Let me start by saying that I used to be one of Andrea’s greatest supporters. Today, I throw all my loyalties aside and stubbornly concede that Andrea Must Die. Before you start judging me, please take the time to hear me out.
In Season 1, Andrea was the single last bastion to feminism
in the misogynistic world of The Walking Dead. All the other female characters were content with staying in
the kitchen and spending their time cooking and cleaning for their man. Andrea was the only woman who took any
interest in the fatal art of fighting and shooting a gun. When Andrea was separated from the
group in the last episode of Season 1, I nearly cried tears of despair. I was certain that Andrea would meet a
bitter end, until Michonne, all samurai-femme- fatale saved Andrea from being
zombie lunch.
Then came Season 2.
Et tu, Andrea? I know it’s
not possible since Andrea is a fictional character, but I feel that she
violently betrayed me. The
character that I once held so dear has now become a weak-willed strumpet whose backbone
instantly disintegrates once she is in the company of male supervillains. Though when she slept with Shane, I
forgave her … I mean c’mon, it’s the Zombie apocalypse. There really aren’t that many male suitors
to choose from. However, when she began
filling her lonely nights (yes, the pun was intentional) with her dear Philip
(aka the Governor), I found my eyebrows tighten in frustration and my mouth
grimace with disapproval.
Even so, I still was an Andrea supporter. In fact, I was in pure Andrea denial
until the night the Governor was attacked by Michonne and caught weeping and
holding the remains of zombie Penny in his loving arms surrounded by a pool of hungry
zombie heads. Throughout the whole
confrontation, Andrea’s loyalty to the Governor never waned. It was at that point that my allegiance to
Andrea was severed.
In the last episode of The Walking Dead, “I Ain’t A Judas,”
Andrea is finally confronted by the group about her actions. Michonne, in as much an emotional
exchange as she can manage, basically calls out Andrea for choosing Foes before
Hoes by saying “You chose a warm
bed over a friend.”
Andrea’s loyalty in the group is finally tested when Carol,
of all people, tells Andrea to assassinate the Governor in his sleep. This is essentially Andrea’s last
chance to redeem herself as a useful human being. Does Andrea do it?
Of course not. After
bedding the Governor into a love coma, Andrea wimps out, allowing the Governor
to continue his reign of terror for another day. The biggest question I have for Andrea at this point
is: What do you see in that crazy
psychopath anyway? Andrea knows
the Governor is not a good guy (to put it lightly), yet she continues to stand
by him (or under him). My only
guess is that the Governor must be one hell of a snog, pirate patch or no.
I know that the TV Show often takes liberties with the plot
of The Walking Dead graphic novel, but I hate what the TV Show writers have
done with my beloved character. In
the comic book, Andrea continues to be a strong supporter of the group with the
utmost loyalty to Rick, Dale (yes, Dale survives for a long time in the comic
book), Michonne, and the rest of the prison gang. The contrast between the TV Show Andrea and the comic
book Andrea is enough to make a fan weep.
With that said my sympathy for TV Show Andrea has been tried
and tested enough for one season.
There is only so much frustration a loyal fan can take. It is time for Andrea to become one
with the universe and die already.
How about you? Do you dislike Andrea as much as I
do? Why do you think the Governor
allowed Andrea to leave Woodbury for the prison and then return?
Zombie Penny for your thoughts… please comment below.
Zombie Penny for your thoughts… please comment below.
Recommended links:
Movie review of Warm Bodies - Awesome vs. Awful column
Seven Sociopaths: A Game Review of The Cave
Book review of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
You got your seasons wrong, but, I totally understand.
ReplyDeleteThanks... for the slight insult... and sort of compliment. =)
ReplyDeleteMy only complaint about this season was the fire fight between the Govenor and bodyguards vs. the Sheriff and friends. There was a lot of firepower being thrown and people standing in the open not getting hit. Oh but when it comes to zombies coming into the mix--head shot, head shot, head shot.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! The Walking Dead series definitely has some unrealistic blunders like the one you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteTWD went down the crapper after S1 for me.
ReplyDeletePretty much all of S1 was brilliant, from the gripping introduction to the world of the series to the chilling special effects and the character development and very human responses of the main characters. And there was also a lot of zombies and plenty of action around, so there was something for everyone and I really felt like no moment of the series was wasted. Nothing felt tiresome or like filler and pretty much every episode had a compelling story that linked to the overarching narrative in some form. It was, IMO, TV as it should be.
S2 was, with a few exceptional moments (Carl being shot, Shane's character development into a villain and death) tedious and just full of filler in general. It also, for me, indicated the point where the writters inexplicably went 180° and the quality of the writting (for the characters) took a turn for the worse. Lori for example went from an understandably emotional mother and wife with flaws but who deeply loved her family, to a hysterical shrew incapable of the most basic tasks (Like say, focus on the road while driving).
By the time season 3 rolled in I was cautiously optimistic. I have to recognize at least the show isn't boring anymore, it's just full of stupid, unlikeable characters that barely resemble the ones from season 1. Quite frankly if this was meant to somehow be a consequence of the end of the world, the comic did this one way better. Even if this wasn't the case, the writters eggregious overuse of the idiot ball, hamfisted foreshadowing and just hacky writting in general made me not want to watch it anymore.
And honestly? The writters of the show seem to have some real issues with women in general. Not "Frank Miller" bad, but still...