The Walking Dead: Why Noah's Arc, & Death, Was So Important To The Show

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The Walking Dead was filled with characters who appeared for a few episodes only to exit the series quickly, often in brutal fashion, and Noah (Tyler James Williams) left a haunting impression with his arc and exit. With 11 seasons of The Walking Dead, there are literally dozens of characters who were never destined to make it long in the series, but the best of them manage to impart a lesson to the characters before they depart, or at the very least expand upon one of the show's themes in their time on the series.

While some may consider characters wasted on The Walking Dead, there's a case to be made that their ephemeral time on the show adds to their importance. When a character only appears for a season, or perhaps only half a season, their story has to be told much more quickly, and in The Walking Dead, that can be a positive, considering arcs and stories tend to drag. Noah is one of those characters who may not have lasted very long on the show but provided an outsized role in terms of his impact.

Who Is Noah In The Walking Dead?

Noah Is A Survivor Beth Meets At Grady Memorial Hospital

Noah first appears in season 5, episode 4, "Slabtown", appearing before Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) after she's been "rescued" by Dawn Lerner (Christine Woods) and is one of the only people at Grady Memorial Hospital who treats Beth with any kindness. Noah and his family previously lived in a small walled-in community in Richmond, Virginia, but when his uncle went missing, Noah and his father set out to find him. While searching in Atlanta, Noah and his father were ambushed by Dawn and her officers. His father was killed, and Noah was made an indentured servant.

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Beth and Noah find common cause against Dawn and plot to flee the hospital. Noah escapes but Beth is left behind. When Noah encounters Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) group, they return to the hospital to rescue Beth. When their rescue fails, Noah becomes much more cynical. However, the longer he spends with Rick's group, the more comfortable and confident he becomes, eventually finding reasons to keep going. Tragically, Noah is killed by walkers when he heroically sacrifices himself in Alexandria in order to save Glenn (Steven Yeun).

Noah's Arc And Death Shows How Even The Virtuous Die In The Walking Dead

Noah Was Finally Able To Save Someone

Noah (Tyler James Williams) grabbing Glenn (Steven Yeun) by the collar in The Walking Dead.

Noah's death comes at an incredibly tragic time in the character's arc. He has been through so much at that point in the show. He'd lost his community, lost his father, served under the dictatorship of Dawn, and lost a close friend in Beth. To make things worse, he had finally come to terms with his loss and rediscovered a hopefulness. Noah was making plans to become an architect and had even begun a journal to record the rebuilding of Alexandria. He'd begun the journal with the line, "This is only the beginning".

Noah appears in later The Walking Dead episodes in archival footage and in the final flashback of the series.

But The Walking Dead has never been afraid to rip away hope at the last minute, and so it goes with Noah. Just when he's grappled with his past, he dies in painful fashion. However, there is a bravery in his death and the completion of his arc. Noah failed to save his uncle, then his father, and then Beth. It's fitting that his final act would be a selfless one that actually succeeds in rescuing someone. It's a harsh world in The Walking Dead, but characters like Noah prove there can still be some victory in defeat.