Posted by The Walking Dead’s final season is slowly but surely heading to its conclusion,
and we’re moving right along with it. With creative walker deaths at an all-time high and loose threads rapidly braiding together with an end in sight, we can’t help but think of all the moments
that made this a staple for horror TV fans over the last many several years.
With several spin-offs on the way, it’s a relief to know that many of these characters will keep on trucking. After all, we have grown attached and want the best for them. Besides, while some series’ romances have run their course, many have barely begun. These are the couples we can’t get enough of for all the undead romantics among us.
10. Rick and Michonne
This match-up took some time to warm to, but after all these two went through together, it’s hard not to wish them a happy ending. Michonne went from being a loner suspicious of Rick and his friends to be a woman for whom family meant everything. Meanwhile, Rick just flat-out would not have survived without Michonne around. The fight against Negan very nearly crushed him as it was, and his love for Michonne and their family pulled him back from the edge.
The best part about the Richonne relationship is that Rick listens to Michonne and trusts her even over himself. The few times he lets his ego get carried away, Michonne is always there to kick it back a notch or two. Scenes of them working in tandem and trusting each other with their lives are their most endearing, making this the kind of power couple rare in any franchise.
9. Glenn and Maggie
Putting these two this far down the line is pretty much going to be considered blasphemy for longtime fans. Yet, while these two were great together and gave the series many of its most romantic moments, they’ve also ridden the top of every “best couples” list for several years, so we’ll let them take a little break. The fact is, as much as we love Glenn and wish things could have gone differently, Maggie has been living in their past together just as long as the rest of us have, and it might have passed the point of being healthy.
That isn’t to say that these two weren’t the most endgame couple on the show because they indeed were. If Glenn were still around, we do not doubt that they’d be just as cute as they were through the many episodes they spent together, and we’re still holding out for a last-minute flashback before the series wraps. Since his death in season 7, missing Glenn has just been a part of who we are now, but here’s hoping that Maggie can move on and find love again.
8. Daryl and Leah
Daryl works as a lone wolf, which is why it came as a bit of a surprise when he hooked up with the isolated and equally aloof Leah. This is the classic meet-cute that happened while both protagonists did everything they could to avoid the rest of the human race. Leah initially pulled a shotgun on Daryl when he wandered into her house and was caught unawares. Not exactly love at first sight, but we’ll work with it.
Though we’re also big fans of the connection between Daryl and Connie, there’s little denying the obvious emotional pull Leah has over Daryl. Though the two ended up going their separate ways, he later moved heaven and earth to try and get her out of a bad situation with the Reapers. This was not to be, but not for lack of trying. Though this is a couple where the partners are perhaps a bit too much alike to make it work long-term, we can’t help but hope for the best.
7. Yumiko and Magna
Fans of the comic may have a slightly more positive view of this couple than those that watch the show exclusively, but the truth is that in either universe, they are pretty cute. Arriving on the scene with the rest of their ragtag group, they have each grown significantly since we first met them. Magna fell into group dynamics while Yumiko has leaned into her individuality in new ways.
Though this is one of the few couples to willingly break up rather than be separated tragically by one or both partners’ meeting their demise on the show, they were together for more than a decade before we met them. Fighting to survive and losing friends along the way, there’s no denying they had a rough go of it. When they broke up, it was clear that they were both exhausted. With the class dynamics of the Commonwealth driving a clear social wedge between them, we’re hoping to see some crucial conversations (and perhaps a reconciliation) before the series draws to a close.
6. Eugene and Stephanie
This one is a little convoluted but bears with us because it’s worth it. Eugene has spent most of his time on the series in love with women that are on another wavelength, such as the great Rosita. When he started chatting up a woman named Stephanie on a radio he managed to salvage, they had shared interests through their mutual love of genre fiction, particularly sci-fi.
However, somehow Eugene got wrapped up in a dark Commonwealth government conspiracy. He met the seemingly too-good-to-be-true Stephanie, who turned out to be a plant to help convince him to lead the people of Alexandria to the township. He’s broken once this is revealed, but he meets up with the real Stephanie right after. Unsurprisingly, the two immediately click. Here’s hoping our guy has finally met the girl of his dreams because she seems like a good egg.
5. Carol and Ezekiel
Another match that might not have seemed to make total sense right off the bat, the Carol and Ezekiel relationship has grown into one of the sweetest love affairs on the show. As of season eleven, Carol, who once turned down Ezekiel’s proposal with a surprised laugh, now seems to be all in to make sure he survives his illness long enough for the two of them to have a happily-ever-after.
This is certainly a couple with its ups and downs, but it’s easy to see why these two are so into each other. Carol is pragmatic and wise, while Ezekiel is a poet that follows his heart. Though there was a break-up along the way that seemed final, this pair of star-crossed lovers does seem to keep finding one another, and we couldn’t be happier.
4. Rosita and Gabriel and Siddiq
Rosita has dated around, and her relationships are always a lot of fun. Her bittersweet end with Abraham, the adoration of Eugene, the physical chemistry between her and Siddiq, and, finally, the surprisingly stable love between her and Father Gabriel. Frankly, Rosita deserves.
Though her relationship with Siddiq was brief, and what she has with Gabriel seems far more long-term, there was a short, shining moment where this could have been the franchise’s first functional polycule. Though it was not to be, and it turned out Siddiq had much bigger problems to worry about, this was all adorable while it lasted. As of this season, our girl is getting more screentime than ever, and her daughter is thriving. That’s all we can ask for.
3. Sasha and Abraham
Abraham and Rosita also had a sweet relationship for a time. Still, when their gradual break-up became more evident to all parties involved, Abraham was the first to move on with his interest in Sasha. Meanwhile, Sasha had been through significant trauma, and Abraham’s sincere nature seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.
There was a good level of conflict off the bat with these two as a hurt Rosita struggled with the relationship. However, looking back, these two characters hit it off and deserved a lot more time together. Abraham died when Negan killed Glenn, and his death so perturbed Sasha that she made a series of uncharacteristically haphazard decisions, transforming into a walker to take Negan out. These were both fan-favorite characters, and we miss them.
2. Aaron and Jesus
Aaron has the honor of having two wildly endearing relationships throughout his time on the show, and it’s hard to decide which one we miss the most. His first boyfriend, Eric, tragically died but urged Aaron to keep it together and fight on without him. That ability to put the group ahead of the individual seems to be a significant point of attraction for our guy because his next boyfriend, Jesus, was his partner in taking care of the people of the Hilltop community.
Most of Aaron and Jesus’ love stories took offscreen during a time jump, but their chemistry is hard to miss. Though Jesus also suffered a devastating fate, we’re happy for what they had while it lasted. After losing Jesus, Aaron spent a lot of the first part of season 11 in a very dark place, but his love for his community called him back. We imagine that’s what Jesus would have wanted.
1. Negan and Annie
Negan’s marriage to Lucille (the woman, not the bat) and his subsequent love affair with Lucille (the bat, not the woman) is the kind of tragic romance that is pretty hard to get over. To that end, Negan spent years rallying one of the most significant gangs in the post-apocalypse, ruling the countryside with an iron fist, hitting rock bottom in prison, and starting anew with the people of Alexandria, all while mourning the love of his life. It’s kind of a big deal. Lucille was awesome (the woman and the bat).
However, as of season 11, our guy has remarried. Enter the cool and collected Annie, with whom he will have a child. Though these two have only been together a short time, this relationship already has the makings of an all-timer. As the scoundrel Negan has opted to settle down with the woman who loves him despite all his flaws, these two have the chance to be everything Rick and Michonne and Glenn and Maggie didn’t get to be. That makes them the ship to end all ships for The Walking Dead’s final season and lead into the various spin-offs ahead