The Walking Dead was one of the biggest TV shows ever. The zombie drama introduced viewers to the zombie-ravaged world from Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) perspective, but things switched up as the show progressed. The Walking Dead ran for 11 seasons. Nothing was on the air quite like it, thanks to its cutthroat storytelling and a knack for killing off beloved characters without a second thought.

Due to its success, The Walking Dead spawned six spinoffs: Fear The Walking Dead, Tales of the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, The Walking Dead: Dead City, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The spinoffs all reached varying success, with the three that launched following The Walking Dead series finale making the biggest impact.

15

The Walking Dead Season 6, Episode 9: “No Way Out”

Carl Grimes’ brush with death changed Rick Grimes

Every The Walking Dead midseason premiere felt like a special event, but Rick’s desperation to save Carl (Chandler Riggs) as walkers took over Alexandria will never be forgotten. Danger lurked around every corner, heightening the tension and making viewers feel a sense of dread. Stunning cinematography and showstopping performances elevated “No Way Out” to one of the series’ best episodes.

The emotionally charged hour featured a steady stream of bloodshed, marking Alexandra Breckenridge’s final appearance as Jessie. Her final scenes set the stage for plenty of destruction. The episode’s brilliance was in how it wrapped up many storylines to clean the canvas before the introduction of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), one of The Walking Dead’s most dangerous characters.

14

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1, Episode 5: “Deux Amours”

Backstory elevated Daryl Dixon’s Parisian detour

There were too many questions about how and why Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) washed up in France. “Deux Amours” was a masterclass in exposition because it answered The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon‘s biggest mysteries at the right time. Putting one episode of a six-episode season aside to fill in the blanks was a risky move, but it was worthwhile.

The hour was constructed well because it gave answers while setting up the season finale and prepared viewers for Carol’s (Melissa McBride) return. It was one of the best episodes in the franchise because it honored what came before it and expanded the world of the show to delve further into the Paris-set story.

13

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Season 1, Episode 2: “Gone”

New characters and locations heightened Michonne Hawthorne’s arc

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live had the difficult task of condensing years into hours, and “Gone” was one of the best episodes because it delved into Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) psyche as she traversed a thankless world in search of Rick. The episode wasn’t like any other in the sprawling TWD franchise.

Nat (Matthew August Jeffers) emerged as one of the best characters in TWD history despite Jeffers appearing in just one episode. Gurira’s acting as she played a more cunning Michonne was welcomed by viewers. Another strong point was the cinematography. Cities were attacked, and thousands of Walkers were on-screen, highlighting that no expense was spared in making the spinoff.

12

Fear The Walking Dead Season 6, Episode 4: The Key

A murder mystery gave the franchise something fresh and exciting

Fear The Walking Dead staged a return to form in season 6. One of the spinoff’s finest installments focused on John Dorie (Garret Dillahunt) finding a killer in one of Virginia’s (Colby Minifie) communities. The episode was crafted as a murder mystery that followed his quest to get justice for Cameron (Noah Kyle).

The emotional beats were perfectly planned out as John worried Janis (Holly Curran) had been set up for Cameron’s murder. Ultimately, it served as one of the most unique episodes due to its relatively self-contained story that had big ramifications on the rest of the season, such as Virginia making John a ranger and buying his silence with June. It was a complete 180 from anything else in the spinoff.

11

Fear The Walking Dead Season 1, Episode 6: “The Good Man”

Los Angeles was an excellent setting

Despite some creative hurdles, the freshman finale of Fear The Walking Dead highlighted the spinoff could switch things up. Strand (Colman Domingo) welcomed the survivors into his beautiful mansion on the coast of Los Angeles. The location remains one of the most picturesque because it is relatively preserved compared to the rest of Los Angeles.

It was also an excellent place for everyone to come together to air out their grievances and prepare for what awaited them after the military ordered the destruction of Los Angeles. Cliff Curtis’s tour-de-force performance heightened the episode. Every actor brought their A-game to highlight what the series was capable of when it found its footing.

10

Fear the Walking Dead Season 6, Episode 1: “The End Is The Beginning”

Morgan Jones being pushed to the limit helped give Lennie James great material

Fear The Walking Dead wasted Lennie James for his first two seasons on the spinoff. Despite being front and center, he didn’t get good material until Fear The Walking Dead season 6. The premiere packed a punch because it showcased a broken Morgan’s mission to find safety from Virginia and her assassins.

The installment harkened back to Morgan being on the road alone countless times in the original TWD. This time, he had a tougher edge due to Virginia’s threat to take him down. “The End is the Beginning” also started setting up Teddy’s (John Glover) arc as Morgan found himself in possession of a key that could change the world.

9

The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 15: “The Calm Before”

Alpha ruined Carol Peletier’s happiness and gave the franchise its most chilling scene

Before Rick’s departure, The Walking Dead was going in circles, but the series kicked the action and intrigue up a few notches with the introduction of The Whisperers. “The Calm Before” is one of The Walking Dead‘s defining hours because it switched things up from the source material to reveal that Alpha had killed countless characters.

The episode subverted expectations very well, and even comic book readers were left stunned by the events that transpired on what was supposed to be a great day for all the communities. Melissa McBride and Samantha Morton turned in career-best performances to deliver one of the most satisfying hours of The Walking Dead.

8

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Season 1, Episode 1: “Years”

A comic-book-accurate Rick Grimes made a spinoff worthwhile

By the time Andrew Lincoln returned, The Walking Dead franchise was producing more bad episodes than good. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s premiere introduced viewers to a different Rick. He’d lost all hope of reuniting with his family after several failed escape attempts.

The episode also ushered in a more comic-book-accurate Rick after he chopped his hand off while trying to escape the CRM. Packing several years of Rick’s life into one hour couldn’t have been easy, but “Years” was a well-paced hour that set up conflicts inside and outside of the CRM. It also featured the Richonne reunion, which was another well-handled plot.

7

The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 4: “Killer Within”

Lori Grimes’ death sent the show in a new direction

Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) made some despicable decisions throughout her time on The Walking Dead, but this episode highlighted that she was a devoted mother who would go to any lengths to save her kids. Bleeding profusely, Lori forced Maggie to perform a Cesarean section on her to save her child.

The trauma only heightened when Lori bled out, and Carl was forced to put his mother down to prevent her from returning as a Walker. “The Killer Within” kicked off interesting plots that affected the rest of the season. Callies turned in an award-worthy performance that will be remembered for years.

6

The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 12: “Walk With Us”

Alpha’s last stand helped prop up Negan Smith

Writing out a character like Alpha couldn’t have been simple, but The Walking Dead writers showed that the carefully constructed Whisperer War had to reach its conclusion without its leader. “Walk With Us” was a remarkable hour that revealed Alpha had zero redeeming qualities. Watching her visceral reaction to Negan’s betrayal was fascinating because it was obvious she was upset that someone outmaneuvered her.

Alpha’s death set up the battle to come, with many different storylines directly affected by her death. Episodes this good aren’t typical for a show in its tenth season, but the writers handled this arc with care because it was obvious there would be plenty of consequences for all the characters.

5

The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 7: “Pretty Much Dead Already”

Drama on the farm helped made for a shocking midseason finale

The Walking Dead excelled when the survivors had differing viewpoints about how to get out of sticky situations. “Pretty Much Dead Already” focused on Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) belief that Walkers could be cured. The episode helped create a fraught dynamic between Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and her father as she realized Rick’s group made more sense.

One of the lingering mysteries in The Walking Dead season 2 was Sophia’s (Madison Lintz) whereabouts, and in terms of shock value, this midseason finale had it all. It featured survivors bickering, and the only thing that brought them together was Sophia’s death. The emotional hour presented a massive turning point for Carol as she reeled from losing her daughter.

4

The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 1: “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be”

Negan Smith’s violent outburst will never be forgotten

The early years of The Walking Dead were great because of the show’s willingness to kill beloved characters. Losing Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) back-to-back changed the show’s fabric and established Negan as this horrible man who would go to any lengths to show his authority.

The episode featured two of the most violent deaths in TV history. Despite the backlash heard worldwide, the writing was top-tier as the show put the survivors up against a villain who could wipe them out with the flick of his wrist. It changed the show and increased the tension considerably.

3

The Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 1: “No Sanctuary”

Terminus was anything but a sanctuary

Rick’s group had countless brushes with death while searching for sanctuary, but this episode brought everyone’s worst fears to the surface. Terminus was no haven, and The Walking Dead didn’t pull any punches in telling the story of the cannibals who tried to trap the survivors.

The explosive hour also featured plenty of action to break up the tension, with Carol showing up to save the day in a scene that felt ripped straight out of a Hollywood movie. “No Sanctuary” highlighted how The Walking Dead could expand its scope to deliver bigger storylines with higher stakes and consequences. The episode was also influential because it changed how Rick’s group viewed new people forever.

2

The Walking Dead Season 1, Episode 1: “Days Gone Bye”

The episode that started the franchise was top-tier

Andrew Lincoln carried the series premiere of The Walking Dead on his back. The script was tightly written, and Atlanta was the perfect place to start the story because it showcased the decay in the city since the outbreak started. Beginning the episode with Rick awakening from his coma was an inspired choice because it made viewers feel like they were learning about this world alongside him.

“Days Gone Bye” was an immersive installment that introduced Rick, his family, and countless survivors, all with unique quirks, as they came to terms with the end of the world. The cliffhanger introducing Glenn was another strong point because it set up the rest of the season while raising many questions about why the world was filled with zombies.

1

The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 14: “The Grove”

Carol Peletier’s shocking decision drove the best episode of The Walking Dead

Carol continued to grow throughout her arc on The Walking Dead, but one of her most controversial moments was killing Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino). Lizzie had a different viewpoint about Walkers and killed Mika (Kyla Kennedy) to prove she was right. The Walking Dead never shied away from thought-provoking storylines that had the potential to alienate viewers.

Despite initial backlash, “The Grove” is now widely considered the best episode of The Walking Dead. It was a shocking hour that put many things into perspective for the survivors and changed how Rick viewed Carol forever. Their bond was solid before that development, and they failed to get back to that place in the aftermath.