12 Best Character Arcs In The Walking Dead

Before being unceremoniously killed off in the middle of season eight (from a lowly walker bite, no less) Carl Grimes had shaped up to be one of the show's most low-key compelling characters. He started the show as the young, naive son of Rick and Lori Grimes, and through the first few seasons lost his brief mentor Shane Walsh and was forced to shoot his own mother.

From season four onward, Carl became a straight-up badass. He was still a bit sloppy, and his optimism and belief in people often came across as dangerously naive given the circumstances, but all told Carl came to represent something no other character did - the possibility of a good future, and a safe life.

He fought evil gangs, saw his dad slip into madness, protected his sister, took on Negan single-handedly and lost an eye. He nearly died time and time again, and when he was killed it happened as he fought for the life of Siddiq, an innocent survivor. Carl went through it all and then some, and though killing him may not have been great, his was still an exceptional arc until then.