We Are The Walking Dead: Survival of the Will and the Persistence of Empathy
Disclaimer: This piece contains spoilers for The Walking Dead and mention of gore and sexual violence.
The story of The Walking Dead does not intend to simply scar us with their vision of the zombie, a grotesque skeletalcreature (usually) tearing into living beings, some holding our hearts in their hands as they are destroyed. The intentioninstead is to force ourselves to reflect on the question: what would we decide to do if we were forced into that verysituation?
The human will can only be pushed so far before it breaks. But how far can it be pushed? The characters in TWD must hold tightly onto their own moral compass as they get into life and death situations. Choices such as when Rick bit out someone's throat to save Carl from being raped, or when Carol blew up an oxygen tank with fireworks and a machine gun to save the entire crew from being slaughtered and eaten by cannibals.
The horrific, unimaginable scenarios that the complicated, determined characters are put into shows us how much the will can bend for different people. Each character is deeply complex with flaws and contradictions that facilitate a love hate, yet very relatable in a human way, relationship with the viewer. We watch them make choices in the hardest situations they have ever faced—situations we will most likely never have to be in—and we see the consequences of their choices descend throughout the show.
A major scenario that nailed the largest, rustiest nail into the coffin that is the show’s theme—asking ourselves if we can make the choices we make to survive, no matter the cost—was the death of Glenn. Abraham’s beating by Negan and Lucille seemingly sealed Rick and the gang’s fate as Negan’s loyal subjects, but the twist that was Glenn’s death brought into light that our choices will always have consequences, especially those made from anger and fear.
But the choices made out of empathy—those are the ones with the ripples that branch out forever in families, in relationships, and with our enemies. If it’s in our human nature to have empathy and want to help others survive, how much can this natural instinct endure? How far can we truly be pushed until our empathy can no longer override the hard shell of pain tragedy leaves us with?
Even after all the pain and death Negan brought upon Rick and his family, Rick decided not to kill Negan. “May my mercy prevail over my wrath” is what he repeats in a whisper while sitting under the tree where he slit Negan’s throat then had him saved, the painted glass shard Rick used slick with blood still tight in his grip. After all that Rick endured, after all the hard choices he had to make, he held on to his moral compass, held on to his empathy, and let those guide his choices. Not all the characters could do this, but those who lost their empathy after countless life and death choices, teach us even more so to hold on to our own.
Cover Photo by Deadline. Edited by Madison Case.
