Five times Walking Dead has been unbelievably disturbing

Yet, when the seventh series recently arrived on our screens, even seasoned TWD'ers were appalled by just how gruesome it was...

Was it the most upsetting episode in the programme's history? Quite possibly, but it definitely faces competition.

These five episodes are all in the running to be crowned as winner in the most disturbing category.

Season 7, episode 1: A barbed attack

SPOILER ALERT: If you're yet to watch the first episode of the new series of The Walking Dead, you might want to skip this section because you are about to read just how utterly horrendous it was.

Rick and his group of merry men faced their most evil opponent yet. Negan. Our zombie battlers were made to kneel in front of him while he debated which member of the cast he would dispose of with a baseball bat. Sorry, with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. After he'd chosen his victim, the loveable Abraham, and we'd heard the 'squelch' of bat on head there was no time to relax.

It was then time for fans' favourite, Glenn, to get the same punishment, in front of his pregnant wife who was most likely losing her baby at the same time (they were captured when taking her to a doctor because she was in so much pain).

Good grief.

Think that's where it stopped? Nope, there was still time for Rick to be told to chop his son's arm off. Yes really. Everyone was quite literally up in arms about what happened.

It was too much. We went to bed with the lights on, and when we were finally able to close our eyes we were still whimpering 'poor Glenn' into our sleep.

Season 5, episode 14: One door opens...

It would be impossible to discuss horrific Walking Dead moments without revisiting poor old Noah's demise. He came into our life early on in series five. He was being held captive in Grady Memorial Hospital alongside Beth, and joined Rick's gang shortly after her death. He was clever, nice and a bit cheeky. It didn't take long for him to settle right into the group.

Noah was due a break. Not only had he gone through the misery of hospital life - he then discovered that all of his family had succumbed to the zombie apocalypse. But no. In episode 14,  he was on a 'run' (when people go to find food, clothes, medicine etc), when he got pulled into a revolving door with a bunch of zombies. Glenn had to look on as Noah was ripped apart in one of those small door segments. It's embarrassing enough when you mistime stepping into one of those doors and end up slightly too close to a stranger, let alone face a bunch of biting half-deads.

Season 4, episode 14: Flower power

Carol is a TWD legend. She started off as a seemingly frail and timid character, a victim of her husband's abuse who was just trying to keep her and her daughter Sophia safe from him in as quiet a way as possible. Once he had (literally) bitten the dust, it was game on. She's grown in confidence to become one of the group leaders.

As testament to her strength, she faced the ultimate test - having to kill one child to save another.

After the death of Mika and Lizzie's father, Carol had become the parental figure for the two young sisters. The naive and sweet-natured twosome didn't so much fear the zombies, as see them as people who needed to be looked after. Lizzie in particular. To make a point she - obviously having become a little derailed by this time - killed her sister Mika to show how she would still live and 'come back'. She then said in a very sweet and mild-mannered tone that she might kill baby Judith too. So Carol and her gun took Lizzie out for a walk...

Just look at the flowers Lizzie...

AMC

Season 3, episode 4: Oh baby

Giving birth is traumatic enough without being forced to do it in an abandoned prison with zombies all around baying for your blood. Back in season three, Rick's wife Lori found herself in this unfortunate position and it wasn't working for her. She had to have a makeshift caesarian - using a knife ordinarily used for doing away with the undead. She was a goner. If this wasn't sad enough, the programme decided to turn things up a notch and give it that disturbing extra twist.

If it wasn't enough that Lori's son Carl was already having to go through the horrors of puberty, he had to witness his mum's death and then finish things off to make sure she wouldn't return as a zombie. As you can imagine, he was never the same again.

Season 2, episode 7: A right barny

We are going to go out on a limb here and say that despite the other moments that have come and gone in TWD, this episode may well be the most disturbing. Earlier on in the series, Carol's little girl, Sophia, had gone missing. The group refused to give up hope, with Daryl in particular out looking for her every day. They found indicators that she may well still be alive.

But then came that moment.

A barn that farm owner Hershel had been keeping 'walkers' in (hoping a cure would be found and they could spring back to life), was opened up by Shane. Out the zombies came, being shot down by the group as they emerged. Just when you thought all had been released, one more came out... yep you've got it, Sophia. She was of course zombified. Tears, tears and more tears.

Is this all too much for you? Don't worry, there's plenty (well at least a few) lighter moments along the TWD way too.

One thing's for sure: given we're just a couple of episodes into the new season, there will be characters baying for revenge and so we suspect far more bloodshed on the way. Here's looking forward to the next batch of absolutely disturbing The Walking Dead episodes.