The Best Episode From Each Season of The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is arguably the best zombie show ever to air on television, and since it was on the cable network AMC, it was able to go places that other horror shows couldn’t. However, while the zombie series was among the best in the genre, it does not mean that all episodes were created equal, and one of the biggest complaints at the end of the main series’ run was that the show was lacking in quality. That said, every season of the series had some incredible episodes, with the first three seasons easily among the best on television, regardless of genre.

Here is a look at the very best episode of every season of The Walking Dead.

11) “Days Gone Bye” (1.01)

The first season of The Walking Dead opened with a bang with the premiere episode “Days Gone By.” Directed by Frank Darabont, who also wrote the episode, this opened with Rick Grimes before the zombie apocalypse, and then watching as he suffered an injury that place him in a coma. When he woke up the world was never the same and the viewers discovered the new zombie infested world as Rick did. The episode set a record as the most watched cable TV premiere with 5.35 million viewers and it has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. This one episode created the visual language and emotional tone for the entire series.

10) “Pretty Much Dead Already” (2.07)

The best episode of The Walking Dead Season 2 was the seventh, titled “Pretty Much Dead Anyway.” This was the mid-season finale, and it featured one of the most shocking moments of the early part of the series, as this was where Glenn found the walkers hidden in Hershel’s barn, which included the man’s own daughter, who he believed he could save. That moment when the viewers saw Sophie was among the zombies and had already died and turned was a gut punch that showed this was a zombie series that wasn’t pulling any punches.

9) “Killer Within” (3.04)

“Killer Within” was the fourth episode of the third season, and it ended up stripping many of the survivors of any hope at the prison when two people shockingly died. While T-Dog sacrificing himself to help Carol escape was a touching moment, the most heart-wrenching moment of the series came when Lori Grimes died giving birth to Judith and young Carl had to put down his mother to keep her from returning as a zombie. Andrew Lincoln was magnificent here as he lost his wife and had to figure out how to move on from here, taking The Walking Dead into a dark direction.

8) “The Grove” (4.14)

The best episode of The Walking Dead Season 4 was the 14th one, titled “The Grove.” This episode was one of the most morally complex moments of the entire series, as Carol had taken on two young girls after the death of her own daughter, Sophie, two seasons earlier. However, Carol had to make a decision that no one should have to make when Lizzie killer her little sister to prove that she could come back as a “good” zombie. Carol realized Lizzie wasn’t coming back from this, and her “look at the flowers” moment was one of the most heartbreaking in the show’s history, and changed Carol forever.

7) “No Sanctuary” (5.01)

The Walking Dead Season 5 premiere set a high mark that the rest of the season couldn’t match. The previous season saw Rick and his fellow survivors looking for what they thought was a sanctuary, but what they found was a group of cannibals leading people to a false sense of hope, only to capture, kill, and eat them. Over 17 million viewers watched this premiere, and its 9.6 IMDb score sits in a tie for the highest of the entire series run. This showed Carol at her most destructive, remained an uplifting moment, which was rare for the series at this time, and it also brought Morgan back to the series.

6) “No Way Out” (6.09)

The sixth season of The Walking Dead had the survivors find a gated community called Alexandria, and it seemed like they found a safe home. However, between some bad seeds in the town, Rick’s overwhelmingly determination to be in control of everything, and Carol’s continued fall from grace, things went bad. When the walkers were led into the town, Rick tried to escape with his new love, only to watch her die after the walkers attacked and killed her son, and then Carol was shot in the face and lost his eye. After a slow first half to the season, this helped The Walking Dead remind fans what it looked like when the violent series was firing on all cylinders.

5) “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” (7.01)

The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere was the most polarizing of the entire series, and this was where the show lost a lot of its loyal viewers. Negan was finally here, and comic book readers knew what was going to happen, only to have the show misdirect them before delivering the most gruesome moment of the entire show’s run. Glenn died in the comics, but this episode had Negan kill Abraham instead. However, the show then pulled the trigger and Negan brutally killed Glenn in front of his pregnant wife Maggie. Audiences immediately hated Negan and it presented a season where everyone wanted to see him get what was coming to him.

4) “Wrath” (8.16)

“Wrath” was the episode that finally ended Negan as the big bad, and it did it in a way that was satisfying and wrapped up the All-Out War storyline. Rick and Negan finally faced off and went to war one-on-one when Rick won, and then refused to kill Negan. Instead, he slit his throat and then ordered that his people save Negan’s life and then had him locked away with a life sentence for his crimes. The series finale did seem like a quick resolution after two years of battles, but seeing Rick show mercy allowed The Walking Dead to present its thematic statement for the series last three seasons.

3) “What Comes After” (9.05)

The Walking Dead Season 9 socked many fans when it wrote Rick Grimes out of the series. In the Robert Kirkman comics, Rick was the main protagonist and when he died, the story ended. However, Andrew Lincoln wanted out of the show, and this episode showed how he could leave, and still return later for his own spinoff. “What Comes After” was only the fifth episode of the season, and with Rick gone, and seemingly dead, everything changed and the series had free reign to change how the rest of the series would play out.

2) “Here’s Negan” (10.22)

For over two years, Negan was the most hated character on The Walking Dead, but, in reality, he was doing what he could to help keep his people alive by any means necessary. He got his chance at redemption thank to Rick Grimes not killing him and leaving him in a prison cell, and that redemption came in the final two seasons of the zombie series. “Here’s Negan” was one of the best late-series Walking Dead episodes because it finally made Negan someone that fans were rooting for, giving him the sympathetic storyline that finally turned audiences around.

1) “Rest in Peace” (11.24)

The best episode of The Walking Dead Season 11 was the series finale. The last two seasons were hit and miss, and the Commonwealth storyline didn’t make all fans happy. However, the last episode of the series, with the survivors bringing down the elite in the Commonwealth and giving society back to the people was one of the biggest “stand up and cheer” moments on the entire series. With Daryl leaving to search for Rick and Michonne, Carol getting her big moment at the end, and even Eugene getting his happily ever after, The Walking Dead ended with an episode that was a satisfying sendoff for the series.

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