The Walking Dead was a series that audiences fell in love with right from the get-go. This particular on-screen portrayal of a zombie apocalypse used all of its 11 seasons — and upcoming spin-off series — to garner a widespread fanbase that has truly found itself caught up in the story. Indeed, The Walking Dead follows former police officer Rick Grimes and his group as they navigate the new world overtaken by the undead. From heartbreaking deaths to formidable villains, The Walking Dead was a roller-coaster that we never wanted to get off.
Throughout the 11 seasons of this AMC show, fans met and said goodbye to multiple characters, good and bad. Therefore, it is not the most unbelievable thing that some of these characters did not fall in favor of fan opinion. What is a zombie show without a little drama after all? Whether it’s causing the demise of multiple beloved characters or just acting without a brain in their head, here is our list of the most annoying characters from The Walking Dead.
10 Eugene
Okay, Eugene is a character that grew on us. However, in the earliest history of his character on The Walking Dead, he was one of the most annoying out there. Brilliantly played by Josh McDermitt, Eugene was first introduced as part of a trio with Rosita and Abraham.
Eugene used his “brilliance” as a crutch in the apocalypse, claiming that he knew a cure and needed everyone to protect him. However, he was really just a coward and a master manipulator. Despite being a pain in their behinds, Eugene eventually found his footing and became a beloved character in the show, hence his low raking on this list.
9 Sam Anderson
Honestly, all the kids on The Walking Dead, except for Carl, were liabilities. Jessie’s youngest son, Sam, falls into this category, and was one of the most annoying characters in the show. The children in Alexandria remained protected and oblivious to the dangerous world beyond the walls. Therefore, when Rick’s group infiltrated it, Sam was met with the shocking reality that he may not be as safe as he thought.
Sam remained harmless up until his final moments, when he put Rick, Carl, Jessie, Ron, and Michonne in danger. He was forced to navigate through a herd of walkers with the others, but ultimately panicked as Carol’s harsh words rang through his head. As a result, Jessie perished, Carl got shot in the eye, and all hell broke loose. This emotional Walking Dead moment alone left a bad taste in our mouths for his character.
8 Allen
In the world of The Walking Dead, one of the worst things you can be is a traitor. Allen is a character that was introduced during the Governor’s reign. However, his role remained minor throughout his time in the show.
After the death of his wife, Allen became unhinged, ruthless, and vengeful. He resented Tyrese and Rick’s group so much that he was part of the driving force that wanted to take over the prison, killing all of our favorite characters and even a baby Judith. His entire existence on the show, although not too threatening, felt like a really annoying inconvenience.
7 Lizzie
Just look at the flowers. The main subject of one of the darkest episodes of The Walking Dead, young Lizzie lost her mind throughout her time on the show. She had a very skewed perception of the apocalypse, believing that the walkers were still people and that they had souls.
This belief brought unnecessary danger to every single character in the show and made her presence in the show, although incredibly complex, unbearable to watch. She was the mastermind of so many issues that, when her death came around, all of us fans knew that it had to be done.
6 Spencer
When it comes to The Walking Dead, we root for the characters that have a sense of humanity and the ones with survival instincts. Spencer, however, was not built for this world. In fact, all he had to offer was a gun and a destructive ego. In Alexandria, Spencer was the son of the community’s leader Deanna. Therefore, you would think that the guy would have a grasp on what it takes to lead in this world.
Well, spoiler alert: he doesn’t. Spencer was against Rick from the start for taking a leadership role right when he came into the fold. He felt an entitlement to authority in Alexandria, and that is what destroys him. He saw everyone with power over him as a threat and that eventually led to his death at the hands of a Lucille-wielding Negan.
5 The Governor
Our favorite characters in The Walking Dead have faced numerous formidable villains. However, in a completely different way than Negan was, The Governor was one of the worst. With Negan, we loved to hate him. But, with The Governor, we straight-up could not stand him.
Played by David Morrissey, this cunning and calculated villain ran a community called Woodbury. His charisma gave people a sense of normalcy that was valuable during the apocalypse. When The Governor started to turn a little unhinged as the conflicts with our main group grew, he just never seemed to go away. Any ounce of peace the show’s main group got, The Governor was there to soil it. For that, we wanted him gone ASAP.
4 Ed
Although his time on The Walking Dead was short, we do not have to elaborate too much on Ed. There was not a single redeeming quality about Ed. Introduced in the first season of The Walking Dead, he was Carol’s abusive husband and an unlikable character to the bone. He hit her, shamed her, and caused too many problems within the group. If Shane did anything right in this show, teaching Ed a lesson or two counts for points in our books.
3 Nicholas
Nicholas had every opportunity to turn himself around in The Walking Dead. However, fear became the monster he could not defeat. Played by Michael Traynor, the reason why Nicholas was so annoying surrounds the fandom’s undying love for Glenn Rhee, played by Steven Yeun.
In the most intense moments in the show — between being chased by a hoard of walkers or getting trapped with no way out — Nicholas could not function. He was a coward, completely selfish, and his death was the reason a lot of us fans thought Glenn’s death was signed, sealed, and delivered. If anything in The Walking Dead will cause an uproar from fans, it is when certain characters are unable to step up to the plate, and Nicholas was one of the worst of them all.
2 Andrea
The fault with Andrea (Laurie Holden) does not fall on the character’s shoulders at all. It is her storyline that did not use her character to her fullest potential. We, as an audience, had the privilege of knowing what was going down at all times; we all knew who The Governor was and saw sides of him that Andrea could not have seen.
But, despite all that, her undying loyalty to him annoyed us to no end. She had her love-goggles on, and it became detrimental to our group. Andrea had the makings of a character that could survive the outbreak. However, her character did not have the opportunity to develop, and she was stuck being a pawn, a minion for the Governor.
1 Lori
Not surprisingly, the one and only Lori Grimes caps off this list of the most annoying characters on The Walking Dead. Lori was played by Sarah Wayne Callies from Seasons 1 to 3. She never really hit the way we wanted her to. Every character in this series has its flaws, but Lori had little to no redeeming qualities that made her a dynamic character.
Her omission of Judith’s paternity as well as her pregnancy itself created irreversible drama within the group. During a time when Rick was the leader they all needed, she ruined him. It also came across as if she never took any real responsibility for her faults. Also, what made Lori’s death sad was not the fact that she would no longer be on the show — it was how her death affected both Rick and Carl. Was Lori the worst character in the show? Not by a long shot. However, she annoyed the hell out of us.