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Since Halloween is tomorrow, and I recently had a chance to catch up on the newest season of The Walking Dead, it seems like a wonderful time to talk about the show with all the zombies.
Thing is though, I don’t think it’s really about the zombies.
Yep, that’s right.
After deciding to do a post about The Walking Dead and sitting down to think to myself why the show works – why it’s interesting and people keep tuning in – I realized, it’s not about the zombies. The zombies are a situation.
They serve a definite story purpose, and if you happen to like zombies, then you’ll probably like this show more than other post-apocalyptic event shows like Revolution, but, in the end, The Walking Dead is not about the zombies. Anyone who’s ever thought about writing for at least five minutes will tell you that there are only about seven stories in existence. What makes them different is how they’re told. The Walking Dead could just as easily be The Hunger Games or The Lord of the Flies or a hundred other things. It just happens to be The One With The Zombies, and that’s what makes it The Walking Dead.
The story is about the living people, and their relationships. We want to watch these very diverse personalities, people who wouldn’t interact much with each other in the usual course of things, try to work things out and come together to survive. It would be just as interesting if the thing forcing them all together was magic, or aliens, or a desert island filled with an enemy group of people. In fact, the way all of the living seem to band into different groups (or as I like to think of them, tribes) brings to mind novels I’ve read that were set in times before the industrial revolution, like The Clan of the Cave Bear and The Light Bearer. One of my favorite things to do is to watch the show in an anthropological mindset (I’ve seen Bones and I took a sociology class once, so I’m equivalent to 1/8th of an anthropologist. MATH.). Recent events on the latest episode certainly make more sense when you boil everyone’s actions down to the simplest elements and view them as primitive groups competing for limited resources.
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Norman Reedus: 100% made of puppies
But back to watching the disparate (and desperate) living people. Let’s take Daryl as an example. When first introduced, I hated him almost immediately. He is just the sort of redneck ruffian I would avoid interaction with at all costs. But we see that in this new world his skills are really valuable. In the land with zombies (or The Hunger Games, or The Lights Going Out, etc.) he is suddenly a Winner. Over the course of two seasons we get to see that there’s more to him than that first impression, and that’s something that we would have never gotten to see or cared about in a show without an external force making these characters interact. And that’s what the show is about, and what the zombies are for. (And it probably helps that Norman Reedus is adorable. And, I heard, very interactive with fans on the internet. So if you’re reading this, Norman Reedus: Hi! I think you’re made of puppies! :3 )
Now on to some specific thoughts about the newest season (spoiler alert?):
The writers of the show (And perhaps the writer of the comic it’s based on? I’m not sure, not having read the comics.) are very good about keeping the show fresh and interesting by giving us new people and locations. In a show fueled by character relationships and the occasional zombie attack, that’s important. The show would have fizzled out very quickly if they were still in their camp above the city. Season two gave us the farm, and now we have a prison. I was especially pleased to see that, as ever since watching the show my own personal Zombie Apocalypse Contingency Plan has been to take a boat out to Ship Island and hunker down in the old army fort. My thinking: Zombies probably can’t swim. The prison fence here serves the same kind of purpose, and so I’m pleased with the writers for being somewhat on the same page as me.
I also like the time jump. It’s only a few months, but what a difference those months have made in the way the group interacts, not just with each other, but how efficient they are at defending themselves and killing zombies now.
And then we’re introduced to another new group of people, and another new location in the Governor’s town in the most recent episode. Some of the older characters are there, so we’re invested, but it’s a fascinating place in and of itself. And with the way the Governor deals with the army group and his curiosity about Andrea, it seems clear to me that the Governor and Rick are being set up for an eventual conflict, maybe even a show down. That is fascinating to me – that they may be arch enemies, but they don’t yet know the other exists.
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David Morrissey plays The Governor.
It’s also clear that the Governor is being set up as a villainous character, and yet at the same time he’s not (much) worse than Rick. If you pretend you’re an anthropologist and view him as chief of a tribe acting to protect his land and people, and seize resources, he’s not that bad. Truthfully, I’d rather be inside his town than outside of it. But what raises the question of villainy is his summary execution of the soldiers: He didn’t know whether they were dangerous. He did, however, know that they have more training than the men protecting his town, and probably more training than him. In that way they’re dangerous, because one charismatic soldier could easily supplant the Governor as leader of his town. He’s clearly not willing to take that chance. Maybe it’s a mad power grab. Or maybe he’s the only one he trusts to lead – he’s kept everyone safe so far, right? I hope it’s that. After all, all the best villains have some noble purpose. They’re the heroes of their story. (And what’s up with not revealing his name? I’m expecting him to be someone famous now. A criminal or politician maybe.)
On a random personal note: A professor from my law school has recently (very proudly) announced that he is going to be a zombie extra in an upcoming episode of The Walking Dead. He’s been friends with someone who works on the show for quite some time, and he got a call out of the blue asking if he’d like to do it. So, and I mean this in the best possible way, good for you Professor C! Looking forward to seeing you lurch around and possibly get stabbed in the eye!
To summarize: Not about the zombies; Norman Reedus is made of puppies; Governor is only Mostly Evil; stab Professor C in the eye.
The Walking Dead airs on AMC on Sundays, at 9/8 central.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
