History TearJerker / TheWalkingDead

* In general, The Governor's attack on the prison and the casualties suffered. Most notably Hershel desperately dragging a shocked Billy to safety, only for Billy to be shot in the head, leading to Hershel losing the will to live and pleading for the Governor to kill him, [[BoomHeadshot which he happily obliges]]. Similarly, following the Governor's orders, a soldier named Lilly Caul shoots and kills Lori, who falls to the ground and crushes her infant daughter Judith. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Unable to cope with what she's done]], Lilly [[KickTheSonOfABitch murders the Governor in cold blood]]. The final panel of the volume is Rick and Carl alone, tearfully embracing.

** The next morning, Carl wakes up and is happy at the prospect of treating his father to pancakes. So, he heads towards Rick's room... and lo and behold, Rick is walking around zombified. Quick reflexes causes Carl to pull out his pistol and put his father down for good with a BoomHeadshot. It is there that a {{single tear}} runs down Carl's face as he realises who he shot, [[HeroicBSOD causing him to collapse on the floor, unmoving even when everyone else finds out what just happened]].
** To conclude, all it took was one entitled brat to end a man who lost so many friends and family, and who fought so hard to create a new, fresh civilisation. Because of those four silenced shots fired, Rick's life was cut short, robbed of any [[HeroicSacrifice dying heroic acts]], noble final words, [[DyingAlone grateful comments from followers nearby him]] or even a final gaze at Alexandria, the place where be brought together countless people against walkers or antagonistic humans. '''''[[UndignifiedDeath For someone who was mighty and could survive anything thrown at him up until this point, Rick Grimes had nothing worthwhile in his quick, last moments.]]''''' It's even lampshaded in 192's end, [[DespairEventHorizon where Carl breaks down crying from the feeling that Rick, unlike Andrea, did not get a proper departure, and that Carl will not be able to keep his father's work going.]]

''The Walking Dead'' highlights the worst aspects of human nature are shown because of a zombie invasion. It's safe to say that there will be moments like this.

** Tyreese and Axel's deaths are up there as well. The Governor [[CruelAndUnusualDeath slowly]] [[OffWithHisHead beheads]] Tyreese using Michonne's katana, and Axel gets shot by an unknown Woodburial in the very next issue [[DeathBySex not too long after having sex with Patricia]]. They're actually [[EnsembleDarkHorse two of the very few characters that Robert Kirkman misses and regrets killing off]].

For the [[Series/TheWalkingDead TV show]], see '''[[TearJerker/TheWalkingDeadTVShow here]]'''.

For the [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDead video game]], see '''[[TearJerker/TheWalkingDeadVideoGame here]]'''.

'''Andrea: [[FamousLastWords Yeah, you do.]]'''

** To conclude, all it took was one entitled brat to end a man who lost so many friends and family, and who fought so hard to create a new, fresh civilisation. Because of those four silenced shots fired, Rick's life was cut short, robbed of any [[HeroicSacrifice dying heroic acts]], [[FamousLastWords noble final words]], [[DyingAlone grateful comments from followers nearby him]] or even a final gaze at Alexandria, the place where be brought together countless people against walkers or antagonistic humans. '''''[[UndignifiedDeath For someone who was mighty and could survive anything thrown at him up until this point, Rick Grimes had nothing worthwhile in his quick, last moments.]]''''' It's even lampshaded in 192's end, [[DespairEventHorizon where Carl breaks down crying from the feeling that Rick, unlike Andrea, did not get a proper departure, and that Carl will not be able to keep his father's work going.]]

* Hershel finally learning the truth about zombies.. After losing two of his childrun to them.
* Donna's death can be a hard pill to swallow, cause we were just starting to warm up to her and, ''boom'', dead.

* In general, The Governor's attack on the prison and the casualties suffered. Most notably Hershel desperately dragging a shocked Billy to safety, only for Billy to be shot in the head, leading to Hershel losing the will to live and pleading for the Governor to kill him, [[BoomHeadshot which he happily obliges]]. Similarly, following the Governor's orders, a soldier named Lilly Caul shoots and kills Lori, who falls to the ground and crushes her infant daughter Judith. Unable to cope with what she's done, Lilly [[KickTheSonOfABitch murders the Governor in cold blood]]. The final panel of the volume is Rick and Carl alone, tearfully embracing.

** Tyreese and Axel's deaths are up there as well. The Governor [[CruelAndUnusualDeath slowly]] [[OffWithHisHead beheads]] Tyreese using Michonne's katana, and Axel gets shot in the head by a random soldier in the very next issue not too long after having sex with Patricia. They're actually [[EnsembleDarkHorse two of the very few characters that Robert Kirkman misses and regrets killing off]].

* Alice's HeroicSacrifice to save Rick and his family counts too.
* To some, Patricia's death. After trying to make up for her mistakes, she ends up killed in an abrupt way.
* After killing Billy, one of the Governor's soldiers (named in ''Fall Of The Governor'' as Smitty) is actually shocked at the fact that he shot a kid dead. He calms down when the Governor reassures him, but this is a huge foreshadowing of Lilly's breakdown and her shooting the Governor dead.

InAWorld where zombies rule the Earth and the worst aspects of human nature are shown, it's evident that there will be moments like this.

For the [[Series/TheWalkingDead TV show]], see '''[[TearJerker/TheWalkingDeadTVShow here]]'''.

For the [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDead video game]], see '''[[TearJerker/TheWalkingDeadVideoGame here]]'''.
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* The death of '''Andrea'''. From [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished her zombie bite on her neck happening]] [[HeroicSacrifice as a result of saving Eugene]] [[ItsAllMyFault (with Eugene later crying and believing that it was his fault)]] to Carl holding back his tears, to everyone (even '''Negan''', of all people) giving their condolences, to Rick and Andrea's final conversation, [[DrivenToSuicide to Rick initially wanting to let a zombified Andrea bite him]], and finally, [[MercyKill Rick tearfully stabbing Zombie!Andrea's head to kill her for good]]. All in all, this may count as one of the most traumatising, devastating and saddening deaths one can ever read about in the history of ''Comicbook/TheWalkingDead'', since '''Glenn''', which says a lot of things. Robert Kirkman wasn't joking when he said from issue 166's Letter Hacks that the next issue containing this certain death would be a "big deal".

* Issues 191 and 192 brought us the biggest moment this side of the prison's fall, Carl losing his right eye, Negan's introduction or the reveal of the Whisperer's brutality: '''''[[KilledOffForReal the death of Rick Grimes, former sheriff and leader of Alexandria.]]'''''
** His death is a sharp contrast from how Andrea died, in multiple ways:
*** [[ZombieInfectee Andrea got bit by a walker after she tried to save Eugene from being swarmed by a herd.]] [[{{Determinator}} Despite this injury, she continued with her task of diverting the herd away from Alexandria]] [[FaceDeathWithDignity Eventually, she collapsed, and spent her final hours encouraging Rick and Carl to keep on surviving for the sake of a better future for everyone else.]] [[TrueCompanions Multiple friends from Alexandria, the Hilltop and the Kingdom also came to her side to share their feelings about her.]] [[FamousLastWords At night, the last tearful words she spoke were that of agreeing to Rick's]] LoveConfession, [[PeacefulInDeath and she finally passed away in her own bed soon after.]] [[MercyKill When she reanimated, Rick was there to hesitantly put her down.]]
*** For Rick, it's a '''completely''' different story. Issue 191 began with Rick giving an awesome speech during a standoff between his friends and the Commonwealth army. He is successful in resolving the conflict, and everyone goes back to business. The last exchange he has with anyone, before he unintentionally heads towards his fate, is Carl. He teaches him the importance of always standing up for what's right, and to never succumb to loss due to others needing a sense of hope or victory. [[SoProudOfYou They stop by at the hotel where Rick is staying, and he leaves, proudly calling Carl his son and wishing him goodnight, with Carl doing the same.]] These are the last and only good things Rick experiences.
*** Later, he is asleep, but [[RichBitch Sebastian]] [[SpoiledBrat Milton]] barges into Rick's bedroom and threatens him with a gun, accusing him of ruining his family's work. A small talk ensues, as all Rick can do was try to talk him down from shooting. ''[[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace Then, one silenced gunshot is unexpectedly fired at Rick's chest]], and Rick is as shocked as [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Sebastian is]].'' This issue's last panel ends with Rick gripping his wound, with {{blood from the mouth}} and weakly asking what Sebastian did.
*** In the next issue, Rick is full of disbelief as ever, as he's bleeding out. As he raises a hand towards Sebastian, the panicked teenager shoots Rick '''[[MultipleGunshotDeath three more times in the chest]]''' and hurriedly leaves the room. It is there that Rick dies, with a horrified expression on his face, and lying on a now blood-spattered bed that was provided by the Commonwealth. [[BookEnds That shot alone resembles how Rick woke up in his hospital bed from his coma: terrified, and heading into a different, brutal world.]]
*** The next morning, Carl wakes up and is happy at the prospect of treating his father to pancakes. So, he heads towards Rick's room... and lo and behold, Rick is walking around zombified. Quick reflexes causes Carl to pull out his pistol and put his father down for good with a BoomHeadshot. It is there that a {{single tear}} runs down Carl's face as he realises who he shot, [[HeroicBSOD causing him to collapse on the floor, unmoving even when everyone else finds out what just happened]].
*** To conclude, all it took was one entitled brat to end a man who lost so many friends and family, and who fought so hard to create a new, fresh civilisation. Because of those four silenced shots fired, Rick's life was cut short, robbed of any [[HeroicSacrifice dying heroic acts]], [[FamousLastWords noble final words]], [[DyingAlone grateful comments from followers nearby him]] or even a final gaze at Alexandria, the place where be brought together countless people against walkers or antagonistic humans. '''''[[UndignifiedDeath For someone who was mighty and could survive anything thrown at him up until this point, Rick Grimes had nothing worthwhile in his quick, last moments.]]''''' It's even lampshaded in 192's end, [[DespairEventHorizon where Carl breaks down crying from the feeling that Rick, unlike Andrea, did not get a proper departure, and that Carl will not be able to keep his father's work going.]]