The Walking Dead is one of the hottest shows on television.  Rightfully so, as the story reels people in with likable characters and villains we love to hate!  Where would we be without Rick, Carol, Glenn, Michonne, and Daryl?  This dynamic group keeps viewers coming back for more with such ease.  It’s almost as though they have become family because of the time that has been invested in their character development.  Attachments have been formed with the vast majority of the population and there will be hell to pay if our favorites are killed off!  We can thank the villains for that.  The best episodes of The Walking Dead are the ones where the good guys are put in jeopardy by the bad guys.  So, for your viewing and reading pleasure I have ranked my top five Walking Dead villains.  Let’s begin, shall we?

#5: LIZZIE SAMUELS

Lizzie Samuels (Brighton Sharbino) was not someone I would have ever expected to turn into a villain.  Her case is an interesting one because she already had been diagnosed with a mental illness prior to the zombie apocalypse.  The situation just caused her issues to magnify ten-fold.  I found her story to be intriguing, profound, and brilliant.  Most shows would stray from showing a child in this manner due to controversy.  However, this is The Walking Dead my friends.  If the dead were to rise tomorrow, everyone would be affected.  Obviously, there is something wrong with someone who treats zombies as pets.  Just saying.

#4: NEGAN

Ok, I know what you are thinking.  Why is Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) on this list when we barely know him? Well, season six ended with one of the most epic cliffhangers in television history.  All we know is that Negan has killed someone but we do not have the foggiest idea of who it could be.  Sure, we have our theories, but are we really one hundred percent certain though?  For that reason, I feel Negan has all of this power over us.  He holds the fate of one of the group members in the palm of his hand.  The other hand contains Lucille the barbed wire bat.  Depending on who he kills, I may have to stay home from work the next day to re-cooperate.

#3: SHANE WALSH

At first, Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) didn’t strike me as a typical villain.  The walkers arrived so suddenly that his experience in the police force proved useful.  He presented all of the qualities of a true survivor that could help others survive.  It wasn’t long before the dark side made it’s calling, though.  Driven by jealous and selfish tendencies, Shane began turning against those closest to him.  Only a true villain would shoot an innocent person in front of a hoard of zombies and leave them to be eaten alive. Yup, that happened.

#2: MERLE DIXON

I knew Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) would be one of my favorites the moment he appeared on the screen.  If I knew this guy personally I would absolutely hate his guts.  When an actor can make you feel that way while portraying a villain, they are doing something right.  He is raunchy, hostile, and extremely sexist.  Early on, it is apparent that he gets joy out of manipulating people,  Eventually, he tries to redeem himself with the group members but no one trusts him.  Come on, Merle! You were the Governor’s right-hand man! How could anybody trust you!?  Then again, you are related to Daryl which is a plus.

#1 THE GOVERNOR

Ranking number one on the list is The Governor (David Morrissey).  Out of all The Walking Dead villains, I feel The Governor was the most sinister of them all.  He is the perfect example of someone who refuses to elicit any emotional response.  I mean, the dude can decapitate someone and then go eat brunch like nothing happened.  He is the ultimate villain because he thrived off of having power over people.  The more powerful he became, the more he was able to influence others to do what he wanted.  In my opinion, those kinds of leaders are the scariest.

Well, there you have it! This completes my top five villain rankings.  Looking through them all, it is cool to see what drove them to be villains.  The zombie apocalypse alone is reason enough to go crazy.  However, in the end, the goal is to survive and sometimes we’ll do crazy things to make that happen. How long do you think you would survive in The Walking Dead world?