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This article is about the TV Series character. You may be looking for his Comic Series counterpart. For other pages with the same name, see: Lance

But you still need me. We talked about this. Not burning the Commonwealth down. Creating a... a better future for the children, for everyone. I know you heard me. (...) I helped build the Commonwealth. Don't you see? Together, we can make it better. A place where everyone can truly have a shot. I can see the campaign for it. "Here, you aren't defined by who you were but what you can become." It... it'll signal a new day has come, a new age where everyone, all of us, can start again.
―Lance's final attempt to manipulate Daryl and Carol for his own interests.[src]

Lance Hornsby is a main character and later an antagonist, as well as a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is the former Deputy Governor of the Commonwealth and served as the primary antagonist for the second part of Season 11, as well as a recurring antagonist for the third part of Season 11.

Overview[]

Lance initially seems to be a fair, intelligent, and charismatic man who wants the best for the Commonwealth. When the group first encounters him, "Stephanie" tells them that he is trustworthy and can protect them from being banished. He is usually described by many as a very bold and ambitious man, something he is sometimes both praised and berated about, mostly by Pamela Milton. However, overtime Lance's true nature is revealed and his nice guy façade slowly fades, revealing a power-hungry, manipulative, and psychotic side.

As the Deputy Governor, Lance holds a lot of power. When asked by Carol to move Ezekiel's surgery up the list, he does so after being given a case of expensive wine and her help with Moto. Despite this, he appears to feel underappreciated, as shown when he attempts to get Pamela's approval with Carol's wine, only to be disappointed with her underwhelmed reaction. He and Pamela seem to be at odds about many things, such as Pamela believing incorporating too many new communities would stretch them thin, but Lance thinking it's a good idea. It soon becomes apparent that his motivations are a lot more sinister than what they at first seem. He reveals that Stephanie (actually named Shira) is a spy to get Eugene to admit Alexandria's location. He mentions how he has a vision of a thriving network of communities that citizens can travel between. However, when Maggie refuses to ally the Hilltop with the Commonwealth, he becomes frustrated and lures walkers over to him to let out some anger.

Lance begins to use his power for more immoral purposes. When some weapons go missing, he asks Toby Carlson to go to Riverbend and retrieve them. At first Toby refuses, but Lance threatens him, saying he has the power to take his happy life away. It is also revealed that he knew about Sebastian sending desperate residents to get him cash. He eventually shows his more manipulative, greedy, and cunning side. While at the Hilltop trying to find the stolen weapons, he tries manipulating Hershel into confessing what happened at the apartment complex. Lance is shown to be able to keep calm under pressure, as he keeps his cool when a standoff happens and when he finds Leah, who could've killed him at any moment.

Lance becomes progressively more unhinged as time goes on. He hires Leah to assassinate Maggie, and becomes angry when she gets his men killed and goes rogue, to the point he angrily throws his walkie-talkie. His desire for power comes true when the Commonwealth takes over all the communities. He is shown to be a sadistic and psychotic man, and, when deciding the fate of the people of Oceanside, he merely flips his lucky coin with a smile.

After being locked up with a zombified Sebastian and being forced to dismember Roman Calhoun's corpse and feed it to him, Lance appears to have lost his mind to a degree from the trauma, holding his lucky coin and muttering to himself that there's always a way out. Lance proves to be so traumatized that he suggests cutting off his own foot as a solution to the radio tracker on it. Before leaving his cell, Lance smashes open Sebastian's head and leaves behind his lucky coin in the remains as a calling card for Pamela, possibly as an act of retribution for what she put him through. Even in this state, Lance proves to be smart enough to not give up the location that Daryl and Carol need and instead insists upon showing it to them, likely recognizing that they will have no further use for him if he just tells them what they want to know.

After escaping from the Commonwealth, Lance appears to regain his sanity and resumes his manipulations, pointing out, truthfully, the effects of the Coalition inciting a rebellion against the Commonwealth and seemingly angling for a role in what comes next. Lance expresses what appears to be a genuine respect for Daryl and his abilities to Carol despite his and Daryl's previous clashes and his respect for Carol always being 10 steps ahead of everyone else. Lance explains to Carol that the loyalty that she and Daryl share is rare and to be treasured. Lance admits that he was once like that to Pamela, having helped her to build the Commonwealth, but he became bitter over Pamela always shoving him into the background and not acknowledging Lance's contributions to the community. Lance appears to show some possible remorse for his earlier actions, admitting that what he did to the communities was "mishandled" and the wrong thing to do.

While facing off against a herd in a tunnel, Lance displays what appears to be cowardice, leaving Carol to fend off the walkers by herself, although he claims that in the dark, he had merely thought that Carol was with him.

At the end of his life, after Lance tells Daryl and Carol what they want to know, they attempt to exile him, much to Lance's surprise which Daryl states is more than Lance deserves after all that he's done. Lance had thought that Carol at least was listening to him, but Carol simply states that she had no other choice because Lance just wouldn't shut up. Aware of Lance's manipulative nature and no longer needing his help, Daryl and Carol are completely unmoved by his pleas despite Lance insisting that his time in the cell had changed him and he can't survive on his own. Rather than leaving, Lance grabs a gun and attempts to shoot the two, leading to his death.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Location Unknown[]

Nothing is known about Lance's life prior to or as the outbreak began, except that his father worked as the Milton family's chauffeur. At some point his father gave Lance his lucky coin.[1]

Post-Apocalypse[]

Ohio[]

At some point during the outbreak, Lance joined and became the Deputy Governor of a community in Ohio.

Season 11[]

"Out of the Ashes"[]

In a Commonwealth orientation video, Lance welcomes viewers to the Commonwealth and describes the benefits of living in their community. He explains that the Commonwealth has a population of 50,000 and is led by Governor Pamela Milton.

After Eugene, Ezekiel and Princess have been charged for using the radio without permission, Lance and Stephanie enter the room. Lance orders the supervisor to release Eugene's group. Stephanie tells them that Lance can protect them from banishment, but that they'll still have to pay for their crimes.

"Promises Broken"[]

Yumiko tracks down Lance and demands to know the location of her brother. Lance insists to Yumiko she must take to her duties as legal counsel for Pamela Milton's cabinet if her friends are to be freed from community service, and implies she will one day be tasked with providing him a legal favor.

Lance and Mercer arrive on the scene to find Sebastian and Eugene arguing and quickly take Eugene into custody after Sebastian accuses Eugene of attacking him and Eugene confesses to punching him, with Lance scolding him for doing so, not having known he was the son of Pamela. Lance visits Eugene in a jail cell, and explains that the only way Eugene can get out of jail and help his friends is to reveal the name and location of his community. He starts to leave. Eugene tells him to wait.

"No Other Way"[]

Eugene arrives at Alexandria with the Commonwealth Army, Lance and supplies for the struggling community. Lance, acting as the Commonwealth's diplomatic representative, addresses the residents of Alexandria and admits that he's impressed with what they've built both in Alexandria and the other communities of the Coalition. Looking around at the devastation, Lance notes that they've fallen on hard times and he offers the Commonwealth's help in rebuilding Alexandria. However, Lance has "another, potentially more interesting choice" for any who are interested in it.

In a flash forward to six months later, Lance is gathered outside Hilltop's gates with a squadron of soldiers, including Daryl, as Maggie and Elijah are perched atop the wall.

"New Haunts"[]

Lance picks out wine for Pamela's upcoming masquerade ball, but Max rejects it. Lance dumps the wine in a trash can. Carol brings Lance a case of expensive wine to serve at the masquerade. In exchange, she asks him to move up a friend's surgery. Impressed by Carol's resourcefulness, Lance says he will see how Pamela likes the wine before making any promises.

Lance is one of the guests to arrive for the masquerade ball, including Sebastian Milton. An excited Lance approaches Pamela asking about the wine, clearly proud of his findings, to which Pamela replies "fine," and suggests they discuss his Alexandria idea at a later time, much to Lance's disappointment. Lance witness Pamela giving a speech and unveils a portrait of her father. Carol asks Lance how Pamela liked the wine. Lance says it was a good first step and hints he'd like something else from Carol.

"Rogue Element"[]

Lance and Carol ride a wagon outside the Commonwealth walls. Lance explains that he's hoping to enlist her help. Lance and Carol arrive at a farm that supplies Commonwealth hospitals with opium. A man named Moto informs Lance that the farmers are holding the opium harvest hostage in exchange for higher prices. Lance and Moto talk business while fishing. Lance proposes a compromise: the works get a raise, but they earn it. Produce more, make more.

Carol tells Lance that she spoke with one of the farmers and learned that Moto has been pocketing the money that Lance gives them for raises. She says he has also been beating the farmers to ensure their silence. Lance orders soldiers to arrest Moto. Lance visits Eugene and Princess in jail after they got arrested for breaking into Roman's apartment and assures them that Roman is a plumber who had been sent to Stephanie's building to fix a sink. He says Roman agreed not to press charges, but that they must promise to leave him alone.

Eugene soon finds Stephanie again colluding with Lance for an unknown task, and gets Lance to confess "Stephanie" was a plant named Shira who was used to get Eugene to confess the location of Alexandria due to too many inconsistencies during the group's auditing. Lance apologizes for the deception, but points out that Eugene's group is now thriving at the Commonwealth, despite his heart being broken by Shira.

"The Lucky Ones"[]

Lance and Pamela travel to Alexandria. While en route, Pamela shares her concern that incorporating new communities would stretch Commonwealth resources too thin. Lance argues that Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside are perfect for his vision. Aaron and a welcoming committee greet Pamela's convoy as it arrives in Alexandria.

Lance and Pamela then travel to Oceanside, where Pamela relaxes on the beach at Oceanside. Lance tells her that Rachel is ready to see her. Rachel takes Lance and Pamela on a tour of Oceanside. She explains that Maggie has chosen not to ally with the Commonwealth, and that Oceanside will only partner up with the Commonwealth if Maggie agrees to do so.

On their way to Hilltop, Lance admonishes Aaron for failing to keep walkers out of Alexandria and for not knowing about Maggie's decision. Lance warns him that if Maggie opts out, he will no longer help Alexandria. Their convoy stops. Maggie is killing walkers on the road ahead. Lance, Daryl, and Commonwealth troopers help Maggie kill the walkers. Pamela introduces herself.

Aaron makes a case for the Commonwealth and asks if Maggie will join them. Lance proposes an impromptu hunt. Lance asks Maggie if she's made a decision about partnering with the Commonwealth. Maggie asks what he gets out of the deal. Lance describes his vision of a thriving network of communities that citizens can travel between. The alarm goes off. Hilltop citizens race outside to ward off a walker attack.

Maggie walks up to Lance and Pamela, telling them she formally declines the Commonwealth's offer. When Pamela asks why, Maggie says everything always costs something. Lance is disappointed by her decision. Lance begs Pamela to try and salvage his plan. Pamela correctly guesses that Lance wants to eventually govern the communities. She agrees to let him continue his campaign to enlist the communities but warns that there will be consequences if his Commonwealth duties are compromised.

Lance enters the woods and shoots his gun into the air. One by one, he shoots walkers attracted to the sound. Aaron joins him and asks what Pamela thinks about Alexandria. Lance says that Pamela is on board and that they will bring in even more people. He vows to remake the world.

"Warlords"[]

In a flashback to one week ago, Lance summons Toby Carlson to his office. Lance explains that a convoy full of guns and cargo was en route to the three communities when it was hijacked by a religious group. Lance orders Toby to lead a surgical operation to retrieve the goods. Toby tells Lance that he's no longer an assassin, but Lance threatens to upend Carlson's life if he refuses. He suggests that Toby take Gabriel and Aaron.

"The Rotten Core"[]

Carlson radios Lance to let him know the location is secure and that they're searching for the hijacked goods. Later, Lance tries to radio Carlson but gets no answer. Carol stops by to inform him that Sebastian had been sending desperate residents to get him cash. She realizes Lance already knew and is okay with it. Lance says everyone must do their part and explains that he was simply trying to help people who put themselves in bad situations. Carol pretends to agree.

"Trust"[]

Lance interrogates Aaron and Gabriel about what happened to Carlson and his team. He is skeptical of their story that mysterious killers slaughtered everyone except for them and then escaped. Lance orders troopers to search the area for the killers, starting with Hilltop. Lance and his team encounter walkers in the woods. He orders Aaron and Gabriel to take care of the walkers by hand, in order to save ammo. They kill the walkers with Daryl's help. Lance's team arrives at Hilltop.

Lance and his troopers arrive at the Hilltop gate. Lance orders Maggie to let them into Hilltop so that he can search for the killers who stole Commonwealth property. Maggie insists she knows nothing and refuses to let him in. Lance confers with his troopers. Daryl offers to speak with Maggie to avoid a deadly clash. Maggie tells Daryl it doesn't have to be this way. "Yeah, it does," Daryl says – circling back to an earlier episode. Daryl convinces Maggie to open the gates.

Lance's team searches Hilltop. Lance discovers a hidden truck and suspects it's the vehicle that left tire tracks at the apartment complex. Maggie insists the engine doesn't work. Lance connects the starter relay then turns the engine. To his disappointment, it doesn't start. Maggie orders him to leave by sundown. Lance corners Hershel and questions if he or his mom has taken any exciting trips lately, but he just silently shakes his head. Claiming that he only wants the truth and he can fix things if he has it, Lance tries to convince Hershel to help him, stating that he can't keep people safe if they keep secrets. However, Hershel refuses to tell Lance anything, stating that he should probably go get Maggie, but he tries to pressure Hershel into revealing the truth about what happened back at the apartment complex.

Elijah rushes over and pins Lance against the wall for putting his hands on Hershel. It sparks a standoff. Troopers surround Elijah. Maggie and Daryl aim their guns at Lance. Daryl tells Lance to order his troopers to stand down. Lance obliges, then leaves Hilltop. A trooper alerts Lance that he found something. Commonwealth troopers find Leah's camp, but no one is inside the tent. Leah ambushes them, injuring two of them. Lance asks Leah to hold her fire so that they can talk. Leah emerges from the darkness with a rifle. Lance smiles and says he's here to offer her a job.

"Acts of God"[]

An angry Lance is shown at Hilltop and steps in the blood of someone's corpse. He looks up and seems a swarm of locusts above. He is seen with his troopers and flips his lucky coin. He asks trooper Romano to call it and he says tails. Lance splits the soldiers up into two groups. Romano asks if he's going to give the assignment to which Lance says he'll know soon enough. Lance is with the second group of soldiers, including the newly recruited Leah who he hired to kill Maggie. She gears up for the mission and ignores Hornsby's attempts at conversation. Leah looks up to see the same swarm of locusts and chuckles. Lance tells her that he needs to see when she's dead and hands her a radio. Leah takes the soldiers to hunt her down as Lance watches from behind.

Lance radios Romano's group and orders them to execute Daryl, Gabriel and Aaron. Daryl leads the way to a junkyard where the soldiers begin to circle around the three of them. They realize it is an ambush and nod at each other. Daryl shoots at the soldiers and a battle ensues. Daryl, Aaron and Gabriel win the fight and find a badly injured Romano attempting to crawl away. Aaron allows Gabriel to bandage his wound and watches in annoyance as Romano swears at Daryl. Aaron listens in as Romano eventually reveals Lance's location, and the object of the mission. Aaron questions what "clear the field," means and worries for Maggie's safety when Gabriel tells him that it Lance only wants allies left. Lance tries to radio Romano, but Daryl answers instead and tells him he isn't here anymore. A horrified Lance tells the soldiers to move.

Back at Hilltop, Leah's group of soldiers enter the building, searching for Maggie's group. However, three of Leah's men set off a booby trap, causing the inside to explode, killing all the soldiers inside. Maggie, Elijah, Lydia, and Marco watch from outside. They realize Lance wasn't with them and they plan to follow the soldier's track back to Lance's camp to take him out once and for all. Eventually, Lance's group arrives at Hilltop to see the aftermath what has happened. The scene at the very start of the episode is shown, with the corpse Lance was standing near being revealed to be Marco. Lance angrily radios Leah, demanding to know what the hell that was. An unrepentant Leah simply tells him that she drew them out and that she's doing this her way. Lance angrily states that her way got his men killed, but Leah calls it collateral damage and discards her radio. A Commonwealth soldier states they will find Maggie's group and an unhinged Lance tells him they better.

Daryl notices Lance and a number of Commonwealth soldiers approaching outside the cabin. Daryl shoots at Lance through the window, but only succeeds in grazing his face. As the soldiers storm in the cabin, Maggie and Daryl escape out a window. Entering the cabin to find Maggie and Daryl gone and Leah's corpse on the floor, an enraged Lance declares that it's time to "take it all." He declares that now they will take it all. Lance's soldiers go to all of the group's communities and take over Alexandria and Hilltop, putting banners to signify their territory. They then go to Oceanside where they take all the residents captive. Hornsby watches as all the residents are lined up. He smiles as he flips his coin to decide the fate of the Oceansiders.

"Lockdown"[]

Following Lance's takeover of Alexandria, Hilltop, and Oceanside, he and his soldiers pursue Daryl, Maggie and the rest of the group. Aaron and Gabriel run into Negan and Annie before reuniting with Daryl and Maggie inside an abandoned building, where they discuss a plan to deal with the situation. Aaron points out that they will be unable to pass the checkpoints since Lance has most likely already radioed back to the Commonwealth. He assures Gabriel that Carol, Rosita, Jerry and Ezekiel will be able to protect their families while they are away. The group realizes that the Commonwealth have never seen Negan, and send him in to warn their families and try to have them evacuated before Lance has a chance to use them for an advantage.

Lance and several troopers come across the remains of the two soldiers Negan had killed. Lance angrily tries to get visual confirmation on the car Negan had stolen, but to no avail. He then has one of his men set up a portable long-distance radio to get an emergency message back to Roman Calhoun in the Commonwealth: "contingency protocol on Daryl Dixon." The signal is not strong enough to reach home, and Lance sends the radio trooper to find a better signal and relay the same message once a successful connection is established.

Daryl engages in a firefight with Lance and the troopers from behind the van he hid in, where he kills several of them and wounds Lance in the arm, the walkie-talkie left behind by Negan crackles to life with a message: the car Negan stole has been spotted, and is being pursued down a nearby street. As Lance and his remaining soldiers try and kill Daryl, the latter manages to slip by them and steal their car, speeding off towards Negan's position.

Meanwhile, a trooper sets up the radio antennae so Lance can attempt to make contact with Roman to round up the Alexandrians and their families back in the Commonwealth, but the signal is not strong enough. This soldier is ordered to set up the antennae elsewhere to find a signal and make contact with home. He is also ordered by Lance to stay alert in case Daryl and the other fugitives show up with orders to shoot to kill.

The group makes their way through the sewer killing any walkers in the way. Daryl suggests they get Lance and his soldiers to go to them. Everyone covers their ears as Gabriel shoots up the sewer to get Lance's attention. Down in the sewers, two soldiers make their way through and are about to put down a walker when suddenly the group ambushes them. However, it's a distraction as Lance and more soldiers emerge and surround the group. However, Daryl appears from behind and grabs Lance while holding a knife to his throat. More and more soldiers emerge as Daryl orders everyone to lower their guns, forcing a tense stand-off. Through it all, Lance merely lets out a psychotic grin.

"A New Deal"[]

Lance is held hostage by Daryl as the group is surrounded by Commonwealth soldiers. Suddenly, Mercer yells for everyone to put their weapons down, as he, Pamela, Carol and Negan arrive at the scene. Daryl pins Lance to a wall with his knife at his throat. Pamela orders him to lower the weapon since she needs Lance alive, but he refuses. Mercer also tells Daryl to lower the knife and that he's on Daryl's side. Carol steps forward and says she made a deal for them which gets them all out of the situation unharmed, but they need Lance alive for it to work. Daryl begrudgingly obliges and lets Lance go. However, he suddenly slam Lance's hand down and stabs it hard with his knife. Lance screams in pain before Daryl removes the knife, stating that he'll live before dropping his knife and walking away.

Meanwhile, Lance and Mercer are out on an open field, with Lance tied up and sat down on the ground. He complains that he thinks he is sitting on an ant hill and requests to be moved. Mercer walks over and bitterly tells Lance to get used to his discomfort. Lance states that he thought they got along, but Mercer asks him how many of his men he got killed. Lance smiles as he smugly tells Mercer that they weren't actually his men. Mercer angrily grabs Lance as two walkers approach. Lance tells Mercer to hop to it. Mercer goes to kill the walkers and walks away, leaving Pamela and Lance alone to talk.

Pamela tells him that he will be taken back to the Commonwealth and put on trial. Lance tells Pamela to drop the act, but she says it's no act and that he has gone too far. Lance chuckles thinking that Pamela never had a problem with how he did things before. Pamela says they are done talking about the past and his current life at the Commonwealth is over. Lance is in shock, recounting all the years he's worked in service of her. Pamela calls him out for only working for himself, always trying so hard to prove the world wrong. Lance says that Pamela refuses to see it but he's made something of himself. Pamela creepily begins playing with Lance's hair, something he seems to enjoy. Pamela calls Lance a delusional little boy trying to win a game he's never actually been a player in. Pamela begins to walk away, but Lance states she needs him because if something happens to him, alliances the Commonwealth has will become a problem. Pamela says nothing and walks away, as Lance yells that he is in fact a player in whatever game she is playing.

Lance is lying in bed in his cell as Eugene appears at the prison door, whom Lance states he thought would be gone by now. Eugene slips in a bag with a candy apple, which Lance accepts while saying he tries not to take things personally. Eugene asks if he could offer any assistance, but Lance says if he wants something, he should just ask. Eugene asks if he has anything incriminating about Pamela and Sebastian. Lance is shocked and admits it's a tough one. He admits that the irony is that Pamela is probably the only reason he is still alive. Lance tells Eugene that if he goes after the Miltons, they'll crush him. He marvels at how a few days ago they were wanting her son's head and now they are celebrating the Milton legacy like nothing happened. He advises to make nice with the Miltons before lying down. Lance tells Eugene to tell Max that she is good at hiding in plain sight and he would hate to see Eugene or her ending up in a cell like his. Eugene walks away with Max, who has been listening to the whole thing.

Shira and Roman enter a gated off area where ten Commonwealth janitors are gathering. Without saying a word, Shira and Roman shoot and kill the ten with silenced pistols and then leave them to reanimate. Lance hears all the commotion from his cell when hears a whistle. He goes to the window and sees Shira and Roman signal to him that they got the job done. Lance nods in approval before grabbing his candy apple and taking a bite.

"Variant"[]

In the Commonwealth jail, a tied-up Lance has been moved to an even more secure, windowless cell, Pamela enters. Lance smiles, thanking her for coming, and begins to talk about the two of them discussing a way forward. Pamela cuts him over, bitterly remarking that he killed her son. Lance, unaware of the outcome of his plot, loses his smile. Pamela tells Lance she knows about how he had his people kill Commonwealth workers, turning them into walkers and creating a public panic. Lance says that this was done as a way of getting her to "understand" and getting her attention, but that killing Sebastian was never part of the plan.

Lance acknowledges that his gamble didn't go the way he thought it would, and that despite their differences, he was always on Sebastian's side; that he was willing to help get people for his heist and other "side projects", and that he did so simply because he was a Milton. Lance tries to shift the blame onto the newcomers from Hilltop and Alexandria, as everything worked in the Commonwealth's favor until they arrived, and that unless 'someone' who knows how to handle them does so, they will not stop causing descent and chaos. Pamela takes Lance's coin from his pocket, asking him what should be done with him. She suggest they try it 'his way', and "take a risk." She puts her hands behind her back, and puts both of them out, forcing Lance to choose which one he thinks the coin is in. Lance ultimately winds up choosing the hand with the coin in it, and sighs with relief.

Thinking this means a favorable outcome for him, he thanks Pamela profusely as she puts the coin back into his pocket. He says he is "one-hundred percent at the Milton family's disposal." Pamela tells him she knows he is: she opens the door to the cell, and a handful of Commonwealth troopers bring an undead, chained up Sebastian into the room, and attach him to the wall. Horrified, Lance says he doesn't understand. Pamela reminds Lance that he just said he's at the family's disposal. However, thanks to him, this shell of her son is all that remains of the family. The troopers bring in the dead body of Roman, whom they have shot in the head, and untie Lance before tossing him a machete. Pamela orders him to feed her son as she leaves.

"What's Been Lost"[]

In the Commonwealth Jail, Daryl and Carol subdue two guards and take their guns and keys. Carol locates Lance's cell where they find the traumatized and blood-covered Lance muttering in the corner about how "there's always a path. Always a way out," while staring at his lucky coin, a zombified Sebastian laying amongst Roman Calhoun's dismembered remains. Although shocked by this scene, Daryl draws one of his knives and stabs Sebastian in the head, putting him down. Choking Lance up against the wall, Daryl demands to know where their friends have been taken and presses on Lance's facial wound. Seeing Lance's state, Carol stops Daryl and tells Lance that they can't leave him there alive, so his options are telling them where their friends are or dying.

Finally focusing on Carol, Lance agrees to show them, stating that he gets that they don't trust him, but Lance knows a way out of the city and the two agree. However, Daryl spots an ankle monitor on Lance and he explains that it'll set off an alarm if Lance leaves. Daryl goes to cut it off, but Lance tells him that he'll have to cut off his foot and carry him. Instead, Carol tells Lance to be ready to run, but he stops them to do something first. Alarms ring through the jail as the three make a run for an exit. Commonwealth soldiers shoot at Daryl, Carol and Lance and Daryl returns fire, ordering Carol to leave with Lance while he covers them. Daryl promises Carol that he will figure it out and he continues to exchange fire with the soldiers as Carol and Lance escape. It's later revealed that Lance had bashed open Sebastian's head and left his lucky coin behind in Sebastian's spilled brains as a final message to Pamela.

Outside of the Commonwealth, Carol asks Lance how much farther they have to go, and he tells her that it's just a couple of miles further up. Looking back at the city, Lance comments that he's never realized before just how much the Commonwealth looks like a prison from the outside. Lance calls Carol right to have left Daryl behind as Daryl was only slowing her down just like everyone does. Carol asks what Lance means and he explains that Carol isn't like most people and she's always thinking 10 steps ahead which is what makes her special, bringing up the impossible jailbreak that Carol had pulled with obvious respect for her talents. Lance claims that he hopes that Daryl's okay, and Carol turns her gun on him, aware that Lance is just trying to manipulate her. Lance insists that he's being honest, and that he can take her to her friends, but Carol is doubtful that Lance really cares what happens to Daryl. Lance points out that he was just locked in a cell and forced to feed his colleague piece by piece to Sebastian, so he might not be moving at full speed currently. Their standoff is interrupted by the approach of two Commonwealth motorcycles and a jeep that stop nearby and let out four soldiers that begin searching the tree line for the escapees. Lance suggests to Carol a way for losing the patrol and he leads her away.

At night, Lance leads Carol to a tunnel, explaining that it was an infrastructure repair project dating back from the early days of the Commonwealth. However, it was considered to be too unstable after a series of cave-ins. Lance insists that he meant what he had said about hoping that Daryl's alright as it's hard to find someone like that that you'd do anything for. Lance bitterly tells Carol that he had felt that way about Pamela once and thought that he could make her feel the same way about him by helping her to build and run the Commonwealth, letting Pamela take all of the credit, even by bringing in the Coalition which Lance admits he mishandled. However, it was never enough for Pamela and Lance knew that there was nothing that he could do that would change how she saw him. To Pamela, Lance will always be just her chauffer's son. Lance asks Carol what will come after the unrest in the Commonwealth, pointing out that, if Pamela doesn't survive it, a power vacuum will be opened up. In history, when that happens, the people who suffer the most in revolutions are the civilians. Carol asks for Lance's point, and he tells her that Carol and her people will hold 50,000 lives in their hands, but for Carol there isn't an after until she finds her people. Lance knows Carol and that she'll find them, but she'll then have a choice on whether or not to let the Commonwealth burn afterwards. Carol calls it not her problem, and Lance states that he gets that Carol wants to leave all of this behind her, claiming that he wants that too, but he asks if she's really going to deny the kids the kind of life that they took for granted and doesn't the next generation deserve better than the one before.

Their conversation is suddenly interrupted by a terrible smell and Carol and Lance spotting skin on a nearby oil drum. A partially skinned walker grabs Lance and pulls him to the ground and, while helping to free Lance, Carol's flashlight is knocked away in the struggle. Another walker attacks Carol from behind and she manages to put it down as Lance finally gets himself free. Hearing a number of walker growls, Carol quickly realizes that she's surrounded by a whole herd and opens fire with her stolen rifle, putting them all down after a struggle with a single walker whose skin is ripped off as they fight. Throughout the fight, Lance holds the flashlight on Carol, and he claims that when the lights went out, he thought that Carol was right behind him.

Hearing the approach of more walkers, Carol and Lance quickly flee from the tunnel, only to encounter a Commonwealth patrol outside. The lead trooper issues orders that they will tell command that they had found the pair, but they put up a fight, so the soldiers had to put them down. However, Daryl drops down from where he was hiding under the patrol's jeep and shoots the soldiers from behind with Carol rushing in to finish off one that was only just wounded with her knife to the head. Watching this, Lance just shakes his head at Carol in amazement.

On a hill overlooking a train depot, Daryl reports on the two guards walking the perimeter in shifts and Lance figures that it shouldn't be a problem to take them out for Daryl and Carol and they will then head for their friends. While the tracks fork a few times along the way, Lance knows the route that the supply train takes to get there. Daryl and Carol are surprised to learn that the Commonwealth has a working train and Lance explains that it was part of a plan to expand the Commonwealth's reach, connecting communities across the continent to the sea, although Carol figures that the Commonwealth's intentions were to conquer the communities, not connect them. Daryl reveals to Lance that they intend to leave him behind as they no longer need Lance's help. Daryl and Carol can now simply wait for the train to come and then see where it goes. Lance insists that they still need his help, reminding Carol that they had talked about this: not burning the Commonwealth down and building a better future for the children and everyone else. While Carol admits that she did hear Lance, it was only because he didn't leave her with another choice with his refusal to shut up. Lance expands upon his ideas for how they can work together to build the Commonwealth into a better place, but Daryl and Carol are uninterested in Lance's manipulations.

Daryl and Carol offer Lance the chance to leave and go into exile which Daryl points out is more than Lance deserves after everything that he's done. Lance acknowledges that he's made mistakes, but Lance insists that that's not who he is anymore and that the guy who did those terrible things died back in his cell while this Lance won't survive out here, but Daryl doesn't care after everything that Lance has put them through while Carol suggests that Lance is smart enough to possibly survive. Daryl and Carol refuse to hear anything more and Lance moves as if to leave. However, Lance suddenly grabs a rifle from the back of their stolen jeep and takes aim at Daryl and Carol, prompting Carol to shoot Lance in the neck with an arrow, mortally wounding him. With barely a glance at their fallen enemy, Daryl and Carol drive off, leaving Lance to choke to death on his own blood.

"Rest in Peace"[]

A zombified Lance appears at the gates of the Estates amongst the massive herd overrunning the Commonwealth. Seeing her former friend, Pamela attempts to commit suicide by feeding herself to Lance. However, Maggie shoots Lance in the head with a sniper rifle, putting him down, and preventing Pamela from taking the easy way out. Lance's body is presumably destroyed when the Estates are blown up to destroy the herd.

Death[]

Killed By

After Lance gives them the information that they need to find their missing friends, Daryl and Carol decide to exile Lance, unwilling to put up with his manipulations anymore and no longer needing his help. Rather than leave, Lance grabs a gun and turns it on them, prompting Carol to shoot him in the neck with an arrow. As Daryl and Carol drive away, Lance chokes on his own blood as he dies. He subsequently reanimates.

As Pamela tries to feed herself to an undead Lance as a form of suicide, Maggie shoots him in the head, putting Lance down.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims Lance has killed:

Relationships[]

For a more in-depth look at Lance's relationships, read here; Lance Hornsby (TV Series)/Relationships

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Appearances[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11
Appears Voice is heard
👁 Appears with no lines Appears in a flashback
Appears as a walker 🖼 Appears in a photograph/video
Appears as a corpse Appears in a hallucination/dream

Gallery[]

For more images of Lance Hornsby, please visit Lance Hornsby (TV Series)/Gallery.

Trivia[]

  • Lance is the sixth major recurring primary antagonist in the TV Series, the first being Shane Walsh, the second being Philip Blake, the third being Gareth, the fourth being Negan Smith, the fifth being Alpha, and the seventh being Pamela Milton.
    • Lance is the third major primary antagonist to become a walker, the first being Shane Walsh and the second being Alpha.
    • Lance is one of the three major recurring primary antagonists to not appear in a season premiere. The other two being Philip Blake and Pamela Milton.
  • Showrunner Angela Kang said the following about Lance: "Lance Hornsby is also based on a character from the books. We've got our own take on him, and he's this charismatic fixer for the Commonwealth. Josh Hamilton is wonderful and brings such interesting flavors to the character. For people who know the movie Eighth Grade, he brought such warmth to that character, and he's playing this character that has so much energy and optimism who's trying to sell people on the Commonwealth. So there's some fun to be had with Hornsby. I want people to watch it and see for themselves."[2]
  • Lance is the eighth main character to later become an antagonist. The first being Shane Walsh, the second being Dwight, the third being Spencer Monroe, the fourth being Eugene Porter, the fifth being Anne, the sixth being Gregory, the seventh being Leah Shaw, and the ninth being Pamela Milton.
  • Lance is the ninth character to die, who does not die in the comics, with the other eight being Sophia Peletier, Mikey, Carl Grimes, Paul Rovia, Siddiq, Laura, Earl Sutton and Sebastian Milton.
  • Lance, Ben, Allen, and Dante are the only characters in the TV Series that originated from the Comic Series whose roles were rewritten to be completely antagonistic.
  • Lance bares some similarities to the DC character Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Both are charismatic, handsome politicians, both are scarred on the left side of their face, with the injury caused by a deflection, both have a lucky coin that belonged to their fathers, and use said coin to make their decisions. They also have a much darker aspect of their personality, which they embrace after their respective scarring.
  • On Talking Dead for "What's Been Lost", Josh Hamilton reveals that his fly was down while shooting Lance's death scene and he didn't even realize it until afterwards. Josh states that he thinks that this is the perfect ending for Lance "this person who is so fastidious about the way he looks and dresses to die covered in blood and dirt with his fly wide open, it was just the ultimate insult."
  • In the Memoriam on Talking Dead for "Rest in Peace", he is credited as Walker Hornsby.
  • Lance is the fifteenth main character to be killed by another main character, the first being Dale Horvath, the second being Shane Walsh, the third being Merle Dixon, the fourth being Hershel Greene, the fifth being Gareth, the sixth being Abraham Ford, the seventh being Glenn Rhee, the eighth being Spencer Monroe, the ninth being Simon, the tenth being Gregory, the eleventh being Enid, the twelfth being Tara Chambler, the thirteenth being Alpha, and the fourteenth being Leah Shaw.
  • Lance is the only main character to die in the same season they were introduced in.
  • Lance is the thirteenth main character to become a walker, the first being Shane Walsh, the second being Merle Dixon, the third being Hershel Greene, the fourth being Deanna Monroe, the fifth being Spencer Monroe, the sixth being Sasha Williams, the seventh being Simon, the eighth being Enid, the ninth being Tara Chambler, the tenth being Siddiq, the eleventh being Alpha, and the twelfth being Alden.
  • Lance is the third of three main characters that have gotten a scar across their cheek, the first being Beth Greene, and the second being Rosita Espinosa.
  • Lance is the last named undead character to be put down in the main series.
  • Lance is the last resident of the Commonwealth to die, albeit zombified.
  • Lance is Carol Peletier's last named human kill in the TV Series.
    • He is also technically Maggie Rhee's last kill, as she put him down after reanimation.
  • Lance is one of the two major primary antagonists who have not killed a main character. The other being Shane Walsh.
  • Lance is the only main character in Season 11 who appears in all eight episodes of part two.
  • Angela Kang confirmed that Oceanside survived Lance's takeover and was eventually liberated.[3]

International Dubbers[]

Language Dubber Other Characters Voiced
Czech N/A N/A
French Xavier Béja N/A
German Klaus-Peter Grap N/A
Hungarian N/A N/A
Italian N/A N/A
Japanese N/A N/A
Portuguese N/A N/A
Spanish (Latin America) Juan Balvín Shane Walsh (9)
Eric Raleigh
Rodney
Spanish (Spain) Lorenzo Beteta N/A

References[]

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