I've been a fan of The Walking Dead television series since the very first episode. It's been a love/hate relationship for Season 2, but I enjoyed Sunday nights episode a lot. I still find some of the things that the characters do to be totally idiotic - but over all I enjoy the show.
This post contains spoilers, if you follow the series but haven't seen Sunday's episode yet.
There's been several blog posts elsewhere about something one of the characters did Sunday night. Most of the comments have been along the lines of "What a Douche bag...." Here's a very brief synopsis of the show and the circumstances surrounding the incident:
Zombie outbreak has occurred. A small group of uninfected people are trying to survive and find someplace safe and secure. The main character is a Sheriff who was in a coma during the beginning of the outbreak and awoke to find the world in turmoil and his wife and child missing. During his coma, his best friend and co-worker, Shane, had an affair with his wife and developed a relationship with his son. They had all given the Sheriff up as dead. They are all reunited in Season 1 and Shane backs off to do the right thing and allow the little family to get back together.
At one point, the Sheriff and his son are in the woods and the boy is accidentally shot by a hunter. The hunter is part of another small group that includes a Vet with medical training. The boy's condition is dire and he needs surgery to live. They decide that if they can get medical supplies from a zombie infested area the boy might have a chance. Without those supplies, the boy will die - Period.
Shane and the hunter who accidentally shot the boy, Otis, go to fetch the supplies and things soon go awry. Shane hurts his leg and is unable to run. Otis is a fat, out of shape guy who can't outrun the zombies either. They have the needed supplies, but the zombie horde is bearing down on them and they are down to their last rounds of ammo.
There is no way out. It looks like the zombies are going to get them. That's when Shane does the deed that is catching him so much flack. He looks at Otis - who is a really likeable guy even though he accidentally caused all this - says "I'm Sorry...." and then he puts a round in Otis' leg. The zombies all dive on the now helpless Otis to gobble him up and Shane is able to hobble away and take the supplies back to the injured boy whose life is saved as a result.
Ok.... did Shane do the right thing?
Some of the comments that I've read paint Shane as a coward for sacrificing Otis to the Zombies and escaping. I think that's ridiculous. If Shane was a coward he would have stayed at the RV or at the Farmhouse with the wounded boy or he would have bailed all togther at the highway and gone off on his own. Other comments seem to stem from people putting themselves in Otis' shoes, and how they wouldn't want someone on their team that would do what Shane did.
I tend to look at scenarios like this and imagine what I would do if I were there.
Fact: There's about 30 zombies gaining on you. They WILL catch you if something doesn't shift the balance.
Fact: You have the medical supplies with you that could make the difference between a young boy you love living or dieing.
Fact: The guy you're with is responsible for the situation you and the boy are in.
Yes, Otis is likeable. Yes, wounding the boy was an accident. Yes, Otis is trying to "make things right".
None of that changes the base fact that if you don't get the medical supplies back to the farmhouse the boy you've come to think of as your son will die.
This isn't even close to a difficult decision for me. I actually made the analysis and the call seconds before Shane shot Otis in the leg. I'd be sorry that it came to that, but given the exact same circumstances that Shane found himself in - I would have made exactly the same call. No bones about it. Change some of the circumstances and a different conclusion would be reached by me. No boy waiting supplies? Then you stick with your partner and fight to the death with the zombies. Find yourself with your Wife or other loved one and you certainly go down together if there's no other choice. Faced with a choice between loved one and stranger where someone definitely has to die, though?.... Otis has to go.
Is it cold? Yep. Would I have wanted to be Otis and have someone sacrifice me to the zombies? Nope.
When it comes to protecting the ones that I love though, there's very little that I wouldn't do. Period. Some may consider Shane a bastard for what he did.... but the boy and his parents probably wouldn't. I don't either. I'm perfectly comfortable being a Bastard if thats what it takes to keep my loved ones safe. People in those circumstances who aren't capable of making hard calls like that need to give up and get eaten or stay at the relative safety of the farmhouse, IMO.
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9 comments:
I agree with you...it had to be done. I'd still feel bad.
I'm with you on that one. It's 101 in how to survive the zombie appocoypse (if you try to help your family that is).
Replace zombie with any other danger and It's still the same. My kid (bio or not) would be my priority.
The way I see it, Otis knew the risk when he went in. He knew that there was a possibility that the zombies would get him, and he might very well die. So he didn't factor in what the other dude would do - he went in knowing that he may not come out and wanted to save the boys life. Done and done.
Here's the ugly thing that people can't wrap their heads around: Shane has already transitioned to a post-apocalypse, survivor mindset. The rest of them, with the possible exception of Darryl, haven't.
Shane realized as soon as the Walkers were dominating events that the rules of civilization were out the window, so sorry Rick, enjoy your coma in the hospital with the zombies, and by the way, yer wife's really hot... Hey, dude, gonna beat the crap out of yer wife, think I'll beat the crap out of you! Damn, can't get Lori with Rick back in the scene, maybe I should just shoot him; Oops, just joking, Dale, ha ha! Lori, you know you want it, you hot bitch... Otis: sorry man, sucks to be ya... Better cut my hair so I'm harder to grab, whoa, look at the ol' abs...
Bob - Shane's definitely got some issues ;)
Under the circumstances his approach to things is closer to what would get someone through times like that though (unwanted sexual advances aside). At least more readily than the weeping, navel contemplation the others are prone to. He struggles with it, though. The guilt may get him and lead him to become erratic and slingshot too far into the Mad Max end of the spectrum.
Daryl has been a bright spot in the group this season, for me. His reactions seem to kind of mirror mine - When he looks at the others you can almost hear him thinking, "How the hell did any of you manage to stay alive this long?"
Stephen - Yep. Difficult thing to do and it will probably haunt him as it would me.
Xmichra - Mama Bears should not be underestimated. I pity the zombie that threatens Mrs. Paladin's family :)
Here's my complaint about the whole show. The world is ended. There are brand new 4WD trucks with winches, military vehicles, tow trucks, etc. just sitting around. Get these people thinking and into something suitable for the situation.
And the guns. Shotguns, revolvers and a couple of bolt action rifles? Really? And the leaders of the little band are still playing "I'm the only one..."? Every single person, right down to the children should be carrying a magazine fed rifle and a handgun. In that situation, if the group leader decided I didn't rate a weapon, I would turn and start walking, checking cars for weapons as I went. They should have belt fed 30 cal. weapons in the pickups, or military Humvees with turrets.
The idea of not firing because the noise attracts more zombies is cool. Starting to build silencers and doing some testing needs to be in an upcoming show. I like it because it does complicate things.
They are supposed to be in Georgia after the collapse. Do you not think every other vehicle in that traffic jam would have weapons? Every little town have a couple of gun shops? Every bigger town have a National Guard armory?
ASM826 - Heh.. You and I are of like mind :) I drive Ms. Paladin nuts sometimes when we watch shows like this. There they are, sitting in the open with hundreds of vehicles all around (most of which have the keys in them) and they are going to waste time trying to fix the stupid RV that breaks down ever other episode???
She just patiently looks at me and says..."Its a TV show, Dear."
If there is enough "good" stuff in a show to entertain me, I'm willing to overlook the sometimes glaring dumbass moments. They have to meet me half-way, though.
I love how this show leaves the viewer with no easy answers. In one bullet we see how far someone will go to survive especially in a world where you have to be quiet lest the walkers find you. Ottis didn't needs or deserve to die. He was the lamb that sacrified the new person that Shane will become. Definately one of my favorite shows. You should seek out the black and white graphic novels. They are pretty great reads too
Cal - I have a friend that has read them. I'm planning on checking them out after the series has run its course. I don't want to risk "reading ahead" so that I'm not surprised as things develop on the show.
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