In Praise of The Walking Dead

I have never been a fan of horror drama, but the consistent praise I heard about The Walking Dead TV show currently enthralling audiences intrigued me. My college aged son introduced me to the series, and I hesitantly checked it out, not being a fan of zombies as an aesthetic squeamish sort. My curiosity soon gently shoved aside any initial nauseous feelings I had when seeing walkers or zombies meet their unnatural state's graphic second demise. I began to notice the great acting, the very convincing cinematography, the suffocating isolation the plague forces upon the protagonists and their entourage, the sincere and powerful dilemmas the characters face. I have seen my share of dystopian movies, and many of them are entertaining and clever. The Walking Dead is in a class all its own. It is normal to develop sympathies for certain characters when watching a series over a large number of seasons, but I notice that with this show I feel like I am one of the actors, like I can choose one or various actors and put myself there as them. I think it is because these actors are all so very talented, from Danai Gurira to Norman Reedus to Andrew Lincoln, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, and Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jon Bernthal, Scott Wilson , David Morrissey, Michael Rooker, and Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, IronE Singleton. The acting is superb, because the characters they portray become part of us, in the sense that we feel their dilemmas credible, possible to our hearts and minds, were we to be in their awful positions. It is not just that an empathy develops for their excruciatingly precarious and horrific circumstances and challenges, but you feel like this is all happening to you as a viewer as well. You feel right there beside them. These actors play people that up to this point had led very ordinary lives of very little consequence or magnitude, and who find themselves delving deep into their resilience, their ability for courage, leadership, ingenuity, strength, compassion, many of them surprising and surpassing themselves. The villains too have a depth of character that is hard to dismiss or ignore, no matter how loathsome their goals and methods, we are fascinated by them. The usual clearly delineated categories of good and evil become very blurred at times, and that hesitancy, that doubt wreaks havoc and destruction, both physically and emotionally. The show asks moral questions in a brutally honest way asked by ordinary people put under mind and body breaking stress and chaos. Most of them are able to hang on to their humanity. Others fail miserably and horribly, but always with the weight and pathos of a Shakespearean character. The characters of Shane ( Jon Bernthal ) and the Governor ( David Morrissey ) are haunting, in the destruction their deranged egos create, both being monsters whose obsessions tragically impact  people's lives and deaths. The psychopathology of the ones who get lost in their delusions, like Shane and the Governor, is portrayed in great and patient and credible detail. The heroic characters are portrayed with equal depth, showing the evolution of their insight, determination and courage. Rick Grimes ( Andrew Lincoln ), Dale Horvath ( Jeffrey DeMunn ), Glenn Rhee ( Steven Yeung), Daryl Dixon  ( Norman Reedus ), Hershel Greene ( Scott Wilson ),  Carol Peletier ( Melissa McBride ), Maggie Greene ( Lauren Cohan ), the formidable Michonne ( Danai Gurira ).  All are people who found a deep core of impressive resilience, determination, intelligence, compassion and courage that perhaps under ordinary circumstances would have remained dormant. They make us believe, want us to believe we would equally rise to the occasion. They are inspiring but in an attainable, believable way. They give us hope. We may not have to deal with walking dead ( yet... ) but this stressful, unpredictable world with its many challenges socially, politically and globally gives most of us pause. The actors portraying the strong characters in The Walking Dead give us a scenario where we could make the best of very uneven odds. The writing by Frank Darabont, Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore is brilliant. This is one comic book series that Robert Kirkman as the originator transformed into a very smart TV show that is truly impressive in every way. As one who joined The Walking Dead enthusiasts a bit late, and is only halfway season three, I am riveted and eager to catch up to the current season seven in this outstanding show.