rick in the walking dead pilot episode gas station

AMC’s The Walking Dead first premiered in 2010 and, in those 15 years, its main characters have gone through quite a transformation. However, one character, in particular, from the show’s pilot episode, which many fans have since called its “most iconic”, has arguably gone through the biggest change, with fans of the post-apocalyptic The Walking Dead series in disbelief upon seeing them today, (and possibly feeling very old in the process.)

The traumatizing and often emotional TV show spanned over a decade with eleven tense seasons that saw Rick and the gang doing their best to survive not only its skin-eating “walkers”, but also its cruel and dangerous people. Even though there are spinoff series like The Walking Dead: Dead City and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, with apparently room for even more exploration of TWD‘s universe, not many episodes could beat ‘Days Gone Bye’, the AMC show’s very first episode that started the whole thing off. Following classic zombie films like George A. Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, The Walking Dead gave fans exactly what they wanted – plenty of character development, tense moments, and a captivating story that set a high standard for the zombie genre on television.

Walking Dead Fans Amazed at What Character From Pilot Episode Looks Like Today

little girl from pilot episode the walking dead

No fan could ever forget The Walking Dead‘s first episode, titled Days Gone Bye. Not only did it set the horrific atmosphere for the rest of the series, but it was also masterfully crafted. One of the episode’s most compelling scenes saw Rick Grimes, who had just woken from a long coma in a hospital filled with walkers, heading to a gas station. While looking for gas, Rick hears the sounds of shuffling footsteps, only to find that they belong to a young girl in pink pajamas holding a teddy who had turned. This harrowing scene saw Rick having to shoot the child, firmly cementing his view of what the world had become.

The young girl, played by actress Addy Miller, starred in a later episode in Season 8 of The Walking Dead‘s premiere, “Mercy”, complete with a bathrobe and slippers, in a brilliant callback to her most famous scene. However, 15 years later, Miller has reappeared with what she looks now and fans can’t get over how much she has grown up. In an image posted on Reddit, a Walking Dead fan uploaded the actress with a side-by-side picture of when she first starred in the series as a 10-year-old child and another of what the 24-year-old looks like today, and fans couldn’t believe their eyes.

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“15 years went by in a flash”, remarked one commenter. Another fan said, “Impossible. The show debuted 3 years ago… Right?… RIGHT???,” while a third praised the young actor for having such a huge impact on the series, “Wild how her time was so short on screen but also so incredibly iconic.” Since Miller’s sad yet acclaimed appearance in The Walking Dead, she has gone on to star in movies such as Abandoned and the horror, Behind You but regardless, she will always be known as the “zombie girl” who had a small yet monumental part to play in The Walking Dead‘s most iconic episode ever, and that’s a badge to wear proudly.

2025 will continue to drive The Walking Dead universe forward with Dead City season 2 set to air in the spring and Daryl Dixon season 3.