Sam Anderson (TV Series)

"Carol?... Carol? (...) What happens if you can't live with it? The people who came, were they the monsters? Did my dad turn into one? You kill people... Do you turn into one of the monsters?"

- Sam to Carol Peletier

Sam Anderson was a survivor of the outbreak introduced in Season 5 of AMC's The Walking Dead, and is a resident of the Alexandria Safe-Zone. He lived with his mother Jessie, his father Pete, and his brother Ron until Pete's death at the hands of Rick Grimes, a newcomer to the community. He strikes up a friendship with Carol Peletier, who in turn shows concern for him when she suspects that he is being abused.

Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Sam's life before the outbreak or as the outbreak began nor how he and his family came to live in Alexandria.

"Remember"
While Rick Grimes takes a stroll in the streets of Alexandria, Sam can be seen in the distance on a walk with his mother, Jessie, and brother, Ron.

"Forget"
Sam is in attendance at Deanna Monroe's welcoming party for the newcomers and meets his mother's friend Rick. Sam asks if he could stamp Rick's hand to officially welcome him into the community, and Rick allows it in a playful manner. Sam pulls out one of his stamps and presses it against Rick's hand. Unbeknownst to Sam or his mother, Rick is actually quite disturbed by the stamp, as it is a red "A", which is the same symbol that the people of Terminus had used against him. Sam complains to his mother that there are no more cookies, but Rick reassures him that his very nice friend, Carol Peletier, will make plenty of more cookies for him. Later, when Carol sneaks into the armory, it is revealed that Sam followed her inside. He understands what she is doing and asks why she is doing it. She says that it is no concern of his and she threatens him, telling him not to say anything regarding Carol at the armory else he'll find himself tied to a tree far from Alexandria being eaten by walkers. Also, in return for being a "smart boy" in staying quiet, she'd give him "lots and lots of" cookies. After this very graphic threat, he nods meekly, obviously very scared.

"Spend"
Sam is caught by Carol after breaking in unnoticed, digging through her pantry looking for possible leftover cookies from Deanna's party. After complaining to Carol that the power at his house is out, and that he cannot work on his owl statue as it is broken, he asks her if she can teach him how to make them. Before Sam is almost pushed outside, Carol reluctantly agrees, but under the terms that Sam returns with a stolen half of a chocolate bar from Olivia.

Sam later returns to Carol with the stolen chocolate, and is let inside. After the baking is placed in the oven, Sam attempts to make conversation while they wait, asking if she has always been a good cook, leading her to explain that she used to do it when she was upset, which causes Sam to admit that he breaks things when he feels the same way. After some pressure, he confesses to breaking his owl statue out of frustration. When asked why he would do that he hesitates and asks Carol why she would steal guns from the armory, which she responds to by saying that sometimes you need to protect yourself. After hearing this Sam asks if he could have one, but when asked why he claims that it is not for him. Soon after being asked who it was for Sam then hesitates and runs away out of fear. However this eventually leads to Carol learning that Pete is abusing Jessie and possibly Sam.

"Try"
As Carol makes a casserole for the Monroe family, Sam can be seen peering through Carol's kitchen window. Carol talked to Sam about his family and he reveals that his mother build a lock on his closet door, so he can lock himself in when Pete gets angry. Sam also mentions that one time, things got quiet during an argument between his parents, where he came out to find Jessie bleeding and unconscious with Pete simply sitting on the porch with a cigarette in his hand. On the next day, Sam can be seen playing in the streets with his toy boat and balloon. He hides behind Carol when his dad gets into a fight with Rick.

"First Time Again"
Sam briefly appears in a flashback, in his mother's arms after the death of his father; it is not clear if he witnessed it personally, saw the body, or was told by someone.

"JSS"
Sam first appears moping on the steps of Carol's house, clutching the "A" stamp he used on Rick at the welcoming party. Carol scolds him for still being upset over Pete's death, telling him that it happened and to get over it. When the Wolves attack Alexandria and begin slaughtering its residents, Sam pleads with Jessie not to leave him and they both take refuge in his wardrobe. When they hear Ron coming in, Jessie leaves him to warn Ron while instructing Sam to lock the door and be brave; he complies.

"Now"
At Jessie's house, Jessie tries to convince Sam to come downstairs and have cookies. He refuses however, afraid to return to the area where Jessie murdered the Wolf. She then leaves the cookies for him.

"Heads Up"
When Carol stops by the Anderson home so Jessie can look after Judith, Sam hears Carol and starts talking to her from upstairs while she waits in the kitchen. He begins asking about monsters and what happens to people when they die, like his father.

"Start to Finish"
Sam leaves an empty lunch plate outside his room then retreats back inside, where he draws a picture of a little boy tied to a tree with walkers surrounding him. Later, inside Jessie's house, Rick carries Deanna to an upstairs bedroom. Sam watches, paralyzed with fear. Jessie urges him to be brave.

Before starting to leave the house Rick's group slathers themselves in guts to avoid getting noticed by the herd. Sam opens his door and recoils from the gruesome scene. "Pretend you're brave," Jessie says. Sam tearfully nods. Outside, Rick's group stands on Jessie's front porch, looking out at the sea of walkers. They hold hands and make their way into the herd, however, as they try to walk among the herd, Sam calls out to Jessie multiple times, which then seems to gain the attention of the walkers around them as the screen goes black at the sound of the walkers now becoming attracted to them.

"No Way Out"
Sam walks masked with guts as he flees past walkers with Rick, Carl, his mother Jessie, and his brother meanwhile he tries to overcome his fear of them. Then, he thinks of what Carol has told him while they were in the pantry and sees a walker who was a little boy. As he gets terrified with Jessie attempting to calm him down, walkers come from behind and meets his fate by being devoured by walkers.

Killed by
While making their way through a horde of walkers, Sam begins panicking and after Jessie, Rick and Ron fail to calm him down, he gets devoured by walkers.
 * Zombies

Appearances
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Season 5

 * "Remember" (No Lines)
 * "Forget"
 * "Spend"
 * "Try" (No Lines)

Season 6
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 * "First Time Again" (Flashback, No Lines)
 * "JSS"
 * "Now"
 * "Heads Up"
 * "Start to Finish"
 * "No Way Out"

Trivia

 * Sam is more based on Ron Anderson in the comics in terms of age and personality, while the TV incarnation of Ron is given a more antagonistic role and the only similarity Ron has with his comic book counterpart is his name.