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Sacrifice is a recurring theme in The Walking Dead. It happens when somebody is willing to give a life for the greater good, be it their own or someone else's.
Lee sacrifices Doug or Carley in order to save the other first. However, when later discussing the incident with the surviving member, Lee can explain that it was not an intentional choice, and that he had planned to try and help both of them. (Determinant)(A New Day)
Lee and Kenny can sacrifice Beatrice so they have more time to scavenge supplies. (Determinant)(Long Road Ahead)
Doug unintentionally sacrifices himself to save Ben. (Determinant)(Long Road Ahead)
In order to lure away the walkers from his friends, Darius will attempt to lure them away by detonating a bomb, but he ends up killing himself in the process. (Northeast Woods)
Glenn and Maggie sacrifice their place in the group, causing Abraham to stay before leaving to Washington for another 12 hours. (Four Walls and a Roof)
After Carol shoots Owen, he sacrifices himself so Denise could live. (No Way Out)
Primo sacrifices his life in order to protect Negan's true identity. (The Same Boat)
During the Negan lineup, Abraham silently and bravely volunteers himself to be Lucille's victim so his friends won't have to suffer such a horrible death, and Negan ultimately takes up on his sacrificial offer. (Last Day on Earth, The Day Will Come When You Won't Be)
Sasha protects Rosita from sacrificing her life to kill Negan, instead choosing to sacrifice her own. (The Other Side)
Daniel and other Kingdom soldiers sacrifice themselves as human shields to protect Ezekiel from being shot by the Saviors. (Monsters)
Shiva sacrifices herself to a herd of zombies to save the lives of Ezekiel, Carol and Jerry. (Some Guy)
Negan sacrifices Lance, Duke, and a small group of Saviors in order to trick the Militia and lead them into a trap. (Wrath)
Rick Grimes seemingly sacrifices himself by blowing up the bridge he was standing on in order to eliminate the herd that was chasing him and protect his friends and family. (What Comes After)
Due to his health rapidly declining from an infected leg injury, Oliviero sacrifices himself to "the wall" and gets devoured by the infected inside it. (Los Muertos)
In order to save her children, Strand and Luciana, Madison lures a massive oil-soaked walker herd and locks the gate to seal the herd in, seemingly sacrificing herself in the process using a flare to ignite the oil-soaked walkers approaching her. (No One's Gone) However, it's revealed years later that Madison had somehow survived. (Gone)
Rachel sacrifices herself in order to save her daughter, killing herself so that Rufus can lead her as a walker to other people. Rachel's sacrifice succeeds in saving her daughter as Rufus leads the zombified Rachel to Morgan and Grace who put her down and take baby Morgan from her. (The Beginning)
After getting terminal radiation sickness, John Dorie Sr. volunteers to take baby Morgan through the walker moat around Strand's Tower, getting bitten on the left shoulder in the process. Already dying and with the herd closing in, John allows them to devour him in order to buy Morgan and the baby time to escape. (Sonny Boy)
When Morgan and Mo get surrounded by a herd in a swamp, Madison attempts to sacrifice herself to save them, drawing the herd towards her on Morgan's Houseboat. However, Madison is saved when Grace suddenly arrives and shoots all of the walkers. (Remember What They Took From You)
Madison once again seemingly sacrifices herself so that her friends can escape when PADRE is destroyed. However, Madison is later rescued by Tracy Otto and decides to let everyone, aside from Strand, continue thinking that she had died. PADRE is renamed MADRE in Madison's honor and her friends work to honor Madison's memory and her ideals of building something better. (The Road Ahead)
A mortally wounded Dennis, knowing that he's dead one way or another, decides to sacrifice himself so that Silas can live, knowing that Silas' only chance is to make the CRM see him as a hero who had overpowered and killed his traitor captor. Silas reluctantly kills his mentor and father figure, honoring his wishes. Although Jadis recognizes that Silas had only killed Dennis because Dennis told him to do it, the fact that Silas actually went through with it impresses Jadis enough to not only spare Silas' life, but to induct him into the CRM. (The Last Light)
Elizabeth Kublek tells Jadis that she saw herself as an ancestor to a future world that would be indebted to her sacrifices. However, Elizabeth now questions if it was all worth it. (The Last Light)
Major General Beale tells Rick that the CRM - then the Pennsylvania National Guard - had beaten the U.S. Military in Operation Cobalt through sacrifice. When asked how he had survived in turn, Rick simply tells Beale that it was through sacrifice. (Years)
Donald Okafor reveals that he was forced to kill his wife and 4,000 Marines in order to save Philidelphia. (Years)