2. The Walking Dead
Main Character Missing: Rick Grimes (2 Episodes, So Far).
Which Episode?: "Walk With Me" (Season 3, Episode 3) and "Live Bait" (Season 4, Episode 6).
Is It Still Good?: Yes. The Walking Dead is immensely successful right now. The comics are in the midst of its 10th anniversary celebration, and the series has just seen its highest ratings yet this year, while the game has won numerous awards and has a second "season" coming up. However, neither the comic or the series has featured its main protagonist, Deputy Rick Grimes, in every single episode or issue. These occurrences are few and far between, however, with only 3 issues and 2 episodes refraining from allowing Rick to appear. But we're focusing on the show here, so let's say no more on the comics. Oddly enough, both of the episodes that have no Andrew Lincoln as Rick focus entirely on David Morrissey's superb performance as Phillip Blake, a.k.a. The Governor. In Season 3's "Walk With Me", both Andrea and Michonne are introduced to the man, whilst in Season 4's "Live Bait", he is reintroduced after a prolonged absence. These episodes really do hold up on their own despite Rick's absence, which just gives us more hope for that companion series AMC keep talking about. I have already mentioned in my
The Walking Dead Season 4: Ranking The First 8 Episodes article that The Governor basically comes along and steals two episodes of the show from Rick each season he's in, which is a testament to both the character and the brilliant actor portraying him.