Even though this death was bound to happen, that doesn’t make it any easier for The Walking Dead fandom.

On The Walking Dead season 8, episode 4, “Some Guy,” an infamous scene from the comics played out — much to the sadness of fans.

Issue 118 of the comics sees Ezekiel leading a group of his men to an outpost, much like how we saw it play out on TV, but his men are quickly killed. The only survivors of this battle are Ezekiel and Richard (who is dead on the TV show already) but Richard is soon killed too when he’s bitten by a walker.

When Ezekiel tries to escape, he ends up surrounded by walkers and his death seems imminent. Only for Shiva to come and sacrifice herself in order to save Ezekiel.

The death of Shiva was probably even more tragic played out on screen, and was witnessed not only by Ezekiel but also Caryl and Jerry.

The Walking Dead fans may be used to seeing characters dying on a regular basis, but for whatever reason it’s extra painful to see the elegant Shiva die.

Just as hard as it’s hitting fans, it’s sure to hit Ezekiel just as hard on the show. After such a big loss, he’s going to be dealing with self doubt, shame, and sadness. In the comics the king makes it clear that he would have much rather died himself than see his beloved Shiva die. I’m expecting his TV counterpart to feel just the same way.

Here’s how ‘The Walking Dead’ fandom reacted to Shiva’s death on social media:

How are you dealing with Shiva’s death on ‘The Walking Dead’?