Hi, everyone! It’s Story Sunday again and this week I’m writing about The Walking Dead. For all of you who have been waiting (myself included), season three continues tonight!
Honestly, the topic I’ve chose for today could have fit into Writing Wednesday but I think it works for Story Sunday as well. I was going to look at a specific arc in the show but I kept coming back to one idea, just how different The Walking Dead is from other zombie stories I’ve seen. So I decided to look at the beginning of the show, the world building that took place, and how a (somewhat) unresolved arc set the tone of the show.
In the first episode, Rick runs into a man named Morgan and his son named Duane. Morgan and Duane have a tragic story at the end of the world. Morgan’s wife turned into a zombie and at night she him and Duane can see her roaming around outside of their house. Morgan wants to kill his wife, he wants to put her out of her misery, but he can’t seem to do it. This kind of storytelling sets a personal tone for the story. Zombies aren’t chasing them through the streets, they’re not breaking through doors, though we find out later that they’re capable of such things. What the audience is shown initially is the emotional trauma of being left behind in this new world. Rick, who is only beginning his journey, doesn’t know the fate of his family. This begins another emotional arc for the main protagonist.
The Walking Dead isn’t just a survival story at all costs. The narrative focuses on the repercussions of actually living as a survivor in a world that’s a husk its former self.
In order to continue his journey, Rick leaves behind Morgan and Duane. This is kind of a strange thing for the show to do, but like I said before, it sets the tone for the show. Rick says that he’ll turn on his radio every morning at dawn. This gives the audience, and Rick, some hope that he’ll meet back up with Morgan and Duane. This arc isn’t really given much closer, it just fades away. Rick doesn’t see Morgan or Duane again. He doesn’t hear from them on the radio and he can only hope that they’ve survived. As Rick (and the audience) learns more about the world, the less likely their safety seems.
The writers established that in this world, you may need to leave people behind. Unlike many stories, leaving someone behind can be a permanent choice. The protagonist and the viewers may not get to see the resolution of every person they encounter along the way. For some things will end well, for others they’ll end terribly, and some people will just disappear without resolution.
Now it’s your turn. What did you think of the first episode? Were you hooked after just one episode? What other moments did you enjoy from the first season?