6) Sophia
The disappearance of Carol’s daughter Sophia was an important story arc in season 2, stretched over several episodes to the extent that we assumed she would turn out to be alive somewhere and the group would have to rescue her. That was not to be, however, as her fate was revealed in a hugely devastating moment.
After Shane frees the walkers that are being kept in Herschel’s barn, the group are horrified to discover that Sophia is amongst them – having been killed by a walker while trying to sleep. As Daryl holds a shrieking Carol back, Rick walks up and shoots her in the head – finally putting her to rest.
Sophia’s death is a hugely significant moment in the development of The Walking Dead as it is really the first moment of the show that demonstrated that no one was safe – not even children. From this moment on, literally everyone’s fate was up in the air.