8. Rick Loses His Hand
This is one of the biggest moments in the entire history of The Walking Dead. It changes a lot. When Rick first gets captured by The Governor, he feels a lesson is needed, so decides to completely brutalise Rick by removing his hand. It sets up The Governor as the series' biggest villain. Someone who is completely and utterly ruthless. Robert Kirkman has gone on record as saying that doing this to Rick was one of his biggest regrets when it comes to the comics. Personally, I love this moment. It shows us as readers that no one is safe. Everyone is vulnerable. The reason why it's such a big moment though? It makes Rick harder. It shows him that he can't trust anyone, for better or worse. This would be a big game changer for the TV version too. Again though, as with the previous entry on this list, it's perhaps not something that will come into play anymore. We've seen Merle walking around with his lack of a hand and many people have speculated that this was a nod to the comics, implying that the writers may not be planning to help Rick part company with his limbs any time soon.