After 11 seasons of a show people watched through the pandemic and its ups and downs, The Walking Dead ended with sort of a fizzle rather than a bang. The show wrapped up nicely, but it was rushed. The showrunners continuously introduced new characters in the final season that didn’t contribute too much to the story, but then again, every time there was focus on the main characters, it felt dragged out and like it wasn’t contributing much to the overall plot.

Not to say The Walking Dead was all bad, but there were certainly times when the story got so underwhelming that it just made people give up watching it completely. Some people haven’t watched the spin-offs either, since the original show was on its last legs and extending the story further with several other shows felt like Frankenstein’s monster in a way. Whether it was a shocking kill, an unfortunate accidental death, or a filler episode that came in between some important storytelling, The Walking Dead made fans quit on numerous occasions.

10“Slabtown” (Season 5, Episode 4)

The One With Beth’s Hospital Plot

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Many fans found the storyline with Beth (Emily Kinney) to be a bit dull in season five, though season 5, episode 4, “Slabtown” was a pretty dark and sinister installment. Still, critics and fans agreed the episode slowed down the show, especially since it followed the events with a very dangerous group at Terminus. IGN’s Matt Fowler called the episode “a hard comedown after the cannibal saga” and said it was “a lot of suspense with not that much payoff.” Understandably, when a show gets momentum and is on a high, audiences will least expect to see a side character like Beth dealing with some evil humans on her own.

In “Slabtown,” Beth wakes up at the Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, saved from certain death by Lieutenant Dawn Lerner (Christine Woods) and Dr. Edwards (Erik Jensen). Dawn seems to be in charge of the hospital, and, even worse, seems to hold survivors her doctors save as captives. With Beth having been a character that often gave the impression of a fragile girl, proving she can survive dreadful conditions like these was a great character progression for her. Many fans, however, didn’t really want to see it.

9“Wrath” (Season 8, Episode 16)

The One Where Rick Spares Negan

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After a couple of seasons of having Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) bully and belittle the Alexandria residents, the final moments of his capture gave the chance to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) to finally kill Negan and end the suffering of his group of survivors. Instead, Rick decides to spare Negan. Understandably, not killing him was the way to go. After all – this group of survivors was different, merciful. Yet again, after so much death and destruction caused by his anger and manipulation, sparing Negan felt frustrating to some parts of the audience.

Besides the fact Negan killed Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) in such a brutal way – forcing everyone to watch – he enabled and facilitated the actions of some extremely evil characters affiliated with him. Sparing Negan felt like a punch in the gut, especially since the lamenting over his past actions was already becoming tiresome (and continued to be long into his presence). Negan was one of the best antagonists of The Walking Dead, and his death would’ve been satisfying; however, it’s also understandable for Rick and Negan’s character arcs.

8“Diverged” (Season 10, Episode 21)

The One Where Carol and Daryl Do Nothing

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Episode 21 of season 10, “Diverged,” was one of the biggest filler episodes of the series. It came at a really wrong time, too; the show was about to end, and there were still a lot of loose ends. Instead of taking each episode to wrap another story or plot, the showrunners opted to still have character-focused episodes that led pretty much nowhere. Wasting precious time was one thing, but the more obvious spin-off-announcing episodes were totally another. This is probably the reason why critics and audiences found “Diverged” to be the worst episode of the season.

In this episode, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) go their separate ways, and the entire installment shows them doing things on their own. Carol tries to be useful by cooking, chasing down a rat, and even fixing solar panels. She has Daryl’s dog, Dog, with her, and she obviously misses Daryl. On the other side, Daryl is in the woods, and his bike breaks down; he realizes Carol has a knife that would help him fix it. While the episode shows their bond, it’s not like people weren’t aware of it. Reedus and McBride have thus far done a great job of portraying a certain chemistry. This was, undoubtedly, a stunt to announce the Daryl-based spin-off, Daryl Dixon.

7“Find Me” (Season 10, Episode 18)

The One With Daryl and Leah’s Romance

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Episode 18 of season 10, “Find Me,” is a flashback to Daryl’s old ventures just after Rick was gone. With Daryl going out alone to investigate the area for signs of Rick, he encounters a puppy that later becomes his companion, Dog. The puppy leads him to a cabin where Leah (Lynn Collins) lives, and the two bond while a romance blooms between them. Of course, things become very romance novel-like when Leah tells Daryl to choose between the community or her, with Daryl choosing the community and to keep looking for Rick. Sometime later, Daryl changes his mind, but Leah isn’t there anymore.

Leah also appears in later episodes as part of an antagonistic community that causes some trouble for Daryl and the rest. The storyline with those people feels rushed, but the episode with Daryl and Leah’s romance was, admittedly, nice, though it was just another break from the big picture. With so much going on and plots being rushed and cut back, adding slow-paced episodes like “Find Me” often felt like a distraction, especially in the last two seasons when wrapping things up needed to be more satisfying.

6“Swear” (Season 7, Episode 6)

The One Where It’s Tara Only

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The second worst-rated episode of The Walking Dead (which was in the lead before “Diverged” aired) is episode 6 of Season 7, “Swear.” This is another character-focused episode that follows Tara (Alanna Masterson) as she separates from Heath (Corey Hawkins) during their two-week supply run. This is the episode that introduces another community, Oceanside – an all-female survivors group that keeps their existence hidden. While Tara struggles to go back to Hilltop, the episode follows her fending for herself, alone.

Fans thought Tara was too much of a secondary character to experience such a pivotal moment; though Tara eventually took the lead at Hilltop, the buildup to her getting there was cut shortly thereafter with Alpha (Samantha Morton) killing her, making it all seem in vain. Additionally, character-centered episodes seldom work well in The Walking Dead, despite the massive potential to make them exceptional. The reason for that is their detraction from important overarching plots and their timing. People used to watch The Walking Dead once a week, not on demand, making these filler episodes annoying interruptions a lot more often.

5“The Calm Before” (Season 9, Episode 15)

The One Where A LOT of Characters Die

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Being scared of seeing fan favorites die was a staple in the later seasons of The Walking Dead, especially with threats like The Whisperers. With Alpha being a powerfully controlling leader and Beta (Ryan Hurst) being her brawny right hand, the storylines and the conflict between them were incredibly exciting. However, the deaths of new characters that were quickly becoming part of the main cast – Tara, Henry (Matt Lintz), and Enid (Katelyn Nacon) – were too much for some people. Tuning in to see heads on spikes was awful for many viewers, and they seemed to have had enough.

Tara was just getting into the role of a leader, Henry became Carol and Ezekiel’s (Khary Payton) adopted son, and Enid developed a romance with Alden , and things were going well for them. In the comics, though, Alpha beheads Rosita (Christian Seratos) and Ezekiel, so things could have been worse. Still, after losing Rick and Jesus (Tom Payne) several episodes before, people felt the show had done enough. Though this is one of the best episodes of The Walking Dead, it was too much for a lot of fans, and they decided to tune out really quickly afterward.

4“What Comes After” (Season 9, Episode 5)

The One Where Rick “Dies”

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One of the highest-rated episodes of the series is “What Comes After,” which is episode 5 of season 9. With returns of some pivotal characters from the first seasons, like Shane (Jon Bernthal) and Hershel (Scott Wilson) in Rick’s final moment flashbacks, the series gave a hearty goodbye to its main character and leader, Rick Grimes. And, this is what made people leave. Rick was the heart of the show to so many people, the protagonist that was meant to be there through it all, yet he is killed off. That is, until it’s visible that Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) saved him, and he isn’t really dead, he’s just not going to be in the show anymore.

Rick spends the majority of the episode going through hallucinations from a bad injury, seeing Shane, Hershel, and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and talking to them. Rick and co. planned to lead the Walkers across a bridge, so their weight could collapse it, but that wasn’t working. On the other side of the bridge, Rick finds dynamite and detonates it, destroying the bridge and seemingly dying. While Rick would’ve always gone by sacrificing himself for others, this episode, in hindsight, feels like a spin-off hint, too. Indeed, Rick later appears in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

3“Last Day on Earth” (Season 6, Episode 16)

The One That Leaves the Season On a Cliffhanger

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Sometimes, a season ending on a cliffhanger is exciting. In the case of The Walking Dead‘s season 6 finale, “Last Day on Earth,” it was not. The group runs from Negan’s Saviors left and right, trying to save pregnant Maggie (Lauren Cohan) from getting caught or killed; Morgan (Lennie James) rescues Carol; Eugene volunteers as tribute, ahem, bait; and Glenn drives around in Hilltop’s RV. When they all get captured and lined up on their knees, Negan walks out of the RV with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire he calls Lucille, and starts establishing dominance.

At this point, it becomes obvious the story was going to be a little dragged out. With Negan talking about them now working for him, and a lot of other things, the group of people fans have been cheering for the entire time is waiting on their knees. While it’s pretty obvious the showrunners really enjoyed writing Negan, his monologue in the season 6 finale was just making people annoyed. He chooses who to kill and hits them with the bat, but the scene doesn’t show it; that’s left for the next season. Luckily for fans, though, the wait wasn’t a year long – season 6 ended in April and season 7 premiered in October, but the cliffhanger still made people’s enthusiasm dwindle over time.

2“How It’s Gotta Be” (Season 8, Episode 8)

The One With Carl’s Unnecessary Death

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Carl (Chandler Riggs) is a pivotal character in The Walking Dead comics, but in the show, he was, at first, just Rick’s son, Carl. However, after his mother’s death and amid the events with Negan, Carl became an important character, growing into his own moral code and principles. Carl’s decisions would often mirror Rick’s, even when Rick would become hardened and unforgiving. This is why the loss of Carl in season 8, episode 8, “How It’s Gotta Be” felt like a stab in the heart to many fans. People genuinely couldn’t get over Carl’s unnecessary death.

Besides Carl leading the conflict against Negan, it seems many characters in this episode made silly decisions that lead to a dissatisfying culmination. Firstly, Negan and the Saviors are back in full force; Daryl’s plan gets robbed of execution by Eugene (Josh McDermitt); Ezekiel is captured; and Aaron and Enid take alcohol to Oceanside as a peacemaking offer. A lot happens before the final reveal that Carl was bitten by a walker, that this final moment feels underwhelming. And then viewers lose a young, promising character that they were ready to cheer for adamantly.

1“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” (Season 7, Episode 1)

The One Where Glenn and Abraham Die Brutally

When season 7, Episode 1, “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” it’s revealed that Negan kills Abraham and Glenn. Glenn was a fan favorite for a long time, while Abraham crept into that position steadily by being the show’s comic relief. It seems there was no room for comedy anymore, but Negan also possibly chose Abraham because of his large frame and lack of showing fear in the face of death. Why he chose Glenn seems random. The two killed-off characters were too much for some viewers, and their gruesome killings surely made people abandon the show.

This episode made people disgusted at the violent outburst of Negan, and shocked that they had to see two of their favorite characters die. Still, everyone in the lineup were fan favorites of sorts, so it seems that, no matter who it was, this would be a shocking twist. Abraham was seemingly chosen by the showrunners because, in the comics, Dwight (Austin Amelio) kills him during an attack. In the show, Dwight instead killed Denise (Merritt Wever), and it seems Abraham’s death in season 7 was done to match the events from the comics.