Luke Kalamar – The Walking Dead
Let’s be honest here. You knew I was going to pick The Walking Dead for March’s Pop-5. Okay, it was actually a toss up between a few other really incredible programs, but my own fandom frequently gives The Walking Dead the edge. I have devoutly followed this show since the beginning after all and still actively read the comics on a monthly basis. No matter what people say, I will probably always find this material compelling.
It also helps that Season 5 was nothing short of incredible. This was the season that many critical viewers changed their opinions and began seeing the show as a legitimately entertaining character focused drama. For the first time since the premiere, The Walking Dead stopped using expertly detailed gore to keep viewers attached. Of course, the gore never went away, it got better actually, but the people we followed finally took precedence. We intimately witnessed their turmoil and developed actual connections, which made any future deaths that much more significant. Watching people die actually carried weight, as it should.
The specific episodes throughout March, “Remember” to “Conquer”, outlined this perfectly in the contrast between Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group and the idyllic Alexandria. From the very moment Aaron (Ross Marquand) brought them across the gate, their foreignness never left. It didn’t matter if they acclimated well like Carol (Melissa McBride) or began suffering from apparent PTSD like Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green). These people spent too long on the outside to really go back to pre-apocalypse society. A lot of conflict surrounded their inability to fit in, and some of the series heaviest moments came when they clashed. The gruesome brawl between Pete (Corey Brill) and Rick quickly comes to mind.
Blatantly declaring that Rick’s group was right overall, despite being completely predictable, was a welcomed twist to the typical zombie formula. How many people fight through the end of days in hopes of bringing life back to normal? As we saw in Alexandria, that normal is actually the worse option. All the citizens of Alexandria were completely complacent and unable to live in the new world. They were so focused on maintaining the old rules, that their collapse was inevitable. They were living, yes, but in complete denial with only a few shreds of reality. Rick brought that reality to them and their community can only move forward from that point. As it is frequently declared, honesty is the best policy, and there’s nothing more honest than admitting the world will never be the same.
It also helps that the inclusion of Alexandria makes me more excited than anything with this show. We’re still a season or so away, but Alexandria means that The Walking Dead is getting that much closer to its biggest paradigm shift. This also includes my all time favorite character within the series. I don’t want to say anything else to keep virgin minds from spoilers. I’m also really excited for the spinoff series Fear The Walking Dead that’s coming this summer. It’s about time Robert Kirkman focused on what happened in the immediate outbreak.
Season 6 cannot come soon enough.
Check out Luke Kalamar’s reviews of The Walking Dead
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