For some reason, I’m full of hot takes when it comes to The Walking Dead recently. As I examined why Negan was better when he was a real villain, I started thinking about other TWD baddies and their philosophies. With Negan really having been more of an anti-hero for longer than he was considered a villain, I wanted to look at some “true” bad guys in TWD and why they were right [about some things]. This article may come off as a little bit apologetic, but it is a fictional show. And…why not?
Here are three villains from The Walking Dead that were right about some things.
Shane Walsh
You know, as big of a Jon Bernthal fan as I am; that I, of course, have to be a Shane apologist. But, let’s be real – I always say this and so do plenty of others. Shane was absolutely right and if he had either survived until later or been introduced later, no one would have questioned his motives or methods. Rick pretty much became Shane in later seasons. Shane not only got Lori and Carl out of town, but he watched over them. He quickly adjusted to how things were and were realistic that things were never going back to the way they were. He didn’t adhere to old-world justification, because he knew that wasn’t going to help them.
And in the end, what was the one thing Shane told Rick? That he didn’t think Rick could keep Lori and Carl safe. And…well, even Negan said Carl’s death was on him [Rick]. So, Shane sounded pretty right to me.
Simon
You probably don’t think of Simon and right in the same sentence. Simon, played by Steven Ogg; formally played Negan’s right-hand man. That was until Simon started trying to usurp Negan and Negan killed him. Prior to that, Simon displayed both apathetic and violent behavior. He’s excessively killed many and wanted to kill more. So, you’re probably asking yourself, in what world was Simon right? He was right in his arguments against Negan. As I mentioned in my Negan article, Negan’s philosophies were unrealistic and unobtainable. Negan wanted to continue trying to get Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom in line, but it was never going to happen.
Simon was right when telling Negan that they needed to move on. None of the communities were going to fall back in line, especially after they teamed up with each other. Simon also was realistic, knowing what they did was extortion – whereas Negan lied to himself and tried to convince himself that what they were doing was beneficial to the groups they stole from. A villain who is honest with themselves about who they are is better than someone who overzealously believes they are some savior, while subsequently smashing people’s faces in with a baseball bat.
Simon was a bad guy, but in terms of war and the Saviors’ strategy, he had a point.
Gareth
Okay – I know what you’re saying. Tia, you’re out of pocket here. Tia, we’re talking about a cannibal here. What was Gareth right about? Listen, when talking about The Walking Dead, we have to implement survivalist tactics as opposed to modern-day morality. I don’t agree with Terminus and Gareth’s cannibalistic ways, obviously. The thing I do agree with Gareth on, however; is again, his adaptive mindset. Something that Rick and his group weren’t aware of was Gareth’s experience with monsters during the apocalypse. How people tortured and sexually assaulted his mother and others. So, Gareth and his crew decided on a way not only to exact revenge, but how to have a constant food supply.
Another thing that Gareth was right about and this goes into Shane’s philosophy, is that you can’t go back. Rick was still trying to hold onto old-world ways and Gareth was honest. It’s a dog eat dog world and Gareth saw first hand the ramifications of being too open to strangers. So, instead, Gareth developed his own strategy to enable his survival. It wasn’t the best one, but it was a Darwinistic approach to this new, anarchist world. Rick understood later the importance of acting first, but at this point, he still fell victim to old-world thinking.
What do you think about my list? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know!
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A girl with too many fandoms to count.
