10 TV Shows That Went Too Far (In Completely Unexpected Ways)

Like Dexter, The Walking Dead was never—from its violent pilot episode onwards—a show which shied away from the grittier and bleaker side of things. The post-apocalyptic drama saw its heroes face down not only hordes of the undead but the absolute worst of humanity as well, offering a vision of the world’s end which was about as optimistic as Cormac McCarthy’s The Road—which come to think of it is actually a pretty obvious influence on Rick and Carl’s relationship.

However, whilst the arrival of long-lasting villain and eventual deeply, deeply flawed antihero Negan did herald some serious ultraviolence that would leave Alex DeLarge himself chucking his Beethoven records out the window, his gruesome antics were at least initially well-grounded in the show’s plot and provided drama, tension, and character development along with smashed skulls.

What was not so well-grounded was the same character’s grotesque hook up with season ten’s primary antagonist, the zombie-faced Alpha, which took place whilst the pair were still wearing the skinned faces of the undead as masks—you know what, we’re aware this one did serve as foreshadowing for later events, but you try sitting through that uncomfortable scene again and tell us it was necessary.