Walking Dead

Over the past week+, I’ve put aside the editing of Azazel, Book 3 of Jeremiah Stone, in favor of watching NFL football and The Walking Dead. It’s the second of these I wish to discuss.

Let me begin by saying I’ve enjoyed watching the series up to the current episode. In a way I was addicted to it for several days. On the other hand, I was also appalled with the nonsense of the show. It was absurd; not the premise, but rather the people. Their stupidity is unbelievable as they continually bring shame upon every writer I have dared to read. The fact they survive past the first few shows is almost more than I can stand and that is what I find so upsetting. The only way I can forgive this atrocity is the fact that if the characters were smarter then it’d be more a sitcom than a suspenseful TV series.

Now I could list most of the reasons why I believe this, but I’m not. Instead I’m only going focus on a single person and the absurdity of this person’s survival. The person I’m speaking of is Carl, the boy who pays no mind to his parents, wanders off on his own all the time, and blatantly disregards danger even though there are flesh-eating zombies all over the place. The sheer stupidity of this kid and his mother, who never knows where he is, push logic and sensibility completely out of the realm of possibility, especially concerning the boy’s survival. In fact, the only time the mother panics is when she can’t find her son in the middle of a zombie attack. Never mind the fact zombies are attacking all the time and she never knows where Carl’s at, but the nerve of her to suddenly care only when surrounded by danger makes me want to slap sense into her. 

This, of course, would occur after I take a belt to the kid’s behind because the child doesn’t listen to anyone and wanders away from the group all the time. In fact, nearly every time someone wanders off on their own something bad happens, yet when they stay together they survive. This alone would prompt me to always go somewhere in a group, but even though they know this they continue to separate themselves from each other.

Contrary to this, however, is Darrel, the hillbilly biker dude with the crossbow. He’s the only one of the group who has a proper head on his shoulders all the time. His presence within the group is the group’s only saving grace. Here-here for the single redneck out of them all who actually uses logic. And I must say it’s going to be the guys in the country with a trunk full of guns and ammo which carry on this nation if this should ever occur. It’s their ‘all for one and shoot the rest’ attitude which will likely prevail.

Now I understand all this is to create drama and suspense, but seriously! The writers should be chastised for making the common person appear so ignorant. Or maybe their message is to not act like these people (through continued repletion of the same theme) should this ever occur. Either way, they’re setting a bad example on how intelligent people would behave in a time of dire emergency.

Then again, after watching the people who stayed put during Hurricane Sandy and the devastation she wrought, it’s almost hard to believe intelligent people actually do exist.