The Walking Dead had an incredible 11-season run, but not all the seasons were created equally. The popular series debuted on AMC in 2010, having adapted a post-apocalyptic horror comic written by Robert Kirkman with art by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. The series rejuvenated the zombie genre, with a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse, and a story that focused on a small group of determined survivors.

From the start, Rick Grimes becomes a natural leader, having spent his life as a sheriff’s deputy before the outbreak. When he woke up from a coma, he found the world he knew was a thing of the past. As the series develops, new characters, groups, and rivals are introduced, and the show continued to evolve until the finale, but some seasons were huge hits, while others are better off left in the past.

11The Walking Dead – Season 10

By the end of the series’ run, the show was losing steam. Almost all the original characters were gone, replaced by people who only entered the last couple of seasons, and even the familiar and favorite characters were not acting like themselves. Characters make terrible, or just downright odd choices, and the tension feels absent. With the entire season broken up into three parts, it also just felt underwhelming, which was a far cry from the tension and excitement of earlier seasons.

There were some bright spots, with Negan’s infiltration of the Whisperer’s his redemption arc, and the tense story that plays out between Carol and Ezekial, but overall, the entire season felt slow. It does eventually introduce the antagonists for the final season, but without a clear focus and direction, the show was ready to be retired, and season 10 made that abundantly clear.

10The Walking Dead – Season 8

The Walking Dead season 8 features a lot of definitive moments for the show, but that doesn’t make them good moments. After nearly a decade of setting up Carl to be Rick’s replacement, and a new leader to the community, as Rick’s mental state was in decline, Carl ends up bitten by a Walker in the most underwhelming moment of the show. Unlike the intense deaths suffered by other heroes in the show, it felt like an insult to the character, and it wasn’t even a part of the original plan, or the comics that inspired the show.

In addition, there are other moments that could have been truly epic, and full of ripe storytelling moments, like Morales returning from season 1, but these moments were cut short. The writing felt tired, and the creativity was dried up. While charismatic characters like Negan helped to keep audiences engaged, and Maggie’s journey as a leader was interesting, the season felt more hollow than many others, and it really let down the quality that had been sustained up to this point.

9The Walking Dead – Season 9

Season 9 had a pacing problem when it came to the second half, but there were some genuine bright spots and intriguing developments over the season that make it stand out. Maggie’s hostile takeover of Hilltop from the spineless leader Gregory, Rick’s efforts to save his community and sacrifice himself when they finally got to a point of stability, and the introduction of the Whisperers were all compelling story arcs.

While some of these details took several episodes to unfold when they felt like they could be explored in one or two episodes, there were strong performances, big reveals, and incredible twists. The Walking Dead season 9 may not be the best of them, but it was far from the worst. Though the six-year time jump in the middle also felt bizarre, only to be followed by a set of episodes that took their sweet time to reveal the events of a single day.

8The Walking Dead – Season 11

Getting the biggest gripe about this season out of the way at the top, it essentially served as a way to advertise new spin-offs. The final episode essentially delivers a trailer for some of these projects, which massively impedes the idea of the story ending, and made it an unsatisfying resolution. But beyond that, despite only having Carol and Daryl from the first season, the rest of the cast really stepped up to make the final outing a compelling one.

Characters like Judith, Eugene, Rosita, Mercer, and more, made the season what it is, and gave the Commonwealth meaning despite their incredibly late introduction. Seeing a world being rebuilt, and then exploring the cracks in society as people greedily horde power and status was compelling, and the way these stories unfold and resolve felt strong. There were definitely areas to improve, but it was a solid season of The Walking Dead.

7The Walking Dead – Season 4

Jumping way back to season 4, when the group were still located at the prison, the conflict with the Governor and his people comes to an explosive end. Relationships are developing quickly, and seeing romance bloom for characters like Glenn and Maggie is a small ray of hope in an otherwise desolate hellscape. However, with their prison home left unsecured, the group make their way to Terminus.

The path is long, and there is plenty of conflict on the way, including Beth being captured by a group of strangers. It’s also at this point that Carol is seen to transform from the quiet and soft-spoken woman who was a mother and wife, into someone who will survive whatever it takes. These developments are powerful, but the season did feel a little slow and disjointed compared to some others.

6The Walking Dead – Season 7

Season 7 shook up the show in ways that it would never recover from. After an epic cliffhanger, it’s revealed that the new antagonist, Negan, brutally and savagely murdered Glenn in front of his beloved pregnant wife, Maggie. Rick’s spirit is completely broken, and with Rick submitting to the will of his new master, it’s up to the others to step up and fight. Carl comes into his own, Maggie develops a burning hatred that will burn bright for many years to come, and some of the most interesting new characters in years are finally introduced.

Ezekiel and the others at the Kingdom are brought into the fold, as they are another community who have been strong-armed into a deal with Negan and the Saviors. However, Ezekiel runs his community very differently. The politics of warring communities also makes this season stand out, as up to this point, Rick and his group of survivors has mainly been fighting to simply struggle forward and resist small enemy groups. Now entire communities are unveiled, and it’s an incredibly exciting development.

5The Walking Dead – Season 5

Season 5 is full to the brim of major developments. This season sees Carol wipe out the community at Terminus, it sees the group attempt to recover Beth from the hospital, which ends up going tragically wrong with the young girl dying, and characters like Eugene being exposed for their lies about a cure. In addition, it also introduces the survivors to Alexandria.

One word to describe this entire season is ‘tense,’ because from beginning to end, the survivors are facing impossible challenges and trying to find their way through. All of the individual arcs are given the appropriate space to develop, and the show is following a streak of strong entries that keep the audience coming back. However, it does mark a big shift in how the series operates after this point, with the survivors turning into settlers.

4The Walking Dead – Season 3

In season 3, The Walking Dead was still establishing how the world works, with Rick and his group of survivors trying to find a home, and create the best life possible despite the world having ended. They set up shop in a prison, and a pregnant Lori gives everyone hope for a future beyond this apocalypse. However, the season also features intense struggles with the Governor and his people in the reclaimed township of Woodbury.

The Governor is intense, mysterious, and despite his charismatic persona, there is something very dark about the man who people hail as a hero. The Survivors are forced to become just that, as they learn how to operate in a world where the rules have yet to be rewritten. Characters like Michonne are introduced, and the show pushes forward with promises of a lot more to come down the pipeline.

3The Walking Dead – Season 6

The Walking Dead season 6 is by far the best season of the back half of the show, as it delivers some of the most compelling storylines and sees Rick’s group integrate with the people of Alexandria. Rick and his friends struggle to adjust to life in a community, and they take time to develop trust. Meanwhile, they have plenty of opportunities to prove how invaluable they will be to the rest of the community.

It’s great to see the gang experience some levels of normalcy, and Rick trying to step up as a dad, as his family with Michonne and the kids gives him more of a reason to live and fight than ever before. This season shows a bright ray of hope for some sort of future, and it’s portrayed beautifully. And, in traditional TWD style, just as things start to look up, it all comes crashing down with the introduction of Negan at the end of the season.

2The Walking Dead – Season 1

For many, season 1 of The Walking Dead stands out as the best, and there is an awful lot to praise in the premiere season. Rick wakes up, and the world has completely changed. He works hard to find any scraps of familiarity, and makes a connection with another survivor, Morgan, and his son. Eventually, he does find his people, and this leads to a tense reunion with his wife, Lori, and his best friend, Shane.

The tension is real, the characters are established, and wildly different individuals have to form a pseudo-family in the hopes of surviving near certain death. The show could not have had a better introduction, and it does a fantastic job at building the individual characters up, and creating opportunities for drama down the line. However, this season is purely about survival, and so there is little room to dig deep into the relationships between the characters, but it did incredibly well with the space that it did have.

1The Walking Dead – Season 2

But ultimately, that is why season 2 has to be given the crown as the best season overall. Yes, pivotal deaths happen in season 1, but the real meat of the story comes out in season 2. The survivors find Hershel’s farm, and despite having seen the walkers, Hershel and his people are still trying to operate like the world hasn’t ended. Glenn gets close to Maggie, and Shane and Rick’s conflict comes to a boiling point.

The world has ended, and while people like Carol, Hershel, and others have suffered huge losses, season 2 sees that loss sink deeper, as the farm is lost, and the survivors are forced to kill walkers of loved ones. This season also forces Rick to really step up as a leader, and make the tough decisions that will keep his people alive, even though it may not always make them happy or comfortable. An outstanding season of The Walking Dead that really stands out as the best of the best.