The Walking Dead's 25 Best Characters, Ranked

[Aolain]

Hershel for sure. Also, Dale and of course Merle. I have always been a fan of T-Dog. Never forget Shumpert!

[Quiet One]

Kelly is way more interesting for sure. And she can stand on her own unlike Connie. Plus Angel is more likeable than Lauren R at least to people I watch with.

I like Kelly and Connie, but I find the story of someone losing their hearing in a zombie apocalypse far more interesting than someone who is already deaf & adjusted to a silent life, so to me that makes Kelly the better character.

[SpencersGuts1]

Here goes nothing:
Rick, Glenn, Carol, Maggie,

25. Beth
24. Sasha
23. Beta
22. Saddiq
21. Abraham
20. Merle
19. Lydia
18. Gregory
17. Simon
16. Morgan
15. Gabriel
14. Eugene
13. Shane
12. Michonne
11. Alpha
10. Carl
9. Hershel
8. Ezekiel
7. The Governor
6. Daryl
5. Negan
4. Carol
3. Rick
2. Maggie
1. Glenn

All the above had a large impact on the show, though I felt that 25-17 were often fairly secondary characters in the episodes they were in. Beta is on the list, just for being the most psychotic and formidable villain yet seen. I thought Saddiq grew into an interesting character too, and his final storyline with Dante was very interesting. A few interesting choices in the middle: Gabriel - Great character with an interesting story arc, but never someone I particularly warmed to. Michonne - Likeable at times, but grew repetitive at others and certainly faded after Rick left. Carl - Killed off too early, was never a huge fan of the character, though always relevant to the story. The governor is in the top 10, for still being the best villain TWD ever had, Negan is top five because of his awesome character arc and great lines, Daryl and Carol would be higher if they were more interesting (Daryl - grunts a lot, Carol - guilt about killing people and making mistakes, overcomes it, then the cycle starts again next season). For me, Maggie and Glenn are likely to stay 1 and 2. Just such good characters, brilliant actors, great scenes between them and always relevant.

[SpencersGuts1]

9/10 ranking lists are garbage, but this one.

This one is ABSOLUTE garbage. Merle died 7 years ago and people still bring him up in every discussion. Same with Hershel


Also, they really dropped the ball with Jesus in the show. Anybody ever found out what actually happened behind the scenes or something ? Although I was already slowly losing interest in the show, his introduction and first 3-4 episodes were solid, then he fucking disappeared for like 10 episodes straight and never really did anything from what I know.

I agree about Jesus, but not about Hershel and Merle. Hershel was one of the most solid and interesting characters from seasons 2-4: Someone who knitted the group together and was a massive loss to them when he died. Merle was also a big character, although he didn't appear in a huge number of episodes, as what he said and did impacted the storyline and characters in a big way.

[Nomis210]

I agree about Jesus, but not about Hershel and Merle. Hershel was one of the most solid and interesting characters from seasons 2-4: Someone who knitted the group together and was a massive loss to them when he died. Merle was also a big character, although he didn't appear in a huge number of episodes, as what he said and did impacted the storyline and characters in a big way.

My point exactly .

Hershel had far more impact on the show than anybody else from 11 to 25 lol

[Boota]

Any list like this is totally subjective, of course, but without Rick Grimes in the top spot the reason to make the list isn't even valid. I made a quick top of my head list, and some of these may only be on MY list, but I judged them by importance to the story. It would be a different list altogether for the comic, but as far as the show goes I'm comfortable with this list.


25. Beta
24. Lizzie Samuels
23. Lori Grimes
22. Tyreese Williams
21. The Governor
20. Gabriel Stokes
19. Ezekiel
18. Rosita
17. Eugene Porter
16. Simon
15. Alpha
14. Morgan Jones
13. Michonne
12. Dale Horvath
11. Abraham Ford
10. Maggie Rhee
09. Negan
08. Daryl Dixon
07. Merle Dixon
06. Shane Walsh
05. Carol Peletier
04. Herschel Green
03. Carl Grimes
02. Glenn Rhee
01. Rick Grimes