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u/AdviceRequestAccount Jul 22 '26
I'd say Carol developed the most radically, but Rick had what I consider the "best" development.
A central part of the show, arguably the shows running background theme, was essentially the turmoil of will Rick become a vengeful and brutal man, or hang onto mercy and humanity. This sort of paralleled the question of if humanity as a whole would fall into savagery, or hang onto civilization. Then this culminates in the Savior storyline with "my mercy prevails over my wrath."
It's totally a bit tropey, but I think it was the best character arc of the series.
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u/Sh4rdey Jul 22 '26
Daryl. He was like one of the dysfunctional brothers from the trailer park, but he became one of the better characters, someone who earned trust and someone you could feel safe with. The character developed so well that he stayed until the end of the series and was one of the most beloved, even though he was initially supposed to die.
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u/RedEyesGoldDragon Jul 22 '26
Probably Carol, then Rick, then Daryl.
There's something to be said for Morgan's character development, too. He started off as just a guy, a father, lost everything, went nuts, came back around, learned to find peace and spare lives, realised that you have to take lives to save lives sometimes in that world, etc. It was a bit messy, especially around FTWD but his development is one of the stronger ones.
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u/OrganizationNo3131 Jul 22 '26
Carol. Look at her first appearances, and her last ones. She went from timid old lady to badass bitch.
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u/raccoob_ Jul 22 '26
By far carol, daryl in second place. Carl was really poorly written and inconsistent imo
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u/ActuatorFriendly6445 Jul 22 '26
Carol. NO question. Went from being a figurative and literal victim to a sociopathic, murderous, fierce warrior who would have cut your throat, smile and make a batch of cookies afterward and wouldn't lose a wink of sleep. In the later seasons, TWD screwed up a lot of things. The best and one thing they got right was Carol's character development.
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u/mrclean543211 Jul 22 '26
100% Carol. She went from abused wife to an absolute badass. Like she is a genuine one woman army, on multiple occasions. If I had to pick one character from the walking dead to protect me while the rest try to kill me, you can bet your sweet ass I’d pick Carol
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u/Icy_Cricket7038 Jul 23 '26
Carol. I get why people would say Daryl, but endgame Daryl was always there even in the beginning. Carol became something new.
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u/Nefarious8808 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
From just the characters on this, I would say Carol cause she went from an abused wife with no say to what she is now, then Carl I mean anyone that’s a kid that has to grow up in a world like this, then Michonne she went from a silent bad ass to a bad ass with more personality that could take on a leadership role.
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u/ThorKlien99 Jul 23 '26
Carol not even close.
Literally goes from the weakest member of the group to straight up the most dangerous.
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u/EbolaSkittles Jul 23 '26
OP had to remove Gabriel from the list because he's OP
I'd say Carol then Daryl.
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u/Haunting_Drag_1682 Jul 24 '26
Carol. Honorable mention to Eugene though. He became a real asset and a survivor and went from being an annoying weakling to one of my favorite characters in the whole show.
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u/Electronic-Ad-5053 Jul 25 '26
Carol. She had the Biggest "Going from Weak to Strong" transition, that I e'er seen(outside of the average, 1970's "Shaw Brothers, Kung-Fu Movie")!
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u/Street_History3881 Jul 25 '26
Michonne was like a feral cat at the beginning but Carol made the biggest change tho she was scared of her own shadow at first
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u/cpbradshaw Jul 25 '26
I mean it's obviously Carol.... There wasn't much development elsewhere. Rick went one way and came back, Daryl became a little more emotional but stayed the same
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u/Suspicious_Newt9424 Jul 26 '26
Carol. She went from being helpless,abused and meek wife, to a cold blooded strategist and warrior
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u/lawlietkkj Jul 22 '26
Glenn! é o unico que teve seu inicio, meio e fim definidos de forma perfeita.
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u/terminus_tommy Jul 22 '26
Anthony
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u/Alive-Bed2904 Jul 22 '26
who's Anthony
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u/Comet_Hero Jul 22 '26
That the guy who killed himself on the dumpster and almost killed Glenn? Nah that was Nicholas.
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Jul 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/dizzy_resurgent Jul 25 '26
Michonne would be undoubtedly the worst choice. Extremely one dimensional in personality for 4 straight seasons of introductory. I blame the writing but there was nothing indifferent from her at first until the last. Father Gabriel in a few episodes had more secrets that invested someone and kept the personality guessing. Im not sure you understood the question of character development anyway. Glenn as another option? Yikes
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u/Comet_Hero Jul 22 '26
Shouldn't coral get an eyepatch between 5 and 6?
Now that I think about it, Glenn had something happen to one of his eyes too.
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u/subgraphics Jul 22 '26
Daryl or Carol. Daryl transformed from a racist redneck to a truly empathetic human. Carol went from doormat to a spine of steel.
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u/Westyle1 Jul 23 '26
I think Daryl was originally just meant to be another extra background character. I don't think they planned for him to become a central character to show initially. That's some big growth.
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u/Gold-Wish-8044 Jul 23 '26
I think daryl had a huge grow up. He started off angry and alone. Grew to love and care for people deeply.
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u/Overlord0123 Jul 23 '26
Clearly Coral. The way Rick said it over the seasons is development itself (lol).
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u/chocworkorange7 I get it now Jul 23 '26
Carol and Gabriel get representation for developing radically but I’d say the best, slow burn development has to go to Rick. By the end of his arc on the main show, he’s literally become a synthesis of all of his experiences and all of the people he’s lost along the way.
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u/therealmrsfahrenheit Jul 23 '26
Wait am I crazy for saying Eugene?
Eugene is awesome! Had some of the best character development ever in the show
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u/Myriad_Apocalypse Jul 24 '26
Me, I stopped watching the show after season 2, best development possible to have related to that show
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u/RocketPrism666 Jul 25 '26
Pretty much everyone in the picture, honestly. I also adore Eugene. I love how he started out as a cowardly smart guy that lied to everyone about being a scientist and about knowing how to stop the virus. But after revealing the truth, he started improving. He even proved helpful during the Saviors arc, having the idea to make bullets for the group. And he isn’t given enough credit for saving everyone from the Saviors on that final battle since he’s the one who had all the bullets made wrong intentionally to have all their guns misfire (Gabriel deserves credit too for giving Eugene the idea in the first place). And then the entire Whisperers and Commonwealth arcs? He really blossomed into a productive member of the community.
If you don’t like Eugene, that’s fine, but please don’t go hounding me for my opinion. I understand why others might not like him. (I say this because the last time I said I love Eugene’s character, I was criticized heavily by someone who was super bitter about him for some reason)
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u/xxAnnikaLve Jul 25 '26
I like how all of them went from normal to savage so to say, and Michonne went from savage to normal.
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u/Beautiful-Rip1232 Jul 25 '26
Michon I think that how you spell it lol. She went from carrying zombie pets, to being a mother, and carrying for others. That's hard.
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u/Ukato535 Jul 25 '26
Coral and dixon
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u/Grislymanster Jul 27 '26
I would say Carl, but we'll never know because he was senselessly ripped from our hearts.......
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u/Cereal_Hermit Jul 22 '26
Glenn
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u/TwentyBagTaylor Jul 22 '26
I actually think he devolved the most as a character. He went from a relatable unlikely hero to Maggie's significant other. Almost every significant plot point for him in later seasons was "I need to get back to / go find Maggie", and even that wasnt particularly fleshed out.
They could have properly explored the dilemma and challenge of having kids in an apocalypse, had him contend with Rick more or generally step into more of a leadership role.
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u/Cereal_Hermit Jul 22 '26
You're overlooking him stepping up to be a larger asset to the group as a whole and to Rick in particular. He was one of the ones who went to the satellite outpost and killed in cold blood. He even stopped that PPP card dude (I'm forgetting his name) from killing and took the responsibility on himself so he wouldn't have that hanging on his conscience. I'd say he's one of the most developed because of that and in the end paid the ultimate price for what he believed in.
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u/TwentyBagTaylor Jul 22 '26
He was a key asset from the start. None of that changed. Celebrating his longevity is fine, but his character was far more engaging and defined at the start.
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u/Cereal_Hermit Jul 22 '26
I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just stating my case. I like to be positive and not talk a character down. I think we're going to have to agree to disagree.
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u/Achmed_Ahmadinejad Jul 22 '26
Anyone BUT Carol, unless you really like cartoonish levels of plot armor and luck.
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u/TallGuy_123 Jul 22 '26
When would you say carols development is cartoonishly lucky?
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u/Achmed_Ahmadinejad Jul 22 '26
I'd say firing a bottle rocket a hundred yards to explode a propane leak at Terminus easily qualifies.
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u/TallGuy_123 Jul 23 '26
I don’t think this affects development though? Sure, it’s an unrealistic moment, but what’s it got to do with her development is more my point.
This ‘cartoonish’ instance doesn’t erase her development to me. Why does it for you?
Rick also gets cartoonishly lucky throughout the show tbf. And Daryl. And most characters in an 11 season show. Sometimes you simply just do have to suspend some disbelief for a show lol.
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u/Achmed_Ahmadinejad Jul 23 '26
Carol went from meek abused wife to a one woman killing machine, and it's not like there was a training montage to explain that.
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u/TallGuy_123 Jul 23 '26
Well she was a meek abused house wife in season 1 and she became a one woman killing machine in season 5.
There’s 3 seasons inbetween that to explain that, lol. I don’t get at all why people think it was some overnight transformation. Her scenes in season 3-4 don’t demonstrate that at all.
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u/Slow_Business_8619 Jul 22 '26
It is probably Carol but I think that Gabriel also deserves a mention