15 Greatest Episodes Of The Walking Dead

Over ten seasons, The Walking Dead has proven to be one of the biggest shows of the 21st century, a sweeping and powerful drama interspersed with great horror visuals, shocking violence, and deep insights into the best and worst that humanity has to offer.

Characters such as Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Michonne, Glenn Rhee, Maggie Greene and Negan have become pop culture icons since the birth of the show, and though the viewership has fallen since its early days, The Walking Dead is still going strong and surprising audiences with every new episode.

Recently, it was announced that the show would end with an extended eleventh season, with shows such as World Beyond, Tales of the Walking Dead, and a Daryl/Carol spin-off keeping the franchise alive once it's off-air.

In honour of the show's upcoming final season, the following list will take a look at the post-apocalyptic zombie drama's best ever episodes so far, from the more recent seasons to the iconic classics.

Looking at the episodes that made the cut (and even those that didn't) it's great to see where the show came from, what it's become, and how it's bound to end on an undeniable high. Shows like this come once in a lifetime. Here are 15 episodes that prove it's deserving of the praise and popularity it's received.

Major spoilers throughout.

Season seven's opening has become so controversial and divisive since its premiere that it's easy to forget just how masterful the episode is.

Taking its name from Edwin Jenner's final warning to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) in season one, The Day Will Come When You Won't Be is an epic, daring exercise in tension, fear and character.

Of course, it's easy to see why it's such a widely discussed, love-it-or-hate-it episode, what with the gratuitous nature of the violence and the deaths of Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), but outside of the controversy, the episode is a perfect example of how horrifying, gruesome and unpredictable the world of The Walking Dead can be.

The stand-out of the episode is without question Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a character who burst onto the show like no other in the previous episode. With The Day Will Come... Negan proves without fault to be the most terrible, awful and seemingly irredeemable character the show has ever seen, and the biggest threat the Survivors have ever faced.

All told, the season seven premiere is a tour de force, and whether you agree with its pay-off or not, there's no denying the emotional power it holds and the masterful performances it created.