The 15 best Walking Dead episodes ever – ranked
FOX's The Walking Dead returns to our screens in February. But will any of the next eight episodes match some of the show's very best? We've ranked 15 of the finest outings from seven-and-a-half seasons, from gruesomely good to bloody brilliant.
15. 'Save the Last One' – season two, episode three
Jon Bernthal's Shane Walsh was one of The Walking Dead's most layered and most fascinating characters. His downfall started here, as he executed poor Otis (Pruitt Taylor Vince) to save his own skin, starting the tortured ex-cop down a dark path that would end in his own demise.
14. 'Home' – season three, episode 10
Proof that the show isn't all doom and gloom, this was one of The Walking Dead's more invigorating episodes. The Governor's assault on the prison is thwarted, with a reunited Merle and Daryl returning just in time to save Rick – a moment of pure, fist-pumping joy.
13. 'TS-19' – season one, episode six
The final episode of The Walking Dead's debut season takes a lot of flak, but this diversion from the comic-book storyline – set entirely within the confines of the Center for Disease Control – is a claustrophobic, game-changing thriller with a terrific guest spot from Noah Emmerich as Dr Edwin Jenner.
12. 'Made to Suffer' – season three, episode eight
There's a whole heap of great moments in 2012's mid-season finale – not least a brief, unannounced cameo from Jon Bernthal as a hallucination of Shane – but the highlight is the explosive confrontation between Michonne and the Governor that sees him lose both his zombie daughter and his right eye.
11. 'No Way Out' – season six, episode nine
Carl loses his eye (the showrunners seem to like having monocular characters) and the irritating Anderson family lose their lives in this startling episode. Plus, Daryl incinerates a whole pack of Negan's troops with a rocket launcher. Top stuff.
10. 'This Sorrowful Life' – season three, episode 15
D'awww... when Daryl cries, we cry. The reckless redneck's love/hate relationship with brother Merle ended on tragic terms, after the Governor brutally murdered the elder Dixon and Daryl was forced to put him out of his undead misery.
9. 'Last Day on Earth' – season six, episode 16
Forget that cliffhanger controversy. Negan is chilling. The infamous Eeny Meeny Miny Moe scene – cut faster and faster so it's impossible to track who's in his sights – is terrifying. The brutal beating seen from the victim's POV is deeply unsettling. No matter what you thought of what came next, 'Last Day on Earth' is undeniably effective.
8. 'Better Angels' – season two, episode 12
Delivering the second major death in two weeks, 'Better Angels' finally saw Shane get what was coming to him, as his mania spun totally out of control and his former best friend Rick had to put him down. Devastating.
7. 'Here's Not Here' – season six, episode four
Interrupting the flow of the season to devoting an entire episode to Morgan's backstory was controversial at the time, but 'Here's Not Here', which sees Morgan recover his sanity and discover a new way of life, is a deliberate, thoughtful, exhausting bit of drama, with two outstanding performances from Lennie James and John Carroll Lynch as his mentor Eastman.
6. 'Days Gone Bye' – season one, episode one
The very first episode and one of the best. The pilot episode of The Walking Dead is an incredibly effective, spooky scene-setter, superbly constructed by writer/director Frank Darabont and carried almost entirely by a stellar performance from Andrew Lincoln.
5. 'Pretty Much Dead Already' – season two, episode seven
The "hunt for Sophia" plot might've been stretched a little further than its natural lifespan, but the final sting in the tail – Carol's daughter zombified, Rick filling her with lead – remains one of the show's most memorably macabre moments.
4. 'Clear' – season three, episode 12
In his first appearance since the pilot, Morgan returns a broken man having lost his son and his mind. There's more top work from Lennie James, but 'Clear' was also a crucial episode in Michonne's arc, establishing the 21st-century samurai as an essential ally to Rick and the gang.
3. 'No Sanctuary' – season five, episode one
Quite literally the show's most explosive episode, 'No Sanctuary' saw our captive survivors strike back against the cannibal killers of Terminus, to supreme effect. Best of all was Carol's transformation into lady Rambo, smeared in walker guts and blowing shit up.
2. 'The Grove' – season four, episode 14
The Walking Dead has delved more than once into how a zombie apocalypse might warp a youngster's mind, but 'The Grove' was the darkest and most moving example, with Carol forced to shoot the unstable Lizzie after she herself murders her younger sister Mika. Bleak, but brilliant.
1. 'Killer Within' – season three, episode four
We never saw this coming. It was bad enough that poor T-Dog met a grisly end, but then a pregnant Lori went into labour and, after she died in childbirth, her son Carl was forced to shoot his own mother to prevent her from reanimating. Utterly surprising, utterly devastating and with phenomenal performances from Sarah Wayne Callies, Chandler Riggs and Andrew Lincoln, this was the best of the best.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
You Might Also Like
