Remembering Glenn On ‘The Walking Dead’ For Steven Yeun’s Birthday

What better day to remember The Walking Dead‘s Glenn Rhee than on Steven Yeun‘s birthday?

Yeun, who played Glenn on the AMC zombie drama through just over six seasons, turns 34 on Thursday. The actor was a crucial part of The Walking Dead during its biggest seasons, having joined the show in its second episode and lending his voice for an epic moment at the end of its pilot.

Since The Walking Dead, Yeun has moved on to other projects such as Okja and Mayhem, but ComicBook.com will honor the actor be recalling Glenn’s five best moments in the zombie apocalypse.

Honorable mentions include Glenn’s unforgettable dumpster dive with Nicholas, sparing Heath of having to kill Saviors at the satellite station, and discovering the walkers in Hershel’s barn. None were enough to crack the Top 5, however.

The Pilot

While never actually being seen in the series premiere of The Walking Dead, Yeun’s presence had a major effect on the opening hour’s final moments. 

Rick Grimes found himself seemingly hopeless and trapped in a tank surrounded by the undead. Topping it off, the body beside him reanimated as a walker, prompting Rick to shoot it and send himself into a whirlwind of sensory overload. It looked like there was no way out until a flicker of hope emerged from the radio as Glenn called out to offer a helping hand.

“Hey dumbass!” Glenn said. “Yeah, you in the tank!”

Fans were left wondering what would happen next for Rick as the episode ended on a massive pull out shot over the zombie-ridden streets of Atlanta and were instantly hooked in for the next episode (and entire series).

The Reunion

Season 5 saw Glenn on a mission. He was determined to find his wife Maggie whom he had been separated from when the prison fell in battle against the Governor.

Despite his new friends Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita demanding they stay on course for Washington D.C. in an effort to deliver the cure, Glenn was willing to risk it all in an effort to find his lady — and he did just that.

After getting trapped in a tunnel and appearing to find the end of their road, Glenn found a way to fight his way out of the walker infested, claustrophic setting. He would ultimately reunite with Maggie for one of The Walking Dead‘s most emotional moments and a rare bright spot in a dark series. 

Wild Ride

Going back to Season 1, another fan-favorite moment involving Glenn was seeing the character unleash the power of a Dodge Challenger to have a little bit of fun in the apocalypse.

Who cares if it was product placement? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Either way it was a fun scene and introduced the world to the truly fun and lovable character of Glenn Rhee.

While The Walking Dead maintained the horrifying terror of zombies, Glenn managed to hijack the car and drive it back to his group’s camp outside of Atlanta with the alarm blaring. The former pizza boy knew a thing or two about driving in a hurry, so he had a sufficient amount of fun with no police radars to worry about as he ripped it full speed down the vacant highways.

Guts Runner

It should come as no surprise that several of Glenn’s best moments came from the show’s first season.

Not only were the moments which saw Glenn and Rick covered in zombie guts among the former pizza boy’s best but it was one of the most unforgettable about the entire series. The trick would be used again in later seasons, including the most recent Season 8, but it was never as truly sickening or shocking as the debut season.

Rick and Glenn chopped up the bodies of former Atlanta residents, checking their ID’s to pay respects, and covered themselves with their intestines in an effort to blend in with the walkers surrounding them. The idea worked until rain began washing the blood and guts off of the two survivors in the midst of their escape.

Yeun often refers to the days on set as his “welcome to Hollywood” moments.

Breakout

Of all the Glenn moments from The Walking Dead, none can top when he unleashed his inner rage mode to save himself in order to save Maggie.

Shortly after Merle captured Maggie and Glenn, the Governor wanted answers. The couple was reluctant to provide any, however. Merle stepped up his torture game by unleashing a walker in Glenn’s holding room while he was defenselessly strapped to a chair. The survivor freed himself and used parts of the chair to take the walker out.

It was an epic moment which showed the world what Glenn was capable of. Of course, fans know while he can dodge a zombie, he couldn’t quite dodge a baseball bat…

Thanks for the memories, Glenn!