The Walking Dead: 10 Best Deaths Of 2016
From an arrow through the eye to a date with Lucille, which characters went out in style this year?
It hasn't been an easy year for Rick Grimes and the gang on The Walking Dead. Through the back half of the show's sixth season and the first half of its seventh, the satisfaction of seeing some of their enemies fall has been thoroughly overshadowed by the ongoing loss of friends and family.
Death is, of course, nothing new to the series, which has constantly thrived on it since launching six years ago. That said, 2016 has featured some of the darkest character departures yet, either for the sheer violence involved in sending them out or for the implications and ramifications of what their deaths represent. It's been a wild ride this year, and one that's seen more loss at the hands of other humans than the undead themselves, which has provided the show with another round of unforgettable sendoffs.
Before 2017 takes us back to the world of The Walking Dead and into the march to war against Negan and the Saviors, let's take a spoiler-filled look back at all that 2016 has given to sort out whose deaths left the biggest mark.
10. Carl's Kills
The Episode: Sing Me a Song
How It Happened: After making a trip out to the Hilltop with Enid, Carl found himself presented with an opportunity to find out where the Saviors' main base of operations was and - even better - a chance to take out Negan. Hopping inside the back of a Savior truck, Carl waited until the last minute, surprising (and killing) a Savior named George before standing up against the group outside the truck, one of whom was killed when attempting to approach him.
Why It's On This List: Ultimately, Carl didn't get to go in guns blazing and wipe out a bunch of Saviors. But his decision to go out on what would've otherwise undoubtedly been a suicide mission, had Negan not taken an interest in him, was a notably badass move on the kid's part, even if he didn't think through the ramifications of actual success. If anything, the act helped really kick off the Negan/Carl dynamic that formed over the rest of the episode, and set off a chain of events that led Negan right back to Alexandria just in time for the midseason finale.