10 Reasons Why The Walking Dead Is Currently Better Than Ever

The Walking Dead has always hurt its characters - that's nothing new.

But, much like the concept of making character deaths feel fresh whilst allowing them to remain as shocking as ever, hurting the main characters gets harder and harder as a show goes on.

Carol, for example, spent much of Season Nine in relative bliss. Married to Ezekiel, a beloved leader and doting mother, all was right in her world. But with Henry's death, she entered a rage fuelled depression never seen on the show before. Addicted to pills, obsessed with revenge, she is no longer the headstrong, level-headed Carol fans once knew, but a beaten down shell of her former self.

Siddiq too spends his final arc traumatised by Alpha's murder of his friends, showing the full force of severe PTSD.

Not all the pain inflicted on the characters is mental however, though Carol and Siddiq had two of the latest season's most compelling stories. With Daryl, the pain has been mostly physical. His fight with Beta, though he technically won in the end, saw he massively out-matched and vulnerable like never before. He recent tussle with Alpha capitalised on this, bringing him close to death after a stab to the leg.

All of this, within two seasons, has shown The Walking Dead's ability to hurt its characters hasn't dampened over the years. If anything, the whole theme has been brilliantly improved on.