The Walking Dead is notorious for suddenly killing off characters, but in season 5, the show accidentally spoiled one death in advance. In the current age of constant connection to social media, the phrase "spoiler alert" has become more and more commonly used. With so many different streaming platforms, DVRs, and other time-shifting methods available, people don't watch shows on the same schedule anymore. Considering that, most tend to be mindful of differing viewing patterns, and are nice enough not to just blurt out spoilers unsolicited.
While learning a major spoiler doesn't necessarily make a show or episode not worth watching, it can certainly change the viewing experience, as instead of waiting to see what happens, the viewer is instead waiting for what they know will happen to occur. The Walking Dead is the kind of show that is definitely best watched unspoiled, as outside of maybe the now finished Game of Thrones, AMC's hit zombie drama is the TV series most willing to end characters' lives in an instant with no warning.
That was the case for Beth Greene (Emily Kinney), introduced alongside her sister Maggie and father Herschel in Walking Dead season 2, and a popular character by the time season 5 rolled around. Her demise was a big moment in the season, and unfortunately, AMC itself spoiled the development for many.
How The Walking Dead Stupidly Spoiled Beth's Death in Season 5
On November 30, 2014, AMC aired the season 5 mid-season finale of The Walking Dead, entitled "Coda." The final act of the episode sees the villainous Dawn (Christine Woods) shoot Beth in the head, after Beth stabs her with a pair of scissors. Dawn is then killed by Daryl (Norman Reedus) in retaliation, who had forged a close bond with Beth by that point. Daryl, understandably distraught, then carries Beth's body outside the hospital where her death occurred, where Maggie sees her and bursts into tears. It was a well-done, emotionally charged ending. The problem was, most people got it spoiled in advance.
Right after "Coda"s airing on the east coast, The Walking Dead's official Facebook page posted an image of Daryl carrying Beth's body, with the caption "RIP Beth." Naturally, fans were livid, as everyone on the west coast of the U.S., and in multiple other countries, had yet to see the episode, and were now presented with this massive spoiler right there in their feed. The show's page took down the post after a few minutes, but then did more damage by putting it back up after the west coast airing, when again, most outside the US (and anyone stateside who hadn't watched live) still hadn't seen the episode. After another flood of angry responses, AMC apologized for the spoiler, and promised not to do a thing like that again.