Ranking "The Walking Dead" Seasons

Ranking “The Walking Dead” Seasons

(Spoilers for the entire show.)

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A word of note: while I mostly kept the seasons as one piece, I felt that seasons 4 and 5 had different enough halves (both in story and in quality), that I split them up.

5/24/2019- Updated to include season 9.

11. Season 8

You would think a season based on something called “All-Out War” would be exciting – and yet, the war mostly consisted of random people shooting at each other, with occasional confrontations between characters we care about. In the end, only a few tertiary characters ended up dying; plus Carl, whose death was not even related to the conflict. I’m hard-pressed to name many memorable moments other than Carl’s death, the surprise reappearance of Morales, and Shiva’s sacrifice. My attention span was tested, which is not what you want in a horror show. (Favorite Episode: “Honor”)

10. Season 1

It’s down this low mostly because of its abbreviated length. They were still finding their footing, and there were some poor choices (hi, Vatos), but there is an undeniable charm to Frank Darabont’s sole season as showrunner. The innocence of the characters makes it the most like other zombie lore and the most unlike any other season of “The Walking Dead”. “Days Gone Bye” is still a fantastic pilot that focuses almost exclusively on one character’s odyssey into this new world and introduces another (Morgan) whose brief stint was still enough to carry him over 5 seasons as an infrequent guest. (Favorite Episode: “Days Gone Bye”)

9. Season 7

The Negan threat inflicted true terror on our heroes for the first time in a while, and although Jeffrey Dean Morgan added some new energy to the show, a lot of that energy was let out of the balloon during extended stays at the Sanctuary, the Kingdom, and, yes, the bizarre detours with the garbage people. Ezekiel is a fun character but the Kingdom as a whole is just not interesting enough to sustain multiple episodes, and Eugene and Daryl’s adventures with the Saviors were too dark and dreary to wring much enjoyment out of it. When Negan came a-callin’ at the conclusion of both halves, it felt like “Walking Dead” again. In between, however, there wasn’t a whole lot to enjoy. (Favorite Episode: “Hearts Still Beating”)

8. Season 4A

The virus storyline does not pan out to very much (the only notable death is Dr. Caleb, who was only introduced in this block of episodes), and feels like a placeholder until we can link back up with the Governor for his second assault. Many people hated his two-episode excursion; I rather enjoyed it, or at least the first part with the Chambler family. After all the action and excitement of the previous episodes, it’s interesting to see a small family still stuck in an apartment alone, as if the outbreak first started yesterday. We get a little goofy with Caesar’s group, but we end strong with the deadly prison attack. You take a little, you give a little. (Favorite Episode: “Live Bait”)

7. Season 2

The one where “The Walking Dead” finally found its way. I have maintained that the moment Sophia walks out of that barn is when this truly became a “good” show. But there is still some rickety storytelling surrounding it, including some Rick/Lori/Shane drama I could do without, plus endless debate about the ethics of killing. Sure, I suppose it is realistic and necessary, but we could have been a little more adventurous. The Greene farm is still a small enough locale that the apocalypse feels personal, and it ends with a bang as a horde overruns their safe haven. (Favorite Episode: “Beside the Dying Fire”)

6. Season 9

This season had the most difficult job of any of them: having to send off its main character, and then construct a show without Rick and Maggie at the helm, make a large time jump, introduce a new group of characters to join the cast, and then make the Whisperers into something less cartoony than the comics. In pretty much every respect, I think they succeeded. Maybe Magna’s group could have used a little more characterization (specifically Magna, who, for some reason, the group is named after). But the time jump was long enough that the landscape changed noticeably and there are new stories to explore that have already passed their rocky beginnings. Rick’s shadow looms large, and they have to rely heavily on Michonne and Daryl since most of the other characters aren’t yet able to carry a show. Rick’s exit itself was a little too navel-gazy for a character who wasn’t even going to die. And Henry was an annoying character to suddenly shift focus to in the time-jump.

But, the Whisperers were properly creepy, even if their method of attack should be easier to avoid than as presented. The graveyard ambush is one of the best set pieces they have ever done. The first zombie duck-and-turn was fantastically framed, and we lost a notable character in the process. The head-spikes were equally scary, though their impact was blunted by including some barely-named characters in with the main victims. And the finale was an interesting change of pace; one of the closest things “The Walking Dead” has to a standalone episode. (Favorite Episode: "The Calm Before")

5. Season 5B

A transition period without any big climaxes. After a strong run that saw the Governor crash the prison party with a tank, the well-oiled evil of Terminus, and the crew on the run without a fortified home base, the sudden innocence and quiet of Alexandria is a bit of a letdown, and its denizens are a mixed bag. It’s interesting to see the feral gang try to reintegrate into normal society, and the episodes where they meet Aaron are better than they get credit for. Plus, Noah gets ripped to pieces. That’s kind of scary. (Favorite Episode: “Spend”)

4. Season 3

The show starts to get more plot shoved into it than they had on the farm, and while it gives more urgency the constant back-and-froth between the prison and Woodbury, especially in the second half, feels more like time-wasting than actual forward momentum. But there’s still a lot to like, with those early episodes clearing the prison and Lori’s traumatic childbirth. The Governor’s slow ascent into madness works better than starting out in the deep end and there are a number of individual standout scenes, even if most of the episodes blend together. Maybe adding the three extra episodes was unnecessary, but this is definitely “The Walking Dead” as we know it now. (Favorite Episode: “Clear”)

3. Season 6

Season 6 is almost perfectly-paced, what with the hair-brained zombie horde plan that climaxes so deliciously in the mid-season premiere, the quick and painless introduction to Jesus and the Hilltop, and the setup and payoff of the Saviors (before they become boring), plus a few self-contained episodes sprinkled in. After several arcs of bad-news humans with a thirst for blood, it was nice to have the walkers be the villain for a while. It is not without flaws, however, as Morgan’s pacifist story gets a little tedious at times, the premiere’s use of black-and-white serves little purpose, and the bungling of “Dumpstergate” and the final cliffhanger revealed some poor judgment on the producers’ parts. But still, as whole unit, you can’t ask for much more than this. (Favorite Episode: “No Way Out”)

2. Season 4B

The show entered a new creative phase at this point, with a series of episode mostly focused on just a  few characters off on their own, with a more introspective and moody atmosphere than usual. The slow burn has turned off more than a few fans but I personally loved it. Character development was a weak spot for most of the first three seasons and this format gave some room for the characters to breathe and react to the loneliness of the apocalypse. Joe’s group taking over Rick’s hideout was one of the tensest sequences of the series, Daryl and Beth’s adventures are quietly moving, “The Grove” pushes Carol into new territory, and we get the introduction of Abraham’s group. While it lacks a real explosive finale, the long road to Terminus provides a nice spine to our far-flung warriors. (Favorite Episode: “Claimed” or “Still”)

1. Season 5A

You thought Gareth and the Termites were going to be the Big Bads that would last for half a season or more? Nope! They are dispatched in three episodes. And what a three episodes they are! “No Sanctuary” is pulse-pounding, terrifying, and has Carol at her most badass. The church is an interesting location as it is clearly a home base (in that it has four walls and a roof), but it is small and not defensible like the prison, Woodbury, or Alexandria, so the group is very vulnerable. “Consumed” is a great showcase for Daryl and Carol, while “Self Help” fleshes out Abraham and Eugene. The only thing keeping this half-season from being perfect is Grady Hospital, which, although it is an interesting location, the characters there are dull and non-threatening. But still, this is “The Walking Dead” at its peak, mixing typical zombie survivalist fare with violent bursts of action and strong character moments. They have strayed off the path ever since, with an expanding cast and wider world, but the show is best served when focused on a small group just trying to make it to the next day. (Best Episode: “No Sanctuary”)