The Five Worst Storylines On The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is a great show. Whether or not you want to admit it has had a few missteps in storylines through its first 91 episodes, though, is up to you.

The AMC series hooked fans with its breathtaking and intense zombie action. Right off the bat, Rick Grimes was coming to grips with the fact that people were turning into zombies and we had to watch him shoot a reanimated girl in the face. To follow it up, we found his best friend was sleeping with his wife and no one on the show was safe as walkers were lurking around every corner.

The following five seasons, however, had their peaks and valleys. Moments of intense build up were sometimes squashed with slow moving plots and storylines which may have otherwise been entertaining were drawn out across too many episodes.

Although not a storyline, the Glenn fake-out death in Season 6 earns an honorable mention. We’re going to dub it as more of a “moment” than storyline, though. Plus, it paid off in only three episodes and got everybody talking. Most of our “worst moments” list take half of a season to be resolved.

On the following slides, we take a look at the five worst storylines The Walking Dead has offered in its 6.5 seasons to date.

Searching for Sophia

Sophia stumbling out of Hershel’s barn was one of the most shocking moments in The Walking Dead‘s history. The midseason 2 finale left fans heartbroken but starving for more.

However, the search for Sophia was long and at times, painful.

Spanning the entire first half of the show’s second season, Rick, Daryl, Shane, Lori, and Carol avidly searched the desolate Georgia woods for the little girl. It was truly a hopeless search from the beginning, something viewers understand better than any of the characters.

Of course, we did get the Cherokee Rose moment, some build up between Rick, Shane and Hershel, and Shane’s slaying of Otis along the way. So, it wasn’t all bad.

 

The Flu

Season 3 saw the group arrive at the prison. The first signs of safety and sanctuary were around since Hershel’s farm fell. Trouble in paradise lurked not far as the Governor was eager to conquer their home.

However, the storyline stalled when the sickness issues came into play. For several issues, we had to watch characters coughing in jail cells rather than Rick and company slaying zombies and potential human foes. 

Like the search for Sophia, the sickness storyline wasn’t without its great moments. Prior to having his head cut off, Hershel delivered his “Risk your life,” speech which was one of the few brightspots of the arc. At least it set up Carol’s banishing which lead to the epic Terminus save, though.

 

Governor/Andrea

The Governor and Andrea was one of the most irredeemable plot points in all of The Walking Dead. Maybe it’s because we’re comic book fans that this storyline makes us so angry but turning Andrea into a foolish girl able to be manipulated by the all-but-insane leader of Woodbury was a poor choice.

Every viewer screamed at the TV sets for Andrea to smarten up and see through the Governor’s facade. She never did.

Not even Rick or her new friend Michonne could convince Andrea that the Governor was a bad guy. Ehy not? She spent how much time with these people and knew their intentions were good — or, at the very least, to survive together?

 

The Wolves

One of the most underwhelming storylines in The Walking Dead‘s 91 episodes to date was the Wolves.

The group of savages were an overhyped version of the DC Scavengers for television. For weeks — actually, months — the group was built up. The first signs were shown as early as the first half of Season 5. The group descimated Noah’s hometown and killed his family. They encountered Morgan in the woods and looked to be bringing some sort of creepy new philosophy to the show. They had a compound where they filled 18-wheelers with zombies. They were finally an organized and considerable threat to Rick and Alexandria! Right?

Wrong.

The Wolves were nothing more than a bunch of people living in the woods who apparently had a thing for chopping people up for no reason. They were quickly disposed of after their attack on Alexandria and claimed no major victims. Not to mention, Morgan trying to keep one of them as a prisoner was nothing but frustrating.

 

Slabtown

Inarguably, the worst storyline in The Walking Dead‘s history was one which has had zero lasting impact on the series and took time from viewers anxious to see literally anything else. 

Slabtown.

Dawn’s hospital and bunch of police officers in Atlanta was sadly the last of the Atlanta stories for The Walking Dead. Beth was trapped, Noah was introduced, and Carol was brought into the twisted over-sized infurmary.

The legacy of the story appeared to be Beth’s growth or, at least, Noah’s carrying of her memory. Nope. Both of the characters were dead not long after the storyline paid off. Plus, Dawn, the nothing-but-despisable leader of the group was shot in the head. It was the only redemptive moment of the entire storyline.

Oh, and Maggie finally remembered she had a sister when Daryl carried Beth’s body out of the hospital. What?

 

Potential Candidate

The Walking Dead’s sixth season has frustrated fans quite a bit for its lack of inclusion of fan-favorite characters on a weekly basis.

Never has this been more present than Episode 7×06 (Swear).

The Tara-centric episode introduced a new group in Oceanside but, so far, has done little to signify any significance for the group in the future. As of now, the Oceanside story does not make the list of worst storylines because it may have a major (or at least some sort of) payoff in the future. If not, Andrea may find a bit of relief.