When Does Beth Die on The Walking Dead?
The following contains mentions of suicide and self-harm.
Many fans have probably forgotten Beth Greene’s character arc on The Walking Dead. She was sweet, innocent, naive, and had an impressive singing voice. Beth also had a signature style of sporting cowboy boots like the farm girl she remained until the end. However, she’s never really remembered for these things since most people can only picture her unexpected death in the fifth season.
Beth, the youngest Greene daughter, was an original show character — she never appeared in the comics — brought on in the series’s second season. The show introduced her alongside her older half-sister Maggie and her father Hershel, both of whom became iconic characters. While Beth’s storylines were never the most thrilling, largely due to her quiet demeanor, it didn’t make her death any less painful and frustrating for entirely different reasons than Carl Grimes’ death.
Updated on May 23, 2025, by Ajay Aravind: Beth’s death was the result of a complete accident, one so silly and pointless that it need not have ever happened. But it did, and fans had to grapple with the notion that the smallest accidents could still be devastating, even in a world filled with ravenous human-eating monsters. Still, Beth’s legacy continues through her sister Maggie and her nephew Herschel. As such, this article was updated with more relevant information to reflect CBR’s current style guide.
Who Was Beth Greene on The Walking Dead?
Beth and Maggie Were Polar Opposite Sisters
Image via AMC
Image via AMC
Image via AMC
Image via AMC
Beth Greene was the youngest daughter of Hershel and Annette Greene, and the half-sister of Maggie Rhee and Shawn Greene. The second season of The Walking Dead starkly compared Beth and Maggie as two sides of the same coin. Both had an affectionate side that meant any loss would hit them hard. But where Maggie was fierce and outspoken, Beth was quiet and reserved. Upon meeting the new group of survivors who had moved into her home, it appeared as though she realized her own incompetence as a survivor. She kept to herself and only hung out with her boyfriend Jimmy, which made her fall into hopelessness even more surprising.
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Beth greatly mirrored her father’s emotions, so him giving up on the world was a sign for her to do the same. She tried to take her own life in the second season after losing her mother and living with depression. Over the next couple of seasons, Beth endured substantial character development. Now equipped with a gun, essential survival skills, and new friends willing to watch her back, her confidence skyrocketed. Beth and Maggie nearly switched positions in the face of tragedy when Hershel lost his leg. Beth was optimistic about Hershel’s survival, and Maggie withdrew to accept their father’s pending death.
Using music to bring light into darkness, Beth became one of the biggest beacons of hope in the Walking Dead group. She became Judith Grimes’ caretaker as Rick was off fighting battles with the Governor or upholding his responsibility as leader of the group. When the fight between Woodbury and the prison was reaching the point of no return, Beth stepped up as a hero to set her group straight as they bickered among themselves. During the final fight against the Governor, Beth put her own life at risk to find all the children and bring them to safety. Undoubtedly, she became a person who anyone could put their trust in. She even briefly had a new boyfriend in Season 4, but he died within the same episode in a tragic accident. Still, Beth kept her head high. It was a sign of growth and maturity, but paradise rarely ever lasts in The Walking Dead.
How Beth Died in The Walking Dead Season 5
Beth Sacrificed Herself to Help Noah Escape
Image via AMCBeth wasn’t exactly what many people would call “prepared for the apocalypse.” She certainly had to adjust to the ever-changing world built without laws, but she didn’t catch on quickly. The love her family and the others provided her gave her the motivation to survive, especially in the events of Season 5 after she was separated from them. In The Walking Dead Season 4, Beth was separated from Daryl after their expedition to find her a proper alcoholic drink turned into a friendship-building exercise. She was soon kidnapped by a group of former officers from Atlanta.
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At the hospital, she worked as a ward who had to fend off creeps and self-obsessed people of the law. Beth had to enhance a new side of herself with the leader Dawn and the police. She simultaneously had to act like a hero to the people the cops were stepping on, while also playing alongside Dawn’s rules to keep herself alive. Her ability to keep a straight face and faith in herself showed how much Beth had grown from the teenager who winced at the slightest sign of trouble in Season 2. When it came time for her and fellow ward Noah to escape, however, Beth was taken down in the process.
And yet, seeing Noah escape made her smile, as she was willing to give up her own freedom for him to be set loose. When Rick and his crew came to rescue her in Season 5, Episode 8, “Coda,” Dawn asked for Noah to take Beth’s place, whom Beth had grown close with. Beth glared at Dawn, telling her, “I get it now,” — meaning she realized Dawn used her as a subservient placeholder for power or that Beth finally understood what needed to be done to survive — before attempting to stab her. The attack accidentally triggered Dawn to shoot Beth in the head, and Dawn genuinely seemed regretful until she was killed by Daryl a few seconds later.
Beth’s Unexpected Death Changed The Walking Dead
TWD’s Survivors Lost Hope After Beth’s Death
Image via AMCFollowing Beth’s death, The Walking Dead treaded down a hopeless, gloomy path. The survivors were skeptical of empty promises, and although they tried to survive, many of them had little reason to actually live. Another character that brought lightness to the series, Tyreese Williams died in the following Walking Dead episode, continuing said darkness. Beth and Tyreese were the final losses of innocence that broke the survivors, making them lose hope for humanity as a whole.
“I’m not Michonne. I’m not Carol. I’m not Maggie. I’ve survived and you don’t get it ’cause I’m not like you or them. But I made it and you don’t get to treat me like crap just because you’re afraid.”
– Beth Greene
Particularly, The Walking Dead explored grief in various ways after Beth’s death through Maggie and Daryl. Maggie, the last living member of her family, was consumed by misery after being promised her sister was alive, only to find her dead. Daryl suffered from the feeling that he failed to protect Beth, going as far as self-harm by burning himself with a cigarette. The two shared the same grief, firmly believing that now Beth was gone, the world was fully irredeemable. Although downright depressing, The Walking Dead needed this spell of pessimism to offset the happy-go-lucky nature of the soon-to-be-introduced Alexandria.
Forgetting Beth Was the Result of the Fast-Paced Apocalypse
Even Maggie Was Forced to Move from Beth’s Death
Image via AMCBeth was largely ignored after Walking Dead Season 5, and especially after Season 7. When Judith is grown up, nobody ever mentions how much Beth took care of her as a baby. Maggie only tells Daryl in Season 10 that she’s told stories about her family, including Beth, to Hershel. But there were already inclinations in Season 4, following the Governor’s attack on the prison, that Maggie cared more for Glenn than her own sister. Following Glenn’s brutal death in The Walking Dead by Negan, Maggie’s entire existence was wrapped up by her grief for Glenn. Perhaps it’s because she shares a son with Glenn, but everything she does is in his memory.
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One argument for Maggie hardly mentioning Beth is that the timing of her death was during a strenuous period in the survivors’ lives. The timespan between Seasons 5-8 is just under a year, meaning dozens of people died in that time — including Abraham, Glenn, and Sasha. A lot also changed in Maggie’s life: she learned she was pregnant, her husband died, and she became the leader of Hilltop. Maggie had to adjust quickly to the breakneck speed the apocalypse was moving. Maybe Maggie gained the closure she needed with time, but it’s never made clear.
Maggie and Herschel Rhee Carry Beth’s Legacy Forward
Daryl Will Never Forget Her, Either
Image via AMC
Image via AMC
Image via AMC
Image via AMC
Beth was an instrumental part of the group that changed some survivors’ lives for the better, but at the end of the day, she was just another victim of the apocalypse’s lack of mercy on humanity. Still, Daryl and Maggie kept Beth’s memory alive by shifting their cynical worldview to a more hopeful one in later seasons. Daryl wore her shoelaces around his boots, and Maggie kept a painting of Beth at Hilltop. Despite dismissing her sister early on, Maggie also grew to respect Beth’s rapidly developing sense of agency and self-esteem.
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Glenn’s murder may continually gnaw at Maggie’s mind, but that’s only because she hasn’t gotten over him. Meanwhile, she named her baby Hershel as a tribute to her father and, by extension, the entire Greene family. Although not explicitly mentioned, Maggie’s son Hershel Rhee is more like Beth than anyone else — he has the musical talent that Beth did, and there’s no doubt Maggie sees her little sister in her son. It might’ve been frustrating to watch Beth carelessly make a move that ended her life, but in hindsight, it was the right move for the series at its peak. However, Maggie always wanted her son to grow up in a world with his aunt.
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