The Walking Dead: Every Season 4 Episode Ranked Worst To Best

The show's fourth season plays with time and structure, with messy but thrilling results.

The Walking Dead
AMC

When it comes to narrative structure, no season of The Walking Dead can claim to be as innovative and twisting as its fourth season, which features Scott M. Gimple in his first year as the series' showrunner, and finds the core group scattered following a vicious attack from The Governor.

Split into two distinctive halves - one dealing with a raging flu epidemic at the prison, the other with the Survivors as they attempt to find each other again - the season introduces numerous new characters and follows the group as they make their way to a new possible safe haven.

For many, season four is either one of the best or one of the worst entries in the show's history, and it's easy to see why. Its structure may be compelling, but its least inspired episodes rank as some of the worst the show's ever made.

That being said, for every Governor-centric dud, there's an episode in which Rick rips a man's throat out with his teeth, or where Carol and Tyreese deal with a dangerously psychopathic child. It's not without its flaws, but at its best it remains an iconic game-changer.

With that in mind, here are all 16 episodes from The Walking Dead's fourth season, ranked worst to best. Major spoilers follow.

16. Live Bait

The Walking Dead
AMC

Though on paper a return to the world of The Governor seems to be a great narrative decision, the results found in Live Bait leave much to be desired.

After massacring his people in the previous season, The Governor finds himself abandoned by his remaining allies, disconnected from the world and numb to his past actions. He destroys Woodbury, and ends up forming a connection with a family who take pity on him.

With its glacial pace and poor narrative progression, Live Bait may feature a strong, tortured performance from David Morrissey and the first appearance of future mainstay Tara Chambler, but its slow drama and lack of characters makes it an episode easily forgotten.

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