With its intricate stories, deep living dead lore, and complex characters, AMC's The Walking Dead has become one of TV's true heavyweights, breaking ratings records and earning itself a dedicated legion of fans in the process. After 10 seasons, the zombie series is set for its final bow, and with many fans speculating over what might happen in The Walking Dead's final season, it's the perfect time to look back at the most unpredictable twists and turns from the show's exceptional run.
Whether it be characters bearing their true allegiances, stepping out of their comfort zone, or even their unexpected deaths, The Walking Dead has rarely been a straightforward journey for the survivors of the apocalypse.
8 Somebody Let A Fox Into The Hen House When Dante Joined Alexandria
Shocking plot twists aren't always shocking for the right reasons, without proper setup or foreshadowing, a sharp turn in the story can leave viewers confused, and this was somewhat the case when Dante was outed as a member of the dreaded Whisperers.
Dante's actions lacked clear motivation in hindsight, but the distress in his face as he killed Siddiq displayed his inner turmoil and added a layer of heart and humanity to his heinous acts. Former Whisperer Lydia not recognizing Dante was later explained, but the death of Siddiq, a character many felt would stick around for some time, made for some truly shocking television.
7 Carol Admits To Burning The Bodies
Character arcs in The Walking Dead don't come much better than Carol Peletier's, from timid abuse victim to badass walker-killing warrior to queen of the kingdom, Carol has been through a fascinating array of changes over the years. One of the more significant moments in her transformation came in Season 4.
Rick Grimes is on a mission to find out who killed Karen and David, a pair of sick group members housed in the prison, and the truth he uncovers makes for one of the more shocking reveals in The Walking Dead. Carol admits she killed them and burned the bodies. The twist certainly made clear just how far Carol was willing to go to protect the ones closest to her.
6 Glenn Goes From Dead To Alive To Dead All Over Again
The Walking Dead has had its share of stumbles over its many seasons, and few have rubbed fans the wrong way quite like Glenn's infamous fake-out death. The reason it came as such a shock is that it didn't make a whole lot of sense, audiences had watched Glenn become walker chow episodes prior, only they hadn't.
It was revealed that Nicholas, a character whose entire purpose seemed to revolve around this moment, had in fact fallen on top of Glenn and viewers had been watching his insides spill out like dropped lasagne, and good old Glenn was perfectly intact underneath. Fans weren't happy that they had been tricked, and tricked cheaply.
5 Fans Had To Really Listen Close To Hear The Whisperers Coming
For fans that hadn't read the comic, the arrival of Season 9's soft-spoken antagonists was an excellent surprise. In episodes leading up to The Whisperers reveal, talk of evolved zombies, ones with the ability to think for themselves and lead herds of the flesh-eaters, had fans wondering if The Walking Dead was about to take a giant leap over shark-infested waters.
The build paid off, as when the group was cornered and Jesus was mid-dispatch of a group of walkers with his magnificent martial arts skills, one of the walkers ducked his attack and drove a knife into Paul Rovia's back. Zombies hadn't evolved, people had, now hiding amongst the dead with skin masks gruesome enough to make a Slipknot member wince.
4 Carl Grimes Is Bitten By A Walker
The Walking Dead's real success comes from its incredible variety of characters, and throughout its run, only a select few have ever seemed untouchable in terms of on-screen deaths. One of these was Carl Grimes, son to main protagonist Rick, and despite a few years of irritating audiences as a child, Carl matured into a complex character that fans cared deeply for.
When Carl revealed that a walker had taken a nibble out of his abdomen, fans couldn't quite believe it. The placement of the bite essentially served as a death sentence for the youngster, there was no chance for any Hershel-style limb removals here.
3 Lucille Hits A Home Run, & Then Gets Another Swing At It
Negan's terrifying introduction was of course set to conclude with some skull bashing, even non-comic fans couldn't avoid word of the inevitable outcome of one of their heroes succumbing to Negan's beloved bat, Lucille. Yet no one expected that two members of the group would be brains out by the end of Season 7's premiere.
Abraham had just been brutally killed, and as upset as fans were about the loss of the tough-talking big man, many felt a moment of relief as the bat swinging seemed over for now. Jaws then dropped when Negan swung once more, this time making fan-favorite Glenn his target. The end result is arguably the show's most upsetting and grotesque death so far.
2 Sophia Wasn't Lost, She Was In The Barn All Along
The Walking Dead's reputation for turning stomachs and tugging heartstrings is well earned. In the Season 2 mid-season finale, fans got their first taste of just how unforgiving the post-apocalyptic landscape could be. The group, and especially Daryl, had been relentlessly searching for Carol's missing daughter Sophia, and with Sophia being of such a young age, some viewers naturally concluded she'd be found safe and sound after all.
Shock horror then when the doors to Hershel's zombie-storing barn opened, the undead stumbled out one by one, and eventually out stumbled Sophia, now very much a member of the walking dead.
1 Don't Just Be Wary Of The Walkers, Everyone Is Infected
The zombie genre had been around for a long time before The Walking Dead hit screens, so viewers naturally thought they knew the rules when it came to those rotting corpses with a taste for human flesh—you get bit, you turn into a zombie.
The reveal that every human had been infected with an airborne virus was a masterstroke and meant that no matter how someone died, if their brain was intact, they would reanimate with an insatiable hunger for the flesh of the living. It set up multiple shocking revivals from characters whose deaths were of the non-walker-related variety. "We're all infected" gave The Walking Dead a brilliant gimmick of sorts to really separate it from other undead adventures.