Does The Walking Dead NEED Villains? – Undead Walking

A funny thing happened a few days ago, after my article on the worst Walking Dead death of 2020, someone said how the death of a villain, be it good or bad, was, essentially, irrelevant because, people dont watch the shows for the villains, but the heroes. They said that the audience needs people to root for, and they need the villains to die.

I wont argue the second and third points, Hell, I dont even think I can argue them, because, if you dont care about the characters in a showwhy would you watch it? Any drama needs someone the audience cares about: Without such a character, its dead in the water.

But, the first point? Im not so sure about that. I mean, yes, we do watch shows for the hero(es) rather than the villain(s), but, without conflict, things become stagnant, and, for a TV showthats death.

I will be the first to say that The Walking Dead (to say nothing of its sister series) doesnt necessarily need a villain that Ricks group/the communities defeat at the end of a season, because, in the first season, there wasnt one. You could argue that Ed or Merle was (I even used them as two of my Most IrredeemableVillains list for that first season), but, neither of them posed any real threat to Rick, or the group at large, so, to say they were The Villains would be a bit of a stretch.

However, to say that the villains are, essentially, irrelevant? Thats just as much of a stretch.

The Governor (David Morrissey) The Walking Dead _ Season 4, Episode 6 Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

If you want a good idea of just how important a villain can be to The Walking Dead, look back at seasons three and four, both of which centered, largely, on Ricks groups war with The Governor. The Governor was a constant, looming presence throughout season three, and the first half of season four, and whose actions were the central jumping-off point for the actions of Ricks group, as well as their character development throughout the latter half of that season.

Even in season two of the show, while much slower paced than the succeeding two seasons, the drama was primarily driven by Shanes descent into madness, and the growing conflict between him and Rick, which came to a head in that seasons penultimate episode.

Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 11 Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

If those seasons, for whatever reason, did not have Shane or The Governor (Or anyone else) to serve as antagonists, the show would have gotten very boring, assuming it even made it to a third season, because there would have been no one to instigate conflict for Rick or the group.

There would still be walkers, obviously, but, having new characters be oblivious to the fact that they were dead (The way Hershel was in season two), couldnt go on forever, the same can be said for just randomly running into herds: It could be done here or there, but, without something else to pose a threat and mix things up, the walkers would have become stale, or the size of the herds the group would have to survive would have to reach ridiculous proportions, leading to diminishing returns.

If you want an idea of what The Walking Dead would look like without a villain, I think the closest we can get (beyond season one, which is a different animal because of its introductory nature) is season five of Fear The Walking Dead.

Colby Minifie as Virginia Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 13 Photo Credit: Van Redin/AMC

Yes, it did have villains, but, lets be honest: They were mostly hands-off during that season. Neither Logan nor Virginia presented themselves as any sort of ever-present threat, and most of the season focused on Morgans group meeting and collecting new people across Texas, and just trying to find a new home.

Virginia became a threat near the end of the season, but, just compare her threat level to that of say, The Governor, and you get an idea of how much moredistant of a villain she was. Throughout the entirety of season five, the only member of Morgans group to die is Tom, only in the second-to-last episode of the season, and not even directly. He dies when a bridge collapses because he didnt retreat with the rest of the group after Virginia drew a herd to them. In contrast, The Governor killed three members of Ricks group in season three of The Walking Dead, only one of them indirectly, stretching across the entire second half of that season.

Joe Massingill as Tom Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 15 Photo Credit: Van Redin/AMC

The point is: Season five of Fear waskind of boring. I did and will continue to defend the choice of having minimal protagonist deaths in that season as unique, because, I feel like the constant A person must die at every premiere/midseason/finale episode trick had been done far too much over a couple of years, but, that doesnt necessarily mean that having no deaths or not building to an appropriate death is inherently good, and, I feel like part of that problem came from that season feeling like the villainswerent really there.

Yes, we knew they were out there in the abstract, and there were a few run-ins with them, but, they werent a threat. Thats the whole point of a villain: To pose a threat to the hero(es), if they arent doing that, then, the story lacks urgency. The very reason I did my Worst Walking Dead Death of 2020 article was because the death in question made Beta feel like he wasnt that much of a threat, even though, throughout the rest of season ten of The Walking Dead, he had been the most frightening individual in the show! When there isnt a threat to deal with, dramas become hollow, and make them go from Must-see TV toCan-miss TV.

But, what do you guys think? Do you agree? Does The Walking Dead need villains? Would the shows be better or worse without them? Im curious to hear what you have to say.

And, if you enjoyed this and want to learn how to be your own hero in a zombie apocalypse (By keeping yourself alive), then why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can also get it at Amazonhere, on iTunes here!

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Does The Walking Dead NEED Villains? - Undead Walking