The Walking Dead shuffles back for a new season tonight. After a wild third season, I have to wonder what more can these expanded group of survivors endure. My guess? A lot more. I think Rick did the right thing by allowing the Woodbury refugees into the prison. The look on Carl’s face after he shot the young man working for The Governor says it all. He’s willing to defend the group, but as Gandalf once said to Bilbo, “True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.” In this new world it’s all about making choices along with simple survival.
It’s hard to describe what kind of hero’s journey Rick has in this series, but he does have a hero’s arc. The world he knows has gone, along with the sense of order he swore to maintain as sheriff. We see the breakdown of Rick after his dictatorial method laid down at the end of season two, begins to fall a part. It’s interesting how The Governor and Rick seem a little a like. These are two husbands and fathers, each seeing their world fall a part before their eyes, and both chose different paths. For Phillip, The Governor, it’s the path of merciless control, while Rick realizes community provides a path to some sanity.
Much has been written about The Walking Dead from its success to yet another change in show runners as Scot Gimple takes over Glen Mazarra, who took over from the show’s creator Frank Darabont. Adweek kicked off a new angle as they discovered The Walking Dead is a hit among women. No this is not about Daryl Dixon’s muscular arms crossbow, though personally I like Rick, it’s more about enduring a hostile world and sometimes not having all the answers. Personally, I don’t know what people have against Andrea and Lori. I sometimes wonder if they represent a wife, sister, or girlfriend in their real lives and it feels good to unload on a couple of fictional female characters. I admit to talking back tot he TV as Andrea got snugly with The Governor. He’s nuts and we know it, but that’s why it’s called dramatic irony in drama. We, the audience, know something the characters don’t, but we have this fourth wall (or is that third?) between us and the character.
Speaking of dramatic irony, the still portray a time jump as the prison builds itself a nice little community. Tonight we get to see how fast things can go to hell in hand basket. My bet is not very long.
Unpaused Life 