The Friday Five: My Five "The Walking Dead" Characters Still Alive

The Friday Five: 

My Favorite "The Walking Dead" 

Characters Still Alive

As "The Walking Dead" heads into its tenth season, it comes with it years of stellar seasons and not-so-stellar seasons that've resulted in people giving up on the show (particularly seasons seven and eight, which personally I feel were the worst of the series).  Last season the show rebounded in a huge and surprising way in its most daring moment yet - getting rid of the show's main protagonist Rick Grimes who's been on the show since day one (although it was actor Andrew Lincoln's decision to leave so he can be with his family in the U.K.).  People thought this would be the death knell for the show, but instead it gained a resurgence and ended better than ever.

With a cavalcade of characters coming and going through the seasons, I focused my Friday Five on my five favorite characters still alive on the show (yes, Rick is alive and making his movies for the franchise, but he's not technically on the show anymore).

**THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, 

SO CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

#5

 Daryl Dixon

Played by Norman Reedus

As one of the few original cast members left, Norman Reedus has defined the show and given Daryl Dixon a cult following unlike most characters in television today.  Everyone's lovable apocalyptic redneck has grown by leaps and bounds during his nine seasons on the show and has fully emerged as Rick's successor as leader of the group, albeit a title he didn't want to hold.  Daryl now serves as the de-facto leader of all the groups and the one who easily unites everyone together for a common purpose, and draws the ire of Samantha Morton's Alpha, who shows him the seemingly unending herd of Walkers at her command.  Never one to back down from a fight, Daryl will easily lead the group in season ten in taking on the Whisperers and continue to show off his stellar fighting skills.

#4

 Connie

Played by Lauren Ridloff

Connie debuted at the tail end of the last half of season nine, and has only continued to set herself apart from the rest of the group.  She showcases extreme survival skills as well as laser-precision work with a slingshot, and it's all the more powerful in the fact that she's deaf.  A deaf person would normally be seen as a weakness in a zombie apocalypse because you obviously can't hear Walkers descending on you, but Connie has shown a survival skill far beyond her handicap and uses it as an asset in several situations.  Lauren Ridloff (who is also deaf, and will also play the first deaf superhero in next year's "The Eternals") commands the screen as the hardened but also sincere Connie, whose biggest moments last season was saving a baby from being killed by the Whisperers and accompanying Daryl on his quest to save Henry, and she'll be a powerhouse to be reckoned with in season ten.

#3

 Negan

Played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan

At the end of season six, Rick Grimes and his group came face-to-face with the group known as the Saviors and their leader, Negan.  Negan wielded a barbed wire bat he named Lucille, and forced Rick and his group to kneel before him as he taunted them and told them one would die, ending in one of the most frustrating cliffhangers in television history.  When season seven began, we saw that Negan not just brutally killed Abraham Ford, but also fan favorite Glenn Rhee as well, and led to many people giving up on the show.  It only continued the following season as episode by episode it just became a cat-and-mouse game between Rick and Negan, until finally Rick managed to defeat Negan and the Saviors.  Negan was jailed at Alexandria where he continued to live caged for six years, but now it looks like Negan has found his redemption arc with Rick's daughter Judith.  At the end of season nine we saw Negan risk his own life to save Judith from a tremendous snowstorm, and earned the respect of Michonne for that gesture, and we've seen him free in the season ten trailer, leading us to believe that Negan will be vital in defeating the Whisperer threat.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan delivers a tremendous performance, and it looks like Negan will finally became the hero after years of being the villain. 

#2

 Carol Peletier

Played by Melissa McBride

Along with Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride is the only cast member from the first season to still be a part of the show, and Carol's arc has been nothing short of amazing.  From a timid housewife who was constantly beaten by her husband in season one to single-handedly saving the group from a cannibalistic group in season five, Carol has evolved into a top-notch survivalist whose bad side you don't want to find yourself on.  At the end of season nine, Carol suffered unspeakable loss when she found the animated head of her adopted son Henry on a pike, put there by Alpha and the Whisperers to mark their territory, and this season I feel that we'll see a fierce confrontation between the two women that'll be nothing short of epic.

#1

 Michonne

Played by Danai Gurira

A favorite of mine from the comics, Michonne has continued to showcase her amazing survival skills since season three of the show, as she wields her mighty katana and takes no prisoners.  Danai Gurira gives Michonne her fierce demeanor as well as a deeply dramatic inner character as she traverses this new world taking care of her young son RJ and adopted daughter Judith after her lover Rick's supposed death.  Danai will be exiting the show at the end of this season to focus on bigger projects (she's already garnered international fandom for appearing as Okoye in "Black Panther" and the last two "Avengers" films), and I'm worried how they'll write Michonne out - hopefully she'll live to reunite with Rick in his movies, or at least die in a blaze of heroic glory.