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Mia West
Professor Eubanks
English 101
November 13, 2014
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead first premiered in 2010, setting the scene of America in postapocalyptic tragedy, and a group of survivors attempting to find salvation. This TV series is
based off of the comic book series, and is still going on today in its 5th season. With The
Walking Deads use of character evolution, memorable graphics and unique plot twists in every
episode its no wonder The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows on television
today.
Whats so great about The Walking Dead is director Frank Darabonts use of character
evolution. Season one starts off with main character, Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes waking up
from a coma in an abandoned hospital, over-run by walkers. Rick must now take on what is
happening in his world today and find his wife, Lori and son, Carl. I think it was very clever to
make Grimess character a sheriff instead of just an average guy with an average job. We view
sheriffs, and others in law enforcement as leaders and we think that they have a certain amount
of power, but as we watch the first season of The Walking Dead we can see that Grimes lacks
just that.
Season four is when Grimes leadership ability really evolves and he understands what he
has to do in order to keep everyone alive and safe. The group of survivors that Grimes has
traveled with includes his son Carl, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Carol, Beth, Michonne and Hershel,
with other minor characters that were introduced later in the show. This group has questioned

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Grimes ability to lead them and they form a council to determine who is best fit for the role.
After many obstacles that the survivors faced they realize that Rick really is the best leader for
their group. Season one to season four Rick has evolved to become what everyone needed. He
knew what it would take to be a leader because before this tragedy unfolded, being a leader was
his occupation. However, Erik Kain who writes for Forbes disagrees, he says that Rick has
become in many ways the anti-hero (www.forbes.com). He then went on to say that he doesnt
believe Ricks transformation from good sheriff to angry dictator. However I disagree with
Kains statement. I think that Ricks transformation from good sheriff to angry dictator was
very believable and made the show such a success. If Rick continued being a mediocre leader
like he was in the first season, the group probably wouldnt still be alive and wouldnt be as
interesting to watch.
Darabonts use of character evolution has a purpose in this show and we see it through
many different characters. Besides Ricks evolution, Carl goes through a change himself. In the
first season we see him as just a little boy, frightened at the new world he now has to face but
each season he grows to be a stronger man. There were many kids that were introduced on this
show, but unlike the rest of them, Carl knows the difference between a walker and a person
and never hesitates to take either out if necessary. Another important evolving character is Carol.
In season one, Carol was a wife in an abusive marriage and played mother hen to everyone after
her daughter went missing. In the episode The Grove Carol got many positive reviews for her
work, showing that she isnt a weak woman but a force to be reckoned with. Andrew Lincoln,
who plays Rick Grimes in TWD called Melissa McBride (Carol) a rare talent, adding, the
fans knew it quite some time ago... but it's wonderful that she had the opportunity and had that
incredible episode to show what she is more than capable of doing (www.ibtimes.com). This

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use of character evolution is the reason why we watch the show and root for certain characters
and call them our favorites.
The Walking Dead revolves around flesh-eating zombies. Matthew Gilbert who writes
for the Boston Globe says, Theyre not sexy creatures, these zombies (www.boston.com).
These zombies have bodies stiff with rigor mortis, skin hanging off their bloodied faces, mouths
chomping pointlessly. They have vacant eyes, no souls (www.boston.com), Gilbert says. By no
means are these zombies cute and cheesy, but rather frightening. They are the reason why we
cover our eyes and say I cant watch! The graphics are one of the top reasons why this show
has such a huge fan base and every new season catches millions of viewers. Fans wouldnt tune
in every Sunday if the graphics werent up to par and didnt give us that feeling like we are
actually in the show running away from the terrifying flesh-eaters. In season 4 of TWD a very
graphic fight scene broke out between Rick and a tough group of men who had an earlier run in
with Rick, Michonne, and Carl. This group holds Rick, Michonne, and Carl hostage, but ends
with Rick ripping open the leader of the groups throat, killing him instantly and then stabbing
the man, who was harming Carl, to death. We then see a close up of Rick with blood coated in
his beard and all over his face. This scene had fans talking for days and we later found out on an
episode of The Talking Dead that Andrew Lincoln accomplished that scene by having a mouth
full of fake blood and raw chicken to make that scene believable. Well done graphics in a show
is one thing, but to make them memorable and have fans raving about them is another. It is in my
opinion, one of the numerous reasons why this show has become so successful.
In addition to character evolution and memorable graphics, The Walking Dead does a
great job at creating plot twists in every episode. This show is all about suspense and leaving you
on the edge of your seat and Darabont and his team accomplishes that by using plot twists so that

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we never know what is going to happen next. The creators of the show are smart by doing this
because fans of the show will tune in each week to see if what they hope will happen actually
does. In season four, after the fight between the Governor and Rick, the survivors were separated
from each other in small groups, all making their way to Terminus which was supposed to be a
sanctuary for all. After all members of the survivor group saw signs posted for Terminus they
all thought that this was going to be the fresh start that they needed and they were finally going
to be safe. This also left the fans of the show thinking the same thing. After all of the survivors
finally found their way to Terminus they noticed that something just wasnt right. They were
then forced to surrender their weapons and ordered into a railroad car by Terminus leader,
Gareth. Douglas Cobb who writes for Liberty Voice expressed what he thought of Terminus,

The little bit we saw of terminus at the end of this episode of The Walking Dead made it
seem like a peaceful haven, a sort of 1960s hippy commune, where all is peace and love
(guardianlv.com). However, Season four ended with everyone in the railroad car, plotting their
escape from the Terminus people. This event was something that no one saw coming. Everyone
was under the assumption that all obstacles that they have faced up until that very moment when
they saw the signs for Terminus, was going to be behind them. You couldnt help but feel bad for
them. These survivors who have made it this far just cant catch a break and find a stable home.
This plot twist was one of the biggest twists that the show has ever had. It kept viewers watching
and wanting more because we were rooting for Ricks group to make it through.
In my opinion The Walking Dead is one of the best shows on television today. It is
more than just a show with zombies chasing after you. Nancy Smith, who writes for the online
Wall Street Journal says, What makes "The Walking Dead" so much more than a horror show is
that it plays with theatrical grandeur, on a canvas that feels real, looks cinematic and has an

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orchestral score to match (online.wsj.com). Despite my beliefs on thinking that this is the most
exhilarating and intense show on television today, Pablo Ruiz who wrote a review on The
Walking Dead on hypable.com says that TWD, not only runs away from intelligent visual
storytelling but focuses on lengthy moral debates presented to us through dialogue instead of
action (www.hypable.com). He later goes on to say that Darabont needed to make the
characters more unlikeable and that Carl is the most interesting character. I disagree with
Ruizs comment. In my opinion Carl is one of the most aggravating characters, do to his I-knoweverything attitude, he consistently makes mistakes and puts others in danger because of it.
Because this show is so controversial, not everyone is going to like it. The zombies in this show
are often compared to the zombies of World War Z and Shaun of the Dead, but in my
opinion, this show cannot possibly be compared to those movies. First of all, Shaun of the
Dead was a comedy movie making fun of the zombie apocalypse, and as for World War Z,
this movie, while being one of my favorites, was made after The Walking Dead and was far
from the same. The zombies in WWZ were very different from the walkers in TWD. They
were faster, more super-human and less gruesome than what we see in TWD.
In conclusion, my opinion is that TWD is one of the best shows on television today
because of Darabonts use of character evolution, which make fans have a favorite, memorable
graphics that are sometimes enough to give you nightmares and unique plot twists that always
seem to keep me on the edge of my seat and constantly leave me wanting more. To be such a
successful show and continue making each season more impressive and graphically pleasing than
the previous, these elements are definitely needed.

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Works Cited

Cobb, D. (2014, March 23). Guardian Liberty Voice | Breaking news, movie and TV reviews,
and original content covering US news, politics, entertainment, sports, world news,
technology, health, science, opinion, and blogs. The Walking Dead Us Arrival at Terminus
(Recap/Review). Retrieved from http://guardianlv.com
Darabont, F. (Director). (2010). The Walking Dead [Television series]. AMC.
Gilbert, M. (2010, October 29). Boston, MA news, breaking news, sports, video | Boston.com.
Retrieved from http://www.boston.com
International Business Times. (2014, June 26). International Business Times - International
Business News, Financial News, Market News, Politics, Forex, Commodities. Retrieved
from http://www.ibtimes.com/
Kain, E. (2013, December 2). 'The Walking Dead Review': How Season 3 Went Wrong.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com
Ruiz, P. (2013, April 16). Hypable Breaking entertainment news, photos, videos, and more
"Why 'The Walking Dead' is a bad series" [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://www.hypable.com
Smith, N. D. (2010, October 22). The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News, Business, Financial
and Economic News, World News & Video - Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com Everything
Old is New Again. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com