Lizzie and Mika Samuels

Siblings whose contrasting views on life and death lead to tragedy.

Lizzie and Mika Samuels are fictional characters from the fourth and fifth seasons of the AMC television series The Walking Dead, portrayed by Brighton Sharbino and Kyla Kenedy. They are based on the comic book characters Billy and Ben, gender-swapped in adaptation. Their storyline culminates in a controversial episode where Lizzie murders Mika and is subsequently killed by Carol.

Quick Facts

Series

The Walking Dead

First

"30 Days Without an Accident" (2013)

Last

"What Happened and What's Going On" (2015)

Based on

Billy and Ben
Robert Kirkman
Tony Moore

Portrayed by

Brighton Sharbino (Lizzie); Kyla Kenedy (Mika)

Occupation

Assumed grade school students

Creator

Scott M. Gimple

Family

Ryan Samuels (father); Carol Peletier (adoptive mother)

Facts from the source article.

Character biography

Lizzie and Mika Samuels first appear as recurring characters in season 4, as the daughters of Ryan Samuels, a newcomer at the prison. In the fourth season premiere, Lizzie is among children naming walkers outside the fence, leading Carl Grimes to tell her they are not people or pets. Their father is bitten in the episode "Infected" and asks Carol to look after his daughters; Lizzie intends to stab his corpse but cannot, and Carol does it instead, telling Lizzie she is weak.

Mika calms her sister by telling her to "look at the flowers." In "Isolation," Lizzie gets the flu and is quarantined, and Carol is disturbed by Lizzie's personal connection with walkers. In "Indifference," Lizzie accidentally calls Carol "Mom." In "Internment," Lizzie rescues Glenn from a walker and plays with his blood.

In the mid-season finale, Lizzie convinces other children to help in the battle against the Governor's attack, and she and Mika carry Judith and rescue Tyreese, shooting Alisha in the head. Their story ends when Mika is stabbed by Lizzie and Carol shoots Lizzie in the head.

Development and reception

Marciela Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly described Lizzie in the episode "Inmates" as "cold and steely," noting that when walkers approach, Mika calls for Lizzie's help but Lizzie is too busy smothering Judith to death. On Carol's reasons for killing Lizzie in "The Grove," Melissa McBride explained that there was no other option, citing nature versus nurture. McBride noted that Lizzie, standing over her stabbed sister, was sorry for pointing a gun at Carol but not for stabbing Mika, showing she did not understand.

McBride added that the ability to fight is not one-size-fits-all, and the world requires adaptation or death, while Carol lost some of her nurturing aspect in her focus on survival. Paul Vigna of the Wall Street Journal commented on the episode's cynicism, calling it one of the most shocking and sad events in the zombie apocalypse, with insane Lizzie standing over her stabbed sister expecting her to come back, and Carol being forced to kill Lizzie as a close second.

Noel Murray of Rolling Stone ranked Lizzie Samuels 25th in a list of 30 best Walking Dead characters, describing her as a confused adolescent who gave walkers names and murdered her own sister to prove being undead is not so bad, more terrifying than any zombie and a rebuke to hope for a brighter future.