During the zombie apocalypse, we can talk all we want about the physical demands it has. You can go days without eating or showering. You may have to walk hundreds of miles every few days. The elements and weather will be extremely draining. All of these factors are important to think about but how about the mental aspect of living through the zombie apocalypse? As a survivor, every day you need to make decisions for yourself (as well as possible survivors you have with you) that can impact your well being. At some point this has to become exhausting and lead to an unstable mind. A recent example of a survivor losing their mind is Rick from the Walking Dead.
The Walking dead has recently came back on the air and the 2nd half of season 3 has kept up with the momentum of the first half. The governor is hell bent on revenge, Daryl must now choose between his brother and his friends, and a new group has emerged at the prison. However, the most interesting story arch is Rick's mental state. To this point in the series, Rick has been the rock of the main survivor group. He has made all the decisions and done everything he could to protect them. However, ever since his wife died in child birth, something has switched in his mind. He is beginning to see things that obviously aren't there. The most recent is him seeing his deceased friend Shane during the gun fight with Woodbury and now he has come into contact with what we think is his dead wife. He has completely gone off the deep end. But we have to ask ourselves, can we blame him?
For however long he has been surviving the apocalypse, Rick has been the heart and soul of his group. he had over a dozen people counting on him every day and hanging on his every word. To have that many people counting on you has to be stressful. Especially when people start to die which is inevitable during the Zombie Apocalypse. That has to be tiring on your mental psyche. He also has the thought in his head that his new born daughter may not be his but instead Shane's (who had intercourse with his wife when they believed Rick was dead). Now we can plainly see the kink in Rick's armor. He is beginning to lose control of his group. I don't know if he can handle dissension because until now everyone has listened to him. It may lead to his mental downfall. We know Rick can handle the physical hardships, but can he survive the mental side of the Zombie Apocalypse? We can only wait and see.
Thats interesting. Not only have you just survived a brutal, bloody, and unimaginable series of events but now that you have survived what is left? There is no way your mental state would not be shaken. Maybe many people would have PSD, having seen horrific world consequences and to think about the things they had to do to survive. Watching your loved ones turn into zombies, having to kill other zombies in a pretty brutal way, and literally fighting everyday to survive. In some ways I think you would loose a piece of yourself, and would never be able to return to who you once were.
ReplyDeleteIt's too early to say for sure what it means yet, but we're seeing three different models/modes of leadership, too:
ReplyDelete1) Rick (increasingly unstable and an asshole)
2) The Governor (tyrannical, but effective in keeping his people safe)
3) Tyrese (who is responsible for far fewer people, but he seems likable and stable)
It's always been interesting to me that the Governor in the series is different from the Governor in the books. I've always assumed this was to heighten the conflict in the viewers between Rick and the Gov. Now, with Tyrese stepping up (and getting kicked out, thus really becoming the leader of his group), we have even more to throw into the mix.
What do all of you WALKING DEAD fans think?
It seems like the Governor may have already gone off the deep end and is just investing all his energy (and craziness) into Woodbury. Rick may or may not be on his way there. It seems like everyone loses so many people that at some point they just stop caring.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is really hard to say what is going to happen for sure and that we are most likely in for a lot of twists this season. We watch this giant conflict unfold between the different groups of survivors as well as watch the zombies become less and less of a threat and have a role within the story. It is almost getting to the point to where groups of zombies and zombie hordes pose less of a threat than they did. Due to this, I predict two things might happen. First, during this season there will be some type of large zombie invasion, that will really change the world they live in. Second, like other zombie literature we had read, the walking dead will begin to regain some type of agency and will begin to, in a very small aspect, work together and strategize an attack.
ReplyDelete