FIRST WORLD PROBLEM
Layce and I were on our way to the store. We’d been binging watching the The Walking Dead. I have a current fascination with zombies. This was new for me. Usually scary, bloody, intense violent stuff was difficult for me to watch. I would have to put a blanket over my head and plug my ears until the bad stuff was over. With this series I’d grown hardened and left off my blanket.
I’ve been analyzing the series. I thought I should share my thoughts with Layce. We did have a ten minute drive to the store. I could cover a lot in ten minutes.
I started with my analyses of the major protagonist. “You know, I feel that Rick’s indecisiveness has been a real factor in putting the group at risk and in some cases has caused the death of certain characters. His morals keep appearing at the wrong moments. He makes one decision and then changes his mind as in the case of Merl and then later on with Michonne.
I glanced over at Layce. She didn’t say anything. I figured she was fascinated by my analysis.
I continued. “His morals about what Carol did to stop the epidemic wasn’t that much different than leaving Merl, despite his not-so-nice demeanor, chained on that roof. Then he decides he’s got to go back and save him which once again puts the group at risk. He decides to hand Michonne over to the Governor on the chance that the Governor will not attack them. Really? Hand her over to be tortured and then killed on a chance. That’s his decision. Thank God he changed his mind, but it was too late. Merl, despite being a southern racist, did the right thing by releasing Michonne. What does that say about Rick?”
No comment from Layce.
“I’m also amazed at the ability of people to still fall in love. Look at Glenn and Maggie. And then there’s the need for companionship and how complete strangers grow to become a family. The things that often times divide people such as race, creed, sexual orientation are no longer an issue. The need to survive trumps everything.”
No comment from Layce.
I continued. “Then there’s the ability of humans to adapt, the drive to keep the human race from extinction. How the human brain assesses problems and find solutions in order to establish group cohesiveness and create communities.”
No comment from Layce.
“The one thing that bothers me though is the lack of cleanliness. Why don’t they get new clothes every time they go raiding? I mean just change your shirt when you find clothes and leave your dirty stuff behind.”
“The hierarchy of needs,” Layce responded.
“Oh, my God, you are so right. Having water, finding food and safe shelter, trying to quell the daily terror by living in the moment, dealing with the loss of loved ones and striving to keep PTSD at bay. Overcoming the tragedy of murder to sustain one’s own group when threatened. Rick’s questioning of newcomers. ‘How many zombies have you killed and how many people have you killed?’ Those are pertinent questions to establish the truth and honesty of any incoming member to the group.”
We arrived at the store. Layce glanced in the rearview mirror and then down at her outfit. I thought she must be pondering the nature of the quintessential questions that my ten minute analysis of The Walking Dead produced. She looked over at me. I waited anxiously for her words of wisdom concerning the show.
“Does this scarf match my outfit?”
“Were you listening to anything I said?”
“All ten minutes of it,” she said, and got out of the car.
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