9. Scott Wilson (Hershel Greene)
When first we meet Hershel in Season 2, he is an older veterinarian fighting to save Carl's life after an accidental shooting. He and his family have largely avoided the horrors of the Walker hordes due to the isolation of their farm. Stubborn and set in his ways, he is more willing to believe that his Walker-turned friends and family members merely require containment until a cure is developed. Season 2 Hershel is steeped in denial and seemingly doomed in his refusal to abandon his pre-pandemic way of life. Season 2 Hershel is not a man likely to survive very long exposed in a zombie apocalypse. Season 3 Hershel is a whole other story. Despite his advanced age, he has survived many months on the run and is capable in many different situations. He helps clear the prison yard of Walkers, he cares for the pregnant Lori, survives having his leg unceremoniously chopped off after it's bitten by a Walker and still leglessly escapes shootouts and Walker breaches, all while on a pair of crutches. The transformation from old-fashioned to awesome could easily be difficult to accept in a show that already demands plenty of disbelief suspension, but Scott Wilson maintains the same vague authority of the second season while adding an air of pragmatism which makes it believable that old country doctor Hershel has survived among the likes of Daryl Dixon and Rick Grimes.
MVP Moment: Hershel watches despairingly as Shane and Co. mow down the Walkers that had been Hershel's wife and family.