddiq (Avi Nash) back to Alexandria. Rick had previously refused to help Siddiq, and Carl feared that his father had lost something of himself in the war with the Saviors.

In The Walking Dead comics, Carl outlived his father and lived to see a brighter future, making his death in the television show all the more shocking.

In the storm sewers beneath Alexandria, Carl revealed his fatal walker bite, and Rick and Michonne (Danai Gurira) agreed to stay with him until the end. Before he died, Carl told his father about his dream of a better future, and Rick promised his son that he would try to bring it to life. Carl Grimes’ death came as a major shock and drastically altered Rick’s character and the direction of The Walking Dead. As a skilled survivor who had managed to hold onto his hope and compassion, Carl represented a better future, but his death cut that tragically short.

1

The Walking Dead Brutally Showed Glenn’s Death

Glenn’s TV Show Death Was Taken Straight From The Comic Books

At the end of The Walking Dead season 6, Negan captured Rick and most of his fellow survivors and bludgeoned someone to death using his beloved baseball bat, Lucille. The identities of Negan’s victims were not revealed until the season 7 premiere, and this wait caused some controversy on its own. In the brutal season 7 opener, “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” Abraham was revealed to be Negan’s first victim, but the violence didn’t stop there. After Daryl (Norman Reedus) attacked Negan out of anger, Negan turned his bat on Glenn.

Rick on the roof of an RV in The Walking Dead

9 Years Later, It’s Time To Admit The Walking Dead’s Most Controversial Episode Is Also A Masterpiece

The Walking Dead’s season 7 premiere made a lot of viewers stop watching — and for good reason — but despite the controversy, it’s a masterpiece.

The Walking Dead pulled no punches when it came to Glenn’s death, showing his last horrifying moments as he called out for his pregnant wife, Maggie. The Walking Dead has never shied away from brutal violence, but this was another level of brutality that caused some viewers to stop watching. Glenn had been a part of the show from the beginning, making it especially difficult to watch him be murdered in this way. The deaths of Abraham and Glenn firmly cemented “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” as one of The Walking Dead’s bleakest and most controversial episodes.