Look, we all knew "All Out War" was going to be a bloodbath. When Rick Grimes stood on that balcony in Alexandria and promised Negan that he was going to kill him—not today, not tomorrow, but eventually—fans knew the cost would be high. But honestly? Nobody expected the toll to be quite this heavy. If you’re looking into The Walking Dead season 8 who dies, you’re probably either bracing yourself for a rewatch or trying to remember why the fandom went into an absolute meltdown back in 2018.
It wasn't just about the numbers. Sure, plenty of Saviors and Hilltop redshirts bit the dust in the crossfire of the various outposts. But the season 8 death list includes one of the most controversial creative decisions in television history. We’re talking about Carl Grimes. It’s the death that changed the DNA of the show forever, deviating so sharply from Robert Kirkman’s source material that some viewers never really recovered.
Let's get into the specifics.
The Carl Grimes Sized Hole in the Heart of the Show
It still feels weird to say. Carl is gone. For years, the prevailing theory was that The Walking Dead was ultimately Carl’s story, seen through the eyes of a boy growing into a man in a broken world. Then came "How It's Done" and "Honor."
Unlike most characters who get their heads smashed by Lucille or torn apart by a horde in a frantic sprint, Carl died because of a simple, quiet mistake. He was helping a stranger named Siddiq. While fighting off walkers in the woods, he got bit on the abdomen. No chance for an amputation. No miracle cure. Just a slow, lingering goodbye that spanned the mid-season break.
People were livid. Why? Because in the comics, Carl survives until the very last issue. He’s the one who carries the legacy forward. By removing Chandler Riggs from the cast, showrunner Scott M. Gimple effectively severed the show's ties to its original endgame. Carl didn't die in a blaze of glory against the Saviors; he died to prove a point about mercy. He wanted Rick to see that there had to be a "path forward" that didn't involve just killing everyone.
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His death wasn't just a plot point. It was a catalyst. It’s the only reason Negan is still breathing by the time the credits roll on the season 8 finale. Rick’s decision to slit Negan’s throat and then immediately tell Siddiq to "save him" was entirely fueled by Carl’s dying letters.
Shiva: The Death That Hit Different
If Carl was the emotional gut-punch, Shiva was the one that felt the most unfair. "Some Guy" (Season 8, Episode 4) remains one of the highest-rated episodes of the season, but it's a brutal watch for animal lovers.
King Ezekiel’s tiger was a marvel of CGI and practical effects, but she represented more than just muscle. She was the manifestation of Ezekiel's "King" persona. When he was at his absolute lowest, trapped and watching his soldiers rise as walkers, Shiva sacrificed herself to save him and Jerry. She leaped into a shallow creek filled with "rad-zombies" (walkers contaminated by chemical runoff) and got swarmed.
The sound of her final roar while Ezekiel screamed "No!" is burned into the brains of anyone who watched it live. It broke the King. For the rest of the season, we saw a much more somber, realistic Ezekiel, stripped of his theatricality. It served a purpose, sure, but man, losing the tiger felt like losing the last bit of "cool" the apocalypse had left.
The Saviors and the Secondary Losses
While the big names get the headlines, the list of The Walking Dead season 8 who dies is littered with characters who had been around since the prison or the early Alexandria days.
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Take Eric Raleigh. Aaron’s boyfriend was a mainstay of the community, but he took a bullet during the chaotic raid on the Savior outpost in "The Damned." His death was particularly haunting because we didn't see him turn. We just saw Aaron find a bloodied tree where Eric had been sitting, then look off into the distance to see a reanimated Eric wandering away with a herd. No closure. No goodbye. Just another walker in the woods.
Then there’s Simon. Steven Ogg brought an incredible, unhinged energy to Negan’s right-hand man. But Simon’s ambition was his undoing. He tried to stage a coup, he massacred the Scavengers against Negan’s orders, and eventually, he had to pay the iron price. Negan strangled him to death in front of the entire Sanctuary in a brutal, one-on-one fight. Seeing Simon’s zombified corpse chained to the Sanctuary fence later on was a grim reminder that Negan’s rules were absolute.
We also lost:
- Morales: Remember him from Season 1? He showed up for about three minutes in Season 8 as a Savior, held a gun to Rick's head, and was promptly shot in the face with a bolt by Daryl. A weird, short-lived reunion.
- Gavin: One of the more "reasonable" Savior leads. He was killed by Henry (Carol's adopted son), which set Henry on a dark, vengeful path that would define his character for the next two seasons.
- Tobin: Carol’s brief love interest from Alexandria. He died during the biological warfare attack at the Hilltop, where the Saviors used walker-gut-covered weapons to infect the survivors.
- Jared: The long-haired Savior everyone hated. He finally got his when Morgan trapped him in a hallway full of walkers. It was a "long time coming" moment that highlighted Morgan’s deteriorating mental state.
Why the Season 8 Body Count Still Matters
The sheer volume of death in season 8 wasn't just about thinning the herd for the "New Beginning" of season 9. It was about the transition of power. By the time the dust settled at the Battle of the Hilltop, the old world was officially gone.
The death of the Scavengers—the "Garbage People"—is another overlooked massacre. Simon’s decision to gun down the entire community (except for Jadis/Anne) changed the landscape of the regional factions. It turned Jadis from a weird antagonist into a desperate survivor who would eventually be the one to fly Rick Grimes away in a helicopter a year later.
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Every death in this season served to push Rick toward a choice: be the monster Negan claimed he was, or be the leader Carl believed he could be.
Factual Nuance: Who Survived When They Shouldn't Have?
It’s actually worth noting who didn't die. Gabriel spent half the season with a horrific infection and nearly went blind. Father Gabriel’s survival is one of those "plot armor" moments people debate, but it allowed for his massive character arc later in the series.
Similarly, Negan’s survival is the biggest "non-death" of the season. In any other show, the villain of a two-year arc dies in the finale. Here, he lived, and that decision caused a massive rift between Rick/Michonne and Maggie/Daryl. If you’re tracking The Walking Dead season 8 who dies, you have to look at how the absence of Negan’s death created the conflict for the next three seasons.
How to Track These Characters in the Future
If you're doing a deep dive into the lore or writing your own fan theories, keep these three things in mind regarding the Season 8 casualties:
- Check the Letters: Carl wrote letters to almost everyone, including Negan. Those letters are cited in later seasons and even in the Dead City spin-off.
- The Savior Remnants: Many of the "unnamed" Saviors who died in the finale were actually members of the production crew or long-term extras. The "Savior" population drop-off is why the Sanctuary eventually fails in Season 9.
- The Henry Connection: Pay attention to Gavin’s death. It’s the starting point for Henry’s trauma, which bridges the gap between the Savior war and the Whisperer war.
The best way to really feel the weight of these losses is to watch the episodes "Honor" (8x09) and "Wrath" (8x16) back-to-back. One represents the loss of the future (Carl), and the other represents the sacrifice needed to build a new one. Season 8 was messy, loud, and often frustrating, but its body count remains the most significant in the franchise's history.
For those looking to explore the aftermath, your next step is looking into the Season 9 time jump. The shift from the "All Out War" casualties to the rebuilding of the bridge is where the show resets its stakes. You'll see exactly how the losses of Carl and Shiva shaped the leaders Rick, Michonne, and Ezekiel became.