10 Characters The Walking Dead Killed Off At The Wrong Time
8. Dale
While Dale's death in the show was influenced by external conflict between AMC and Jeffrey DeMunn, it really is a shame that he had to exit the show so early. The appointed moral compass of the group, Dale would always say what he believed had to be said even if it made him unpopular with other members of the group. After his exit from the show, the writers seemed to pass his role onto Hershel.
While Hershel made for a great moral compass to the group, there was something about how riled up and angry Dale could with anyone. He also had great relationships with everyone in the group, but most importantly Glenn, Rick and Andrea. These relationships would've made the third season even more interesting, especially with the situation with Woodbury.
Would Dale attempt to get Andrea to come back to the prison, or would he actually rather move to Woodbury as well? Who knows what Dale would think of the group after a winter on the road, or of Rick after he killed Tomas. His beliefs would've been pushed to that absolute extreme as he gets caught up in the war between the two groups and his inner conflict could've helped drive the message home that both groups have their faults.
We'd also get to see a lot more of the iconic stare, which is always a bonus.