For those of you who have been following the plight of Blue Brigade loyalist, Moira Jones, we received another communication from her last night. You may recall she sent the Zombie Survival Crew command a cry for help, and we are proud of our crew, because the response was immediate. Field reports came in and a rescue mission was mounted. Below is the communication record of a call received last night in the command center. While the situation seems dire for our brave crew member, we will not give up hope.
FLANERY: ZSC Command, Lieutenant Flanery. State your name and brigade.
JONES: Oh, my gosh! It works! THE PHONE WORKS!
*static*
JONES:Hello? Are you…
*static*
FLANERY: Name and brigade?
*static*
JONES: … me! It’s Moira!
FLANERY:Moira! Thank god. Are you alright?
JONES: I think so, but I need your help!
FLANERY:Commander Reedus and Rooker have put together a retrieval team. They’re on the way to you now. Just hang on.
*silence*
FLANERY: Moira? Are you okay?
*silence*
FLANERY: Have you been bitten or scratched?
JONES: No, but…
*static*
JONES: … scared.
FLANERY: Say again?
JONES: I said, I’m scared.
FLANERY: Oh kid. That’s okay. Hell, if you weren’t scared I’d be worried about you.
JONES: I wish Donut was here.
*barking*
FLANERY: She says, “Stay Dixon strong.”
JONES: Will you stay on the phone with me until the rescue team gets here?
FLANERY: Of course, I will, kid. We just need to make sure you’re as safe as possible. Are you in a contained space? Can the walkers get to you where you are?
JONES: I don’t think so. The only way up to the sixth floor now is the stairs and I blocked the door. I don’t think they can get in.
Well, no one can complain about the lack of walker action in the newest episode of The Walking Dead. I’ve seen enough leaking skulls to satisfy my bloodlust for another couple of weeks, so long as the writer’s promise to quit trying to make me cry. More on that later. We’re diving straight into the heart of this episode with Rick, Shane, and the showdown we’ve been waiting two seasons to see.
After Lori planted the seeds of doubt in Rick’s mind last week, it was only a matter of time before he took things to the source. Did anyone else get a mental image of Lori as a demon whispering in his ear? Creepy as heck. Anyways… Being Mr. Honorable, Rick took Shane out for a nice long drive and confronted him away from everyone else to give him a fair chance to say his piece. He gets it—understands that Shane loves Lori as a representation of life and love in his world of death. But he also knows his friend, sees that he’s dangling one foot over the edge of the Cliff of No Return. The amount of restraint shown by both men in that scene resolved none of the tension between them. We knew they’d have more to say about it, and boy did they.
One of the problems that’s sprouted up in this post-apocalyptic universe is the notion that your everyday Joe can, with the proper application of force and smarts, become God. Who gets to decide which of the living are fit to survive? Certainly not Shane, who goes into every decision gun first. At least Rick makes an effort to think things through. But is he any more fit to make that choice for someone else? Are any of us? In their shoes, I would have left Randall there. If he was determined enough to walk the eighteen plus miles to invade the camp, then I’d deal with it. Rich and Shane’s differing opinions boiled over, giving them an excuse to vent physically what neither man could cope with emotionally. I wonder what Lori will say when she learns what all her whispering caused. She nearly lost both of them.
Before we move to the really heavy subject that’s unavoidable thanks to this episode, I want to yet again theorize over what Jenner said to Rick before the CDC blew up. When they inspected the deputy walkers, Shane seemed at a loss for how they turned without being bitten. Rick, however knew that a scratch could change them. Has this happened before? I can’t remember. But it seems that the virus that reanimates the dead is adapting. Perhaps Jenner knew this would happen and warned Rick.
At the beginning of season two the writers touched on the issue of suicide. For Andrea, it seemed to be the only way to cope with her losses and escape an inevitable painful demise by walker. Dale took it upon himself to keep her from it. Daryl talked some sense into her, in his own way—with help from an unfortunate walker that’d hung himself before turning. Now they’ve circled back around to that issue with Beth, Hershel’s youngest daughter. Just like Andrea, her decision was taken away. Was Lori right to stop her? Do the same rules about suicide persist after death has thrown the rest of the rules to the wind?
Maggie tries like heck to make Beth see what losing her would do to the rest of the family. But she is so determined to take the easy path that she tries to convince Maggie to do it with her. Desperation makes a person’s mind search for the “easy button”. Suicide isn’t the way, though. Trying to make a pact with your loved ones to do the same is forcing them to follow the wrong path in their life.
Andrea and Lori have very different views about how to survive. Lori wants stability, to bury her head and do what she can to pretend there aren’t walkers outside. Andrea is trying to adapt, but for her survival isn’t worth it unless she is the one calling the shots. She went behind the “alpha” female’s back and gave Beth the opportunity to do as she wished. Actions like that come with a price. One that everyone involved has to pay.
Next week promises to be equally as tense. What will happen to the outsider, Randall? Chime in with your predictions in the comments.
Blue Brigade, meet your commander Norman Reedus. This multi-talented actor, filmmaker, photographer, writer and artist has played an Irish vigilante, a sociopathic murderer, street gang leader, a conspirator, the unfortunate snack of cannibalistic humanoids on a deep-space vessel, and – of course- fan favorite redneck zombie killer Daryl Dixon on AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Norman Reedus has described himself as “a total wimp,” a “dork,” and denies that he would do anything other than run when threatened by a shuffling zombie horde. He also recently revealed that he has stuffed animals on his bed and enjoys cuddling kitties in his spare time. Don’t be fooled! This is clearly a clever ruse of some sort, a diversion tactic to keep us all guessing… or perhaps he simply is too humble to willingly admit how completely badass he truly is. Whatever the case, Norman did not rise to the rank of Commander by being a total wimp. The motorcycle alone is all the evidence we need.
Norman started making ripples in the film industry in 1997, appearing very briefly in the film Mimic and then taking the starring role in the coming of age tale Floating. Three years later, The Boondock Saints delivered a pair of Irish vigilante twin brothers for our consideration, and the general consensus was clear. Norman’s work as an artist, photographer and filmmaker shows yet another branch of talent for a man who has been described as one of the hardest-working actors in the business.
Norman lives in New York City sharing space with a host of stuffed animals, action figures and toys… and the occasional snake. He recently hosted a photography exhibit in New York through Wired magazine, during which canvas prints of several stunning pieces collected during his travels by motorcycle on the back roads of Georgia were autographed and auctioned to the public with all proceeds going to Oxfam. We also learned a little bit about photographic taxidermy during this exhibit. Many of his photographic works are available for purchase on his film production company’s website, and the short films collection 3 Films by Norman Reedus are available for download as well.
We’re sure we don’t need to inform anyone that The Walking Dead resumed its second season last night after an anxious mid-season break, returning our favorite squirrel-tossing, zombie-killing redneck to our living rooms and DVRs. During the Walking Dead break, Norman filmed Sunlight Jr on location in Florida with Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon. Be sure to also keep an eye on the horizon for indie dramas Hello Herman and Night of the Templar. In a recent interview with Metropolis, Norman spoke briefly of his ties to the artist community in New York and gave his mom full credit for his tough-guy exterior on screen. Last week, USA Today no doubt saw a spike in newsstand sales as fans bought up multiple copies of Thursday’s edition with Daryl Dixon standing strong on the front page.
In conclusion, no matter how much Norman cries “wimp” and “dork,” we think the man doth protest too much. Norman is one of those rare breeds who leads with the heart and makes a difference simply because knows he should, and because he can. In short, when the chips are down and all hope seems lost, don’t give up. Reedus’ Blue Brigade will be there… as soon as they get that blasted GPS to work properly…
To countdown the final week before The Walking Dead returns to AMC on February 12th, our friends over at the Brazilian TWD fan site are getting together with zombie caricature artist, Celso Ludgero (Twitter: @Celsoludgero).
Together, they think that just because someone is famous, it does not mean they will be immune to becoming a zombie during the Zombiepocalypse. We fully agree with their decree that “Nobody Is Safe.”
5 AM in a bus terminal is somewhat like waking up to find yourself smack dab in the middle of the Zombiepocalypse. Rick Grimes, I sympathize with your plight. A handful of fellow travelers wandered into the station, bleary-eyed and looking more zombie than human. Heaven help me, I’ve waited with bated breath to hear them speak. Pretty sure the security guard wouldn’t have been too happy if I used one of the line posts to knock someone’s skull inside out.
Plus, it definitely wouldn’t be the ideal way to start my day. Just sayin’.
I learned my lesson after my last ZSC trip when I went to Dallas Comic Con. Suspect everyone. Has that guy across the way been watching as I report in to Juliette? The woman two seats down seemed awfully interested in what I’m writing… I should put my notebook away before anyone passing by reads. My cover cannot be compromised on this trip!
Noon in Los Angeles. The bus terminal was as busy as I’ve ever seen it. Contrary to what most would think, this is a good thing. I used the crowd to move around unseen by anyone that could be tracking me. It also bought me fifteen minutes to grab lunch. Actually, the salad ended up being breakfast. The ritual of eating poorly or rather, forgetting to eat at all during a con weekend began early.
Around 6 PM my fellow passengers on the bus got really talkative. The guys behind me leaned over and asked that question I dread, “So, where are you heading to?” Me being me, I tell them the truth. Don’t ask me why when I know the UGA could be after me. They’ve been too quiet. I don’t trust quiet . . . . Anyway, I told those around me about the ZSC and what we do. They ended up asking me questions until we arrived in Phoenix where an Amazon—the ZSC’s very own Jinxie G—rescued me.
Thursday:
Jinxie and I went to pick up the rental car. Due to complications, most of Thursday morning and afternoon have been censored . . . .
With Plan B fully checked out, we hit the road four hours behind schedule and with more than a few reservations about the new plan. That was until Jinxie pulled her wallet out to pay for something; a fortune she’d collected at a previous con a few months ago dangled off the bottom:
We took it as a sign to take the risk. Our nerves settled with some laughs and a ton of snarky commentary about bad cell phone reception in the desert, “Can you hear me now? No. You can’t. Because you didn’t drive into the middle of the desert to test your signal!”
The drive was fun, uneventful. We got within two hours of Albuquerque and decided to make a pit stop in what was probably the coldest city in New Mexico! Grants. Eleven degrees, snow on the ground, and Jinxie is wearing flip-flops. Though she did have toe socks on. In the minute it took to run inside the store, we froze. Two people who live in hot climates Do Not Do temperatures under thirty.
Don’t fret; we arrived at Cody and Alfred’s house in Albuquerque before becoming human Popcicles. Juliette arrived earlier that evening. The chaos was already underway as we shivered our way officially into the convention weekend.
Monday-the trip back to AZ:
No one will believe me if I say this, but Jinxie and I were up and on the road by about 10 AM. Shocking, right? Yeah, we didn’t believe it either. Of course, our main motivation ended up being hunting down coffee. But, hey, I won’t argue an early start. And it was a good thing we left early…
The mountain pass that we’d driven through just fine on Thursday transformed into a winter wonderland while we were at the con. We’re not talking a light dusting of snow. Oh no, it’d dropped a good three inches of snow with more coming down as we drove.
Did I mention that we drove THROUGH a cloud, as well? Yeah . . . that was special.
Eventually we started heading back down the mountain. Just like that the snow disappeared. There’s no UGA plot to blame for the random snowstorm, though I’m pretty sure some of the idiots passing us while we carefully drove over the mountain were UGA agents. Or suicidal . . . .
The rest of the trip back became a sightseeing fest since the sun set before I could see anything cool on our way to Albuquerque. By sightseeing I mean Jinxie would point out across the desert and say, “There’s a abandoned mine that way that’s good for disposing bodies and stolen cars. If you look down it in, you can see the pile of cars.” My reaction? Make a note of the location in case I’m in Arizona during the Zombiepocalypse. A girl can never have too many places to get rid of reeking zombie remains.
Tuesday and back to CA:
Very early that morning (by early, I mean before noon, accompanied by death glares from Jinxie), we headed to the bus station. This is the same bus station where last May I observed news reports covering the CDC’s post about preparing for the zombie outbreak. It is also where I determined that bus stations are the worse place to be trapped in when zombies shamble from their graves.
I said my goodbyes to Jinxie and took a moment to regroup. Traveling with a co-commander I can trust is far different than a busload of strangers. One particular stranger kept telling everyone to call him by a different name. I kept my eye on him until I switched buses halfway home.
The remainder of the ride back home was mostly uneventful with only one near miss. I almost disposed of a man after he sat behind me for hours making the most disgusting noises, noises I’ve come to associate with those that have become infected and are in the process of turning into a zombie. The smell didn’t help matters. It wasn’t until he started talking (loudly, I might add) that I stopped thinking about doing my duty as a ZSC commander… and started wishing I could dispose of him simply for being gross and annoying. What? I never claimed to be NICE after a week of travel and convention stress!
I made it home safe, sound, and without blood on my clothes. Another successful Zombie Survival Crew mission.
Their love for each other is matched only by their drive to survive. While both Lori and Carl lack the survival, weapons and hunting training of those around them, they remain locked in a fierce battle against the zombiepocalypse to protect that which matters most—the human family.
Who are Lori and Carl Grimes? They are characters from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. They have created cast of characters I have expressed a great deal of love for:
Lori and Carl are the core of a family unit traumatized by the realities of a zombified world, wife and son to a man tasked by circumstance with leading a soul-weary band of survivors through the horrors as safely as he can. Lori is determined to protect her child at any cost, but may not have the kind of constitution to survive a prolonged zombie onslaught, and all the emotional baggage it carries with it. Carl finds himself literally growing up in the zombiepocalypse, traversing his developmental years to the background of flying body parts and weapons instruction.
[***WARNING: Spoilers ahead***]
Lori and Carl are tasked with protecting humanity’s most valuable asset—the family. While water, food and ammunition are integral to physical survival, the presence of loved ones bound by blood and affection grounds and lifts the spirit. The Grimes family is not the only familial unit in and around the main survivor group, but with Rick Grimes as the survivor band’s leader, the Grimes clan is—whether they like it or not—the “first family” of the zombiepocalypse.
Ever since viewers first met Lori—played by Sarah Wayne Callies—she has been coping with severe emotional trauma and struggling to balance her own needs with what she believes to be right and/or necessary. Lori is not a bad woman. She is a good mother, who loves her child and would, I have no doubt, die to protect him. She is loyal, …yes, loyal, and will stick behind those she loves when she believes them to be right.
But Lori is struggling to manage the consequences of choices she’s made—sometimes she’s wrong for the right reasons, other times she’s right for the wrong ones. I mean, let’s be real here, she believed her husband was dead. Shane helped her and Carl survive, was someone she trusted and could feel safe with in the midst of a world gone mad. Taking a lover when surrounded by nothing but death is a good way to remind yourself that you are indeed alive.
She has been coping with the guilt of her decision to enter a sexual relationship with Shane ever since Rick returned from the dead…and all of the other complications that accompany it. She’s angry and hurt. Yes, Shane may have believed Rick was dead, but he wasn’t…and so Shane (who is just not helping his own case) is the target for all the mixed-up rage, guilt and fear that Lori harbors.
Lori is Rick’s rock, his most vocal defender after Shane. And where Shane, Rick’s best friend, will argue with him to get to a decision that creates more pent-up frustration between the two buddies, Lori is most-often content to back Rick’s decisions even if she doesn’t like them because she know his heart is true. But I do have to wonder if this isn’t part of the reason she was doubting their marriage before the zombiepocalypse hit…just sayin’. Lori is quick to point out to others when they are being selfish or projecting their own emotions onto Rick who—as she rightly points—continues to do for the group what no other would. I just wish she could so readily take stock of her own interactions and self-correct when she is projecting.
Carl—brought to life by Chandler Riggs—is growing up before viewers’ eyes. Between season one and the trauma of season two the young man has evolved from a whimpering, fearful child into an eager, increasingly capable young man. Carl wants to emulate what he sees both Rick and Shane doing to save everyone and make a tangible contribution to the group’s survival. He throws himself with great passion into learning the skill he will need—how to properly catch and clean fish, set up an alarm system around camp…fire a gun.
He is still a child, clinging to the pure hope and innate optimism that most youngsters have, but there is little doubt Carl is determined to become a zombie hunter extraordinaire. ..even if he does not yet truly understand the emotional consequences of such an undertaking.
Both Lori and Carl face serious emotional and physical challenges ahead. Lori is aware of hers, and we see her struggling to find a balance between protecting the family members she has, and adding to the mix with a baby. Carl, despite everything he has seen and experienced, is likely to encounter a crisis of conscience or two as strives to become the man he thinks he should be.
But can they survive? Can they keep the Grimes family unit together and alive? One thing is for sure…they will fight to the death to make it happen.
They are hardy, wholesome folk. Hershel and Maggie Greene can keep a farm running, ride any steed in true cowboy style and wrangle zombies when the need calls for it. Their faith in God sustains them, but their isolation leaves them susceptible to grand—and potentially deadly—illusions about the realities of the world they live in.
Who are Hershel and Maggie Greene? They are characters from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. They have created cast of characters I have expressed a great deal of love for:
Faith in the Almighty is rule # 1 on the Greene farm. Rule # 2 is that Hershel’s word is law, only below that of God. He runs his family with a firm hand and there’s little doubt that even before the walkers started appearing on their property, he possessed full and total control over every aspect of their lives. Maggie has been content to follow her father’s righteous lead but has a more worldly strength to her than her father possesses. When the main survivor group finds the Greene farm, Hershel and Maggie are easily cast as saviors—but the zombie-infested world in which they live may ultimately rip both the group, and the family, apart.
[***WARNING: Spoilers ahead***]
The Greene family provides a nice little twist to the environments most commonly associated with the zombie genre—large cities run down, blown halfway to hell, and overrun by the walking dead. Hershel and Maggie have managed, despite all odds, to not only survive but to do it in their own home with their own resources (for the most part) and create a sanctuary for others in need.
Hershel is a man of principle, a spiritual rock guided by his faith in God and a firm belief in right vs. wrong. There is little grey in Hershel’s world, something is one or the other, and cannot be both. It is upon this basis that Hershel views the zombiepocalypse. He is a giving man, in his own way, but will draw the line when generosity poses a danger to his beliefs or his family. And the rigidity of the faith he presents poses dangers—both physical and spiritual—for himself and those around him.
Hershel – played by Scott Wilson – believes that worldwide zombification is akin to the evolution of HIV/AIDS. Everyone goes into hysterics. A lot of people die. And then one day a miracle cure comes along, sent by God’s own hand to save the faithful who managed to survive. In Hershel’s mind, this is a cleansing.
But on the few occasions where Hershel does speak of such things it feels more as though he is a man desperate to fit the unthinkable into an existing belief system. He has lost family members. The world has, largely, ended. He knows this, yet Hershel really isn’t prepared to meet the challenge head on. He is clinging to his faith as a way to continue the ‘old way’ of doing things, rationalizing away the realities of the zombie world.
Maggie, despite the ‘grief’ she causes Hershel because of her budding relationship with the “Asian boy,” is a source or pride for Hershel—a younger, more worldly version of himself. Maggie’s belief system is not so rigid, so much a part of her being, that she is unable to consider alternatives without shaking her own core. Maggie – played by Lauren Cohan – quickly finds herself questioning events around her after the main survivor group arrives: Maybe her father is wrong. But if he is, then is she equally wrong for following him? Where does that leave God in the new world order? And most importantly, how do they survive?
At this point it is Maggie, not Hershel, who appears most likely to survive the zombiepocalypse longest of the Greene clan. It’s not unlikely that Maggie may soon find herself in the not-unusual situation of having to manage role reversal—where the child becomes the parent and the aging parent becomes the child—in order to save what is left of her family.
And then there was the barn.
When Glenn stumbled across the barn and its’ unfortunate occupants, I nearly broke my roommates fingers I grabbed his hand so hard (an action I would repeat when Shane ripped open the barn doors shortly thereafter). This was going to be it. The place where faith and realism collide, where right and wrong are so hopelessly intertwined that even the most the righteous man would struggle…where we discover what humanity really means in a zombified world.
Anyone with a heart, felt bad for Hershel. And yet, even though in some rose-colored way we wanted him to be right, viewers knew he was wrong. The tragedy was that it took a rather inhumane approach by a very unstable man, Shane Walsh, to rip off the blinders and force Hershel, and Maggie, to finally confront the reality of the world they now live in.
Weeks after the mid-season finale aired, viewers are still struggling with that last sequence and what it means for a very brave, very soul-weary group of survivors: Can Hershel move beyond the shock and accept the new reality? Can he become the spiritual ground-zero that the main survivor group needs so badly? Or will he retreat, cloak himself in cracked-faith and leave the others to fend for themselves? And what future will Maggie choose? Will she evolve into the zombie-slayin’ farm girl I see within? Or will she be unable to forgive Shane and the others for the ‘damage’ they have wrought on the Greene home?
Whatever choices Hershel and Maggie make are sure to be right—and heartbreaking.
She has seen the worst of human nature. She has survived heartache, chronic abuse and the spiritual cost of living a life dominated by fear—and that was before the zombipocalypse hit. After all the horror Carol Peletier remains capable not only of love, but of taking emotional risks to express that affection. Carol is a survivor in so many ways that have nothing to do with putting a dent into a zombie’s skull.
Who is Carol Peletier? She is a character from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. They have created cast of characters I have expressed a great deal of love for:
If you aren’t watching the show you should be. From the moment the show begins viewers are taken on the undead ride of a lifetime, watching a cast of beleaguered humans fight not only to survive, but to retain that which makes us most human.
Carol—played with stunningly intricate nuances by Melissa McBride—is the main survivor group’s mother figure. She, more than any of the other females, is able to consistently put aside her own hurts and doubts, to reach out and nurture those around her. In this regard Carol represents the best in human nature, a truly pure spirit we should all be so lucky to have in our lives.
[***WARNING: Spoilers ahead***]
From the get-go viewers could look at Carol and say, “This is a woman who has seen hell.” The way that Melissa McBride handles such a delicate character is brilliant—the little subtleties during her interactions around any man that told more about the extent of the abuse the character suffered than the one instance of on-screen abuse at the hands of her husband Ed in season one were chilling.
But it was also apparent right away she was a survivor. Whether for herself or the child she loves, Carol would find a way to persevere. And Carol’s true beauty was that her strength of spirit was there all along. We just couldn’t quite see it clearly behind the thick veil of abuse.
Carol is the epitome if motherhood on the show. She’s always there for the children. Teaches them in makeshift class rooms. Heck, she’ll even do a stranger’s laundry. She shows appreciation by taking care of others. No one forces Carol to do laundry. Unlike Andrea, who very much wants to throw off the restrictions she feels her gender ties her down with.
Carol sees suffering and reaches out, even at the risk of getting slapped for it. No other character on the show could have told Daryl what he so desperately needed to hear out loud—that while he may not have the education, experience or training of men like Rick and Shane, he is every bit as good as they are. While others like Dale may have seen or felt instinctually that Daryl needed this to help further the evolution he is experiencing, it was Carol that had the right combination of courage and empathy to deliver.
And then…there was Sophia.
Sophia was the light in Carol’s darkness. A child that, no matter what, brought joy and love into her life when an abusive husband sought to rob her of her dignity. In the aftermath of Sophia’s disappearance we saw both Carol’s finest and weakest moments.
Anyone who knows the pain of losing a child was physically shaking during Carol’s interaction with Daryl in the horse stable. What kind of strength does it take to tell someone that the search is over? To admit that you have to let go of your only child? Good grief, just writing that gives me goosebumps. Nothing, absolutely nothing, in this world compares to losing a child…the pain is physical, a paralyzing terror. And yet, somehow Carol has the strength of spirit to embrace a mother’s worst nightmare in an attempt to save the life of another.
My one big issue with the Sophia situation was that Carol took a back seat in the search for her child. Intellectually I understand this might have been the result of years of abuse and being pushed to the background until you yourself believe you have no contribution to make, and again McBride’s portrayal was brilliant. But everything in my core bucked against it, and I found myself itching to drive down to Georgia and start searching for a fictional character myself. That could have been difficult to explain later on….
But the real question now is—can Carol continue to survive?
We saw the battle Andrea fought after losing her sister Amy. Andrea and Carol have different kinds of strength, and Andrea appears to have found a way to pull through. Carol has now lost her source of joy, her anchor. Will that be it….the event that finally breaks her beautiful spirit?
They are the oddest couple I know. One is a strung out, racist, redneck with a really bad attitude and cojones only a fool would dare challenge. The other is a black man built like a Mack truck who displays good intentions and guts, but harbors doubts about his place in a zombie-infested society. When they meet sparks, …or rather blood and spit, certainly fly. It’s a feast for the eyes and the spirit…for both Merle Dixon and Theodore Douglas, better known as T-Dog, are grappling with issues of race, survival and what it means to honestly show your true colors.
Who are Merle Dixon and Theodore Douglas? They are characters from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. They have created cast of characters I have a great deal of love for:
If you aren’t watching the show you should be. From the moment the show begins viewers are taken on the undead ride of a lifetime, watching a cast of beleaguered humans fight not only to survive, but to retain that which makes us most human.
These two characters represent the opposite ends of the spectrum in a battle that has raged since the beginning of recorded history. Are we, the human family, truly one? Or, are we divided by race, religion, ethnicity and/or politics? Are we a global family? Or, is it us against them? Neither man is evil. Both are, at least partially, products of their environments. And both men have valuable lessons to teach us about what it means to be human.
[***WARNING: Spoilers ahead***]
Everyone loves Merle. Wait, scratch that. Everyone loves Michael Rooker, a singular actor who can take the most vile character and leave viewers salivating for more. But it isn’t just Rooker. Merle is able to do what most of us cannot—to be true to who he is and speak his mind no matter how unpopular his feelings might be. Putting aside, briefly, that Merle is a danger to pretty much anyone he encounters including his own family members, there is a sort of freedom there that few human beings have the guts to display. T-Dog certainly doesn’t have that kind of courage—it is only when ravaged by fever that he is able to give voice to the dark thoughts he harbors within about race and the fate of the black man. While he may later express disgust with the bile that spewed forth from a fevered mind, he cannot really deny that those were—at least, in part—his true feelings…and given the state of pre-zombiepocalypse society, not entirely unjustified.
T-Dog, played by IronE Singleton, is the main survivor group’s conscience personified. After Merle’s disgusting display on the roof, it is T-Dog who steps forward to take on the responsibility for Merle’s fate even though he, above all the others, would have the most reason to turn and walk away. He took the responsibility for dropping the key and delivers a message few want to hear—that the blood is on their hands, and no matter how repugnant Merle may be his fate will weigh on their spirits. By securing the door with a chain and padlock even as he fled the rooftop scene, T-Dog recognized that his anger towards Merle was human, but that the outcome was untenable.
The one vs. the many. Merle and T-Dog, because of who they are as men, have polar opposite approaches to survival. Merle needs no one and sees the pansies, democrats and n*ggers as negatives rather than assets. T-Dog sees every individual as having a place on this earth with value to add to the group. In this regard Merle is hopelessly deluded. A man may be able to survive physically on his own, but the human spirit requires others to flourish.
Both Merle and T-Dog have strength of spirit, the strength of true survivors. If you pull away the layers of drugs, acerbic wit and short-sighted views of Merle, and the doubts about his place in the main survivor group as a whole in the case of T-Dog, both men have a strength to them. Seriously. How many people out there could do what Merle did on the roof, and in the kitchen with the iron? How many can continuously put aside fear and loneliness to act in the best interest of the group as a whole with no real sense of acrimony?
Which leads me to the rub. Is there a place for a man like Merle in a group of survivors for which he expresses little more than outright disdain? Should a man who consistently puts the group before himself feel like an outsider? And, ultimately, should the group survive long enough to begin a true rebuilding process, can they—the new human family—rise above the hurts of the past to chart a more humane future?
Any good story is bound to have that one character who is one horse short of being an honest-to-goodness cowboy. I’m not talking about the “shoot ’em up” guys that do it because they have a gun fetish, but the guys that fight to uphold their morals. Morals they learned with a hand on their momma’s apron hem and had drilled into their heads by hard working fathers. Rick Grimes came into existence long after the Cowboy Era, yet he still fits the part. Heck, when he made his first appearance on television they even gave him an actual horse–well until it was eaten by a horde of hungry zombies.
Who is Rick Grimes? He is a character from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. They have created cast of characters I have a great deal of love for:
If you aren’t watching the show you should be. From the moment the show begins viewers are taken on the undead ride of a lifetime, watching a cast of beleaguered humans fight not only to survive, but to retain that which makes us most human.
Rick is a man of many morals. With a veritable shopping list of good qualities Rick—payed by Andrew Lincoln—will do almost anything to honor, he is a man to be admired. But his decisions often leave something to be desired. He suffers from tunnel vision that can turn ‘doing the right thing’ into foolhardy or dangerous missions—with the potential for truly disastrous results.
[***WARNING: Spoilers ahead***]
The tie that binds Rick’s principles is the ideal that he must do anything to keep his family safe… or is it? Rick’s dilemma isn’t so much how to keep his family safe, it seems, but more of how will he do it while on a one-man mission to save every stray person they encounter. He spreads himself too thin trying to be there for everyone, often leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves. He even went so far as to leave their sides the day after they learned he hadn’t died in the hospital to save, of all people, Merle Dixon– the man that’d nearly gotten them all eaten alive in Atlanta during a supply run. Was the risk to his family worth it to save one man? A lot of the other characters said no. They felt let down, even if his wife understood that he felt obligated to a man he’d just met and had been threatened by.
Rick’s sense of responsibility—and guilt—can be a very real danger to the main survivor group as we saw in the case of the situation with Sophia. Lori was right when she said no one else in the main survivor group jumped to leave their hiding place and race to her aid like Rick did. It was a great moment for Rick and the preservation of humanity in a world gone mad. But what followed…was disaster. Shane was right when he said Rick was leading the group on a search for her long past a timeframe when finding her alive and well was likely. Rick’s persistence nearly cost Daryl Dixon his life. Would Rick show the same determination for any member of the group? Did he push a continued search for Merle? In both cases, Rick was, at least, partially responsible for the predicament…yet, Merle’s fate remains unknown.
Rick felt obligated to Hershel for the use of his land as a safe haven for his crew of survivors and for the medical help–without which they’d have lost both Carl, T-Dog and Daryl. Hershel is a strict man, runs his house with an iron fist, and expects to be obeyed. Rick’s approach is honorable, it’s the cowboy way…but there has to be a limit somewhere. I’m going to argue a barn full of zombies qualifies. Rick’s response had me nearly in tears—I began to think he was as deluded as Herschel. Did he truly believe, for even a second, that those zombies were anything less than a deadly and immediate threat?
And then Rick pulled the trigger.
I’d bet the farm that the closing scene of season two’s mid-season finale gave us more answers than most viewers were able to see through the shock and horror. When Shane ripped open the barn to force the group to deal with the zombies within (think closet. think skeletons.) Andrea, T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl swallowed bile to step up to the line, …and hold. Rick did not. It was only when a zombified Sophia lurched across the fallen mass of walker remains that Rick raised his weapon.
Many fans have said that this proves Rick can make the hard decisions. I disagree. If Shane had not been there to initiate, Rick would have avoided confrontation and put the group in more danger. Rick, unfortunately, was responsible for Sophia’s demise. Unfortunate because he really was trying to do the right thing. That was his blood to claim. The blood of an innocent child, smeared all over the hands and spirit of a truly righteous man. Rick had to pull the trigger, he had to pay the soul-shattering debt.
That he was willing to step forward and take on that responsibility may simultaneously give him strength—and rip him apart.
FLANERY: Name and brigade?
Well, no one can complain about the lack of walker action in the newest episode of The Walking Dead. I’ve seen enough leaking skulls to satisfy my bloodlust for another couple of weeks, so long as the writer’s promise to quit trying to make me cry. More on that later. We’re diving straight into the heart of this episode with Rick, Shane, and the showdown we’ve been waiting two seasons to see.
