The Walking Dead‘s televised universe has been running for almost 15 years, and while there have been plenty of memorable scenes that viewers will never forget, some of the franchise’s biggest moments actually happened off-screen. Having had so many incredible episodes, the zombie franchise has treated its audience to some epic moments, with an abundance of twists, turns, and brutal kills that left a lasting impression. However, while viewers who quit The Walking Dead early missed some of the show’s most underrated moments, even loyal fans who have stuck with the franchise haven’t seen every main story beat.

With the universe being so vast and having a massive roster of characters, the series has had to gloss over some major events for one reason or another. Whether it was because of actor departures, budgetary concerns, or the transition from the main show to spinoffs, many critical moments were never captured on camera. Unlike The Walking Dead‘s plot holes and timeline inconsistencies, these major off-screen moments did at least receive explanations, but given how significant they are to individual characters alongside the overall story, it’s still surprising to see them get brushed aside.

8Heath Is Abducted By The CRM

Heath Was Captured Off-Camera & Never Returned

Heath’s disappearance is by far one of The Walking Dead‘s most talked about moments, largely because it happened off-screen. Despite only featuring in a handful of episodes, Heath became an established supporting character who looked like he’d have an important future based on his comic book history. Instead, he was separated from Tara during season 7’s “Swear” and was never seen again, with the show leaving his fate up in the air.

Heath’s abduction and subsequent fate all happened away from the camera, a decision that still causes debate among the fan base to this day.

None of The Walking Dead‘s spinoffs addressed his disappearance either, but showrunner Angela Kang eventually confirmed that Heath was abducted by the CRM. How exactly he fits into the CRM’s Walking Dead plan is still a mystery, but the group likely used him as a soldier, or as a test subject. Either way, Heath’s abduction and subsequent fate all happened away from the camera, a decision that still causes debate among the fan base to this day.

7Negan & Annie Break Up Between The Walking Dead & Dead City

The Former Villain Confirmed He Separated From Annie After The Events Of Season 11

With Dead City taking place several years after The Walking Dead season 11’s ending, several things seemed to happen off-screen between the two shows, and one of the biggest events was Negan and Annie’s separation. Having turned a new leaf and found some form of redemption, Negan managed to find a partner who accepted his flaws and even had a baby with her, but the two were no longer together come Dead City season 1.

While the exact reason for their break-up remains unknown, it doesn’t seem to be anything personal. Negan revealed in the spinoff show that he is a wanted man, resulting in people coming after him, Annie, and their son. As a result, it seems likely that Annie and Joshua went to Missouri for their own protection, and while Negan could still reunite with his family in the future, having them separate off-screen is a huge deal.

6The Entire Story Between Maggie & Georgie

Maggie Spent Years Helping Georgie’s Cause Off-Screen

Georgie’s arrival in The Walking Dead season 8 felt extremely random since she only featured in a single episode, but her impact on the overall story was actually much bigger. Despite Maggie’s initially hostile approach to Georgie, she and Hershel spent several years with the mysterious character as they attempted to learn more about other communities. While Maggie seemed right not to trust Georgie after her seemingly shady introduction, it seems the traveler was genuine the whole time.

Upon Maggie’s return, Georgie was mentioned on several occasions and had a small off-screen presence, but she ultimately faded into obscurity. While Maggie’s time away did help flesh out her character and introduce some new survivors, everything that happened between her and Georgie mostly took place during The Walking Dead‘s time jump, leaving fans a little unfilled about Maggie’s absence from the main group.

5Lori’s Body Gets Eaten In Season 3

Greg Nicotero Confirmed Lori’s Body Was Consumed By Season 3’s Bloated Walker

Lori’s death was one of the most heartbreaking moments in The Walking Dead, as despite her divisive nature, it was a huge loss that massively impacted the show’s central characters. Alongside Rick struggling to come to terms with losing his wife, Carl began to change from that moment on, while Maggie had an emotional response since she was there when Lori died. Interestingly though, her body isn’t shown after the traumatic events of “Killer Within”.

We do see a bloated zombie soon after, with executive producer Greg Nicotero confirming that the walker in question did in fact eat Lori’s remains.

While fans are split over the decision not to show Lori’s body after her Walking Dead death, the show did at least imply what happened and seemed to intentionally avoid such a grizzly scene. Still, opting to exclude such an important moment from the screen is undeniably a bold choice as some fans are still unclear on Lori’s fate, making it one of the franchise’s most controversial off-screen incidents.

4Negan Leaves The Commonwealth After The Walking Dead Season 11

Dead City Confirmed Negan Was On The Run After Leaving Alexandria

Alongside confirming Negan and Annie’s separation, Dead City also highlighted that the former Saviors leader left the Commonwealth behind. We’ve only seen a handful of central characters since the main show ended, but while it can be assumed most of them still reside in either the Commonwealth, Hilltop, or Alexandria, Negan is no longer a part of these communities. Season 11’s finale made it clear that Negan would never truly be a part of the central survivors, justifying his decision to leave the Commonwealth with his family.

His letter to Judith suggests it may have happened during the time jump in season 11’s finale, but skipping Negan’s departure was undoubtedly a big omission.

However, his exact reasons for leaving are never stated, nor are we ever shown exactly when or how he leaves. His letter to Judith suggests it may have happened during the time jump in season 11’s finale, but skipping Negan’s departure was undoubtedly a big omission. Therefore, with The Walking Dead teasing evil Negan’s return in Dead City season 2, not showing what sort of terms he is on with the franchise’s main characters could make him reverting to his old ways even more tragic.

3Maggie Moves Hilltop To A Different Location

The Original Version Of Hilltop Was Damaged Beyond Repair & The Community Eventually Found A New Home

Given Hilltop is one of The Walking Dead‘s most crucial communities, having the settlement move location is a huge deal, but this didn’t happen on-camera. After being destroyed by the Whisperers, Hilltop’s residents were forced to flee, and despite rebuilding after the war, the area was damaged beyond repair. Eventually, Maggie decided to move Hilltop’s location to a place called The Bricks, which is believed to be located in either New York or New Jersey.

While Dead City does offer a glimpse of Hilltop’s new settlement, the moving process was never shown, something that was bound to be taxing. A whole community moving states and finding a new home seems certain to be a difficult situation that could have even seen some people lose their lives, but little is known about what happened other than that the transition was a success. Whether Dead City will expand on this storyline in season 2 is yet to be seen, but for now, Hilltop’s relocation remains a strictly off-camera moment.

2The Survivors Flee Alexandria After Beta’s Attack

The Walking Dead Never Showed The Main Group Leaving Alexandria After Beta’s Horde Invaded

The Whisperer War was one of the franchise’s most devastating battles, and with Beta also being among The Walking Dead‘s most dangerous characters, it’s no surprise he was able to cause some serious damage. After gathering one of the largest hordes ever seen in the series, Beta headed to Alexandria to cause as much destruction as possible at the end of season 10, episode 14. However, the following episode revealed he and his fellow Whisperers had overtaken the community without showing any residents fleeing.

Of course, many of the main characters were already elsewhere, but it didn’t seem like an attack that caused many casualties, with the Alexandrians seemingly evacuating before Beta’s horde arrived. Seeing the survivors’ reactions to such a large group of zombies heading towards their home and attempting to escape would have been extremely tense. Unfortunately, Alexandria was vacant when the villain arrived, meaning the most exciting parts of this invasion were left unexplored in The Walking Dead, happening off-camera instead.

1Rick & Michonne Make An Alliance With The CRM

The Ones Who Live’s Ending Implied Rick & Michonne Formed An Alliance With The Community, But It Didn’t Happen On-Screen

Perhaps the biggest off-screen moment in The Walking Dead so far is Rick and Michonne’s alliance with the CRM. During The Ones Who Live‘s ending, the protagonists were able to take down the villainous faction and liberate the Civic Republic, allowing the franchise’s largest community to have a more peaceful future. Considering Rick and Michonne returned home using a CRM helicopter while the Civic Republic found out about what happened and condemned their military branch, it’s clear some sort of conversation must have occurred.

Rick and Michonne are the only people who could have told the Civic Republic’s leaders what truly went down, and with the duo managing to return home with the community’s help, it seems highly likely that an alliance was struck. Sadly, The Walking Dead never quite covered the immediate aftermath of the CRM’s defeat, leaving us in the dark about the relationship between Rick, Michonne, and the CRM. While it’s obvious something went down, the specifics may never be clear, making the CRM’s arrangement with Rick and Michonne the franchise’s biggest off-screen moment yet.