Shane Walsh: # 8

Shane Walsh

Actor Biography

Shane Walsh is played by Jon Bernthal, who was born September 20th, 1977. Benthal was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He left the United States and went to study at The Moscow Art Theatre School which is (predictably) in Moscow, Russia. After spending some time at the school in Moscow, he attended the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at the American Repretory Theatre. He graduated from there in 2002 and after that, performed in over 30 plays.

Bernthal has also appeared in many tv shows and movies. He made appearances in shows such as "How I met your Mother" and "The Pacific".

Who was he before the Apocalypse?

Before the apocalypse began Shane was a police officer alongside Rick Grimes, his best friend. He and Rick grew up together in King County, Georgia. While Rick was a laid back guy, Shane was known more as a womanizer and never married, unlike Rick. After high school Shane and Rick signed up with the police force together and worked as local deputies in King County.

During this time, Shane became close with Rick's family. After the Apocalyptic outbreak and Rick's apperent death, Shane took it upon himself to take care of Lori and Carl. He led them out of King County and towards Atlanta, all the while keeping them from harm. After seeing Atlanta get bombed by military helicopters, Shane, along with some people met on the road, set up camp in a quarry on the outskirts of Atlanta.

During this time, Shane fell in love with Lori and Lori, feeling desperate and alone, seemed to fall in love with Shane. The two began to develop an intimate relationship.

The group stayed there for a little over a month. Rick eventually arrived out of the blue surprising everyone, most of all Shane, who had left Rick at the hospital thinking he was dead. His return brought mixed emotions for Shane. On the one hand, his lifelong best friend had returned but on the other hand, it left Shane as the odd man out in the love triangle that had formed. Being the great friend that he was, Shane backed off and let Lori and Rick be together. Shane and Lori kept their affair a secret.

Personality and Progression

At the start of the show, he is like the second protagonist. Before Rick returned to the group, Shane had been the leader. The group looked up to him and followed his lead. After Rick's return, Shane fell back and let him take control, becoming an effective "second-in-command". When Rick made a decision, Shane respected it and made sure the others followed his lead properly.

As the show progressed, Shane began to lose all feelings of guilt, shame and moral goodness. Instead, he began to care about nothing except the safety and survival of  himself and those he loved. 

He slowly turned into the Antagonist by losing his concept of guilt, shame and what is morally correct. Instead, he takes on the concept of survival for himself and those he cares about by any means, even if it includes murdering his allies, going against the beliefs of the group, and betraying his former best-friend. All of this leads to his death.

Shane loved Rick like a brother, but he also loved Lori, Rick's wife.

Life Changing experience

Killing Otis
A big turning point in Shane's character was when he murdered a man named Otis.

After Carl is accidentally shot by a man named Otis, he is rushed to a nearby farm when a man named Herschel lived. Herschel had once been a veterinarian and was willing to perform surgery to keep Carl alive. However, he needed the proper supplies. Shane volunteered to go find the supplies and is joined by Otis, who felt terrible about what he had done and wanted to redeem himself.

While on the trip, the two get into some trouble. As they found the supplies, Shane and Otis got surrounded and trapped in a building by Walkers. To escape, they had to jump out of a second story window. When Shane jumped, he badly injured his ankle. The pair begin running back to the farm, but Walkers are close behind. 

In an act of desperation Shane looked to Otis, said "I'm sorry", and shot Otis in the leg. Walkers swarmed onto the screaming Otis, leaving Shane free to make his escape. 

When Shane returned to the group with the supplies, but without Otis, he lied to the group and claimed that Otis had died a hero.

 Killing Otis to save himself and get the supplies to Carl was Shane's sole focus. He did not let morals get in the way. He decided that the best way to protect those he loved was to kill an innocent man, so that is what he did. This murderous act shows how Shane is beginning to possess any morals.

Shane was a good man at heart. He tried to convince himself that he had gotten over killing Otis but he NEVER did. He was so emotional over it that it slowly broke him down piece by piece. It showed that he wasn't a ruthless killer. He was a cop pretending to fit in with the new world when in reality the guilt of killing Otis made him become insane and ultimately led to his death.

  

Being emotionally tortured by Lori

Before Rick returned to the group, Shane and Lori began an intimate relationship. Lori was in pain, Shane was a good support system, and neither had any idea Rick was still alive.

After Rick returns, Lori becomes angry with Shane over the fact that he "lied" to her about Rick being dead and warns him to stay away from her family.

After Lori reveals that she is pregnant, she makes it clear to Shane that her baby is Rick’s no matter what. She tells Shane that they are over and that he meant nothing to her.  

Later in the day, feeling guilty over what she had said, Lori goes and talks to Shane again. This time, she thanks him for everything, talks about how much he means to her and Carl and  says how grateful she is.

These back and forth talks between the two continue to confuse Shane and help lead to his eventually demise. all of this just when he’s at the tipping point to dive into full-on crazy.

Death

Shane meets his doom when he is killed by his best friend, Rick. Shane brought his death upon himself.

Shane lures Rick out to a field in the middle of the forest by pretending to look for the escaped prisoner named Randell, who has been mentioned briefly earlier. In reality, Shane had already killed Randell and was only out in the wilderness with Rick because he is planning to kill him. Rick comes to this conclusion as well. Rick makes it seem as though he's handing Shane his weapon, as he refused to be armed. Once his gun is in Shane's hand, and Shane's guard is down, Rick pulls out his knife and stabs Shane in the chest.

Shane's ultimate demise came because of his tortured love for Lori and Carl, his loss of sanity and his frequent jealousy of Rick.

Strengths and Faults

 Strengths 

- Excellent leadership abilities

- Excels in combat

- Skill with firearms. As well as once being a police officer, Shane was also a gun instructor.

- Protective instincts

Faults

- Morally unstable. His only motive is to keep Lori, her unborn child who he thinks is his, Carl, and himself safe, no matter the cost.

- Believes his ideas are the best ones for the group and that he is the most suited to lead the group through the Apocalypse alive.

Shane is an interesting character. His actions make him easy to hate, but his reasoning behind his actions, as well as Jon Bernthals overall acting skills make him an amazing character.

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_laicy2o6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQ05K9fq_Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QL7FzYOWac

Dale Horvath: # 7

Dale Horvath

Favourite Quote(s)
1) Dale Horvath: "If I had known the world was ending, I'd have brought better books."

2) Dale Horvath: “The world we know may be gone, but keeping our humanity, that’s a choice.”

Actor Biography

Dale Horvath is acted by Jeffrey Demunn. He was born April 25th, 1947 in Buffalo, New York. DeMunn has quite a few attributes currently on his resumé. He has acted in many theater productions, including ones on Broadway. In addition to theater, he has appeared in popular films such as "The Blob" (1988), "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994), "The Mist" (2007) and "Burn After Reading"(2008). DeMunn was also in a few television shows back in the 80s' and 90s', but got his first one of the current decade in "The Walking Dead" (2010).

Who was he before the Apocalypse?

Before the Apocalypse began, Dale was happily married to his wife, Irma, and had been since a very young age. They never had children, as a miscarriage early in their marriage discouraged them. Later in their life, Dale's wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Dale was devastated with the news. Before she died, Irma wanted to travel across the country, so Dale bought an RV for the two to use. Tragically, Irma died before they could leave. Wrought with depression and despair, Dale chose to take the RV and make the trip on his own. While traveling the country, news of the apocalyptic outbreak began coming through. Dale encountered two sisters named Andrea and Amy and the three stuck together from the start. Not long after, the trio met up with Shane, Lori, Carl and others on the outskirts of Atlanta.

Personality

Dale's character was one that is seen in nearly every show and movie. Out of everyone in the group, Dale was considered to be the "wise elder". He fills this role excellently for the group. Dale is wise, clear headed, and is never afraid to voice his opinion on every situation. Individuals in the group often went to him for advice. When he was around, he kept people honest and was a constant reminder to people to hold onto their humanity, even in these troubled times.

Randell awaiting his fate.

Dale was always willing to give his opinion on matters that concerned the group.When the group finds an injured teenager named Randell, they bring him back to the farm to bring him back to health. Once he is back to health they blindfold him and take him far away from the farm, preparing to let him go. As they are leaving they discover that Randell knows the people who first lived on the farm.This leads the group to take Randell back to the farm to decide whether to kill him or not. They cannot let him go because he might go back to his own group and tell them where the farm is, putting Rick and the rest of the group in danger. The only other option is to kill him. Dale is the only one actively fighting against this.

Rick, being the leader of the group decides to kill Randell. Dale is strongly against this and says that they can't just kill him, which partially sways Rick. He decides that the group as a whole will vote on it, which gives Dale one last chance to convince everyone that killing Randell is wrong. He goes around to each member in turn, begging them to spare Randell's life. He fails with everyone except Andrea, who decides to agree with him. While Dale's plea failed and the group voted for Randell to die, Rick spares his life, at least temporarily, when he sees Carl watching it happen. Dale is always ready to fight for what he believes is right, even when it puts him at odds with the rest of the group.


Being the wise old elder that he is, people often go to Dale to confess secrets and ask for advice. While staying on a farm, the home of Herschel, Glenn comes to Dale with numerous problems. Glenn confesses that Lori told him she was pregnant and that, surprisingly, Herschel's barn is full of Walkers. Dale decides to deal with Herschel first. When Dale asks him why he is secretly keeping Walkers in his barn, Herschel replies saying that Walkers are still people. Dale does his best to convince him otherwise, but Herschel will have none of it, saying that his wife and step-son are in the barn.

Dale leaves Herschel alone for a time,and moves on to the problem with Lori. When he speaks with her about the pregnancy, it is clear that Lori is distressed about the situation. She is not only worried that she will have to undergo another c-section like she did when Carl was born, but that once the child is born its life will be short and painful.

Dale does his best to ease her concern. He tells her that the baby can still have good memories, that while the world has gone to hell, as long as the group stays together it will have a family to be taken care by.

The end of Dale

Dale's time on the show came to an end in the later half of the second season. While walking around the farm during the night, a Walker came up behind an unsuspecting Dale and ripped his stomach open. When other members of the group heard his screams they rushed to his aid, but were too late. While he had not been bitten, Dale's injury was beyond repair.

After Dale is fatally wounded, Daryl puts him out of his misery.

Deciding to put him out of his misery, Rick stood over Dale and prepared to shoot him, but could not work himself up to it. Daryl came to Rick's rescue, taking his gun and pointed it at Dale and said, "Sorry, brother," before shooting him.

Dale's death was a terrible surprise for the group. They had begun feeling safer while living on the farm and they let their guard down. With the loss of Dale, it was almost like they lost the little angel sitting on their shoulder. Once he died, there wasn't anyone really trying to do the morally right thing at all times.

-Ben Ferguson

Video
 The Walking Dead: Who is Dale Horvath?

"Click here"

Morgan Jones: #6

 Morgan Jones

Favourite Quote:

Morgan Jones: Hey, your boy, is he dead?
Rick Grimes: No.
Morgan Jones: No? He will be. See, 'cause people like you, the good people, they always die. And the bad people do, too. But the weak people, the people like me... we have inherited the earth.

Actor Biography

Morgan Jones is played by an actor named Lennie James. He was born October 11, 1965 in London, England. James had a rough start to his teenage life, as his mother died when he was 12. He lived in achildren's home until the age of 16, when he was fostered with a social worker. Lennie went to school and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1988. Soon after this time, Lennie began writing plays. One such play, called Storm Damage, was broadcasted by BBC in 2000. It was good enough to be awarded the Royal Television Society award in 2001. In 2010, he was cast as Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and has performed magnificently thus far.

Who is he?
We are first introduced to Morgan and his son, Duane, in the first episode of the show. After Rick leaves the hospital and returns to his neighborhood in search of his family, he encounters Morgan and his son. And not in a pleasant manner. As Rick sits out front of his house dismayed at his families disappearance, Duane creeps up on him and, mistaking him for a Walker, hits him in the back of the head with a shovel, knocking him out. When Morgan gets close to Rick to examine him, he realizes he is still human. Morgan decides to take Rick back to his hideout and bring him back to health.

After Rick wakes up, Morgan discovers that Rick has been in a coma for a month and has no idea what has happened to the world. It is Morgan who informs Rick of the epidemic that has consumed the world, as well as the news that the government had sent out a broadcast telling people to gather in the major cities. It is this piece of information that makes Rick decide to travel to Atlanta in search of his family.

Personality and Progression

While Morgan's character has only been seen in two episodes thus far, we see two dramatically different people. In the first episode, we see him as a caring father who will do whatever he can to protect his son. In the second episode, about a year later (in the timeline of the show), Morgan is a man who has nearly no resemblance to the sane and caring father he once was. His progression down the path of insanity has made him one of the most interesting characters on the show.

First time we see Morgan

When we are first introduced to Morgan, it is only about one month into the Apocalypse. There is still a strong sense of the world before. Morgan's life is centered around protecting his son, Duane.When he takes Rick in to bring him back to health, we are shown that he has barricaded himself and Duane in a house. He has boarded up all of the windows and doors and keeps anything from getting inside.

Even in an Apocalypse, Morgan strives to create normalcy for his son. Each night, the two pray before meals, and Morgan still corrects Duane's grammar.

"Rick Grimes: You shot that man today.
Morgan Jones: Man?
Duane Jones: It weren't no man.
Morgan Jones: What the hell was that out your mouth just now?
Duane Jones: It wasn't a man.
Rick Grimes: You shot him in the street out front, a man.
Morgan Jones: Friend, you need glasses. It was a walker. Now sit down... before you fall down."

Despite seeming well off for a father and son during the end of the world, the two have still suffered loss, just like everyone else. Morgan is haunted by the loss of Jenny, his wife who died and came back as a Walker. What makes it even more unbearable for the two is that she seems to regularly return to the house they are living in. When Morgan looks out into the street, he sometimes sees her stumbling about with all the other Walkers.

At the end of this first episode, Morgan finally decides that he must kill his dead wife. He wants to put an end to the horrific nightmare that haunts him and his son.

Morgan's undead wife, Jenny.

As Morgan tells Duane to stay downstairs and read his comic books, he walks upstairs to the attic. From there, he takes his rifle and sits down in front of the window.  He takes a photo he has of Jenny and sticks it to the window frame. He aims his rifle, and after shooting a couple of Walkers to lure all in the area into the street, he spots his undead wife and focuses in on her. With his finger quivering on the trigger, he cannot bring himself to kill her. He attempts several more times, but he just can't pull the trigger. He can't bring himself to shoot his wife, regardless of the fact that she is not who she once was. It is an intense and emotional scene that rips you apart when you watch it.

After this episode, Morgan and Duane are not seen again for the rest of the season, and their whereabouts are unknown.

Second time we see Morgan

The next time we see Morgan is two seasons later, about a years time for the characters in the show.
When Rick goes on a run for supplies, he comes across Morgan.Upon sight, Morgan goes into a frenzy and tries to kill Rick, first with a gun and later with a knife. As the two are fighting hand-to-hand, Rick tries to help Morgan remember who he is, saying "You know me!" but gets the response of: "I don't know anyone anymore! You don't clear!".When Rick tries again he says, "Do you know who I am? Do you see who I am?" but Morgan responds with "People wearing dead people's faces".

 Rick is eventually able to tie Morgan up and help him remember who he is. We learn that Morgan has been consumed by the guilt of his son's death. His son was bitten and killed when the two were searching a house for food. What made Morgan truly go insane, however, was the fact that Duane was bitten by his undead mother. The undead mother whom Morgan didn't have the strength to kill, as seen in the first episode. It was only after seeing his son get killed by her that Morgan is finally able to kill her, too late to save his son.

Morgan's booby-trapped town

The guilt and loneliness consumes Morgan. After Duane's death, Morgan started to lose his sanity, and began to believe he had the mission to clear all the walkers from the town. To do this, he booby trapped the entire town and spent every hour of his time trying to "clear" the town.



I strongly recommend you watch the video below. It's a scene from the episode titled "clear", where Rick and Morgan talk. It beautifully portrays two things. One, it shows how crazy and guilt ridden Morgan has become (Lennie James's acting in this scene is superb). The second is what it portrays for Rick. When Rick sees what Morgan has become, he sees what he himself could become. If Rick continues to push all of his friends away and do everything alone, he will slowly descend into the same hellish insanity as Morgan.

Click here!

The episode ends with Rick going back to the prison his group is living in. He tried to convince Morgan to come with him but Morgan refused, saying he had to "clear". I hope this is not the last we see of Morgan, as there is so much potential for his character. Will he be able to come back from the insanity he has fallen into? Or will he continue to fall into darkness?

I can't wait to find out.

-Ben Ferguson

Carl Grimes: #5

Carl Grimes

Actor Biography

Carl Grimes is played by a young actor named Chandler Riggs. Chandler was born June 27, 1999. While Chandler hasn't had too many other acting roles in his short career, he has had a couple. In 2009, he played as Tom in the film "Get Low".

In 2010, he received the role of Carl in The Walking Dead and hasn't looked back since.

Who was he before the Apocalypse?

Carl was an ordinary 12 year old boy who lived with his parents in King County, Georgia. Just like every other ordinary child, he attended school during the day. One morning before school, Carl witnessed his parents fighting and having an argument (by then not an unusual thing to see) about whether or not Rick cared about the family or not. Later that day, Lori came to Carl and informed him that his father, Rick, was shot and is in a coma.When the apocalypse began, Carl traveled with his mother and Rick's partner, Shane, to the supposed safe zone, Atlanta.

Personality and Progression

Throughout the first 3.5 seasons, Carl has been seen to a quiet and shy boy. He doesn't talk to many people besides his parents and members of the group that he has known for a long time and is comfortable with. Throughout the show, Carl has idolized Rick and believes that if Rick is going to do something, it will always work out well. Rick is the center of Carl's universe.

Carl's character has undergone an immense amount of development since the beginning of the show.

 In the first season, Carl is seen mainly as a liability to the group. He is just a small boy who needs to be constantly watched and taken care of. Lori is often heard yelling, "Where's Carl!?" because he wanders off quite a bit. His natural curiosity gets him in trouble quite a bit in the first couple seasons.

I have to admit, for the two seasons I was on the #getridofCarl bandwagon. I wanted him gone. I suppose that I wanted him killed off the show. That must sound bad, seeing as he's a kid, but he was the single most annoying character on the show. I disliked him infinitely more than I disliked Lori. All he did was cry and cause problems for the group and get people killed. I know that he's just a child and the show kept it realistic in that sense, but STILL. And then something amazingly beautiful happened.

 Carl has turned into a badass.

Carl has progressed from a wimpy and whiny kid who was disliked by nearly everyone, to a kid that has seen so much terrible shit in his life that he is now a badass whom I love. He makes his own independent decisions that help the group and he can fend for himself as well as protect others. He used to be a problem for the group, someone that always had to be watched, but now he contributes to the group as if he's a mature and capable adult.

To get to this point of badassery, Carl experienced many horrible things.

Life Changing Experiences

The first would be the Apocalypse itself. This one should be self explanatory. No one could be one of the few remaining survivors of a plague that nearly wiped all of humanity off the face of the earth and not be affected. In the first few episodes, Carl initially seems to portray the innocent child, but we then see that he  takes everything in stride. He has a clear head and understands what is going on. He is even seen comforting his mother when she is distraught about the (supposed) loss of Rick.

The next big life changing event for Carl was when he got shot and nearly died. When Carl was finally allowed to go hunting with Shane and Rick, they encountered a deer. As Shane and Rick watched over him, Carl slowly walked closer and closer to the deer. It was a wonderful and peaceful moment in the horrible world. The calm moment was brought to a sudden end when a bullet tears through the deer and hits Carl. A stranger named Otis was out hunting and didn't see Carl on the other side of the deer.
Otis felt terrible about what he had done and takes Rick, who is carrying Carl, to the farm where he lived.

 A man named Herschel owned the farm and had experience as a veterinarian. Using these skills, he saved Carl's life.   After being shot, Carl was noticeably different. For one, his thoughts are plagued with negativity. Additionally, after being as helpless as was, he wanted to fend for himself to prove he was independent and mature. He also becomes rather pessimistic and rude. It's not that he goes out of his way to hurt others, it's just that his point of view is darker. He assesses a situation and sees the hopelessness and darkness with cold clarity.

 The third traumatic experience was when Shane died. After Rick killed Shane in a fight, Carl appeared on the scene and saw Shane dead at Rick's feet. As Rick stumbled over his words trying to explain the situation, Carl raised his gun and aimed in his father's direction.When Carl pulled the trigger, we are momentarily led to believe that he shot his own father. Thankfully, that is not what happened. Carl had been aiming his gun at Shane, who had risen as a Walker behind Rick(see photo on the left). Ever since the outbreak began, Shane had been there for Carl.. He had protected Carl and his mother from certain death too many times to count. When Rick was thought to be dead, Shane took Carl under his wing and acted as a father figure for him. Regardless of if he had already turned into a Walker, killing Shane was like killing his closest friend.

If you were asking yourself, "Could this kid's life get any worse?", the answer is sadly, yes. It most definitely can.

Carl further undergoes his transformation when Lori died during her breech childbirth, after which Carl was faced with a terrible choice. When the prison the group is staying at is overrun, Carl, his mother, and a woman named Maggie are separated from everyone else.When Lori goes into labour, a  c-section is performed on her and the baby is brought into the world. However, Lori died during the process. As Maggie and Carl were leaving the room with the baby, Carl thought about his mother coming back as a Walker. He couldn't stand the thought so he walked back into the room, a pistol in his hand. All that is heard is a single gunshot before Carl came back onto the screen, his cold dead eyes trying to hold back tears.
 
Strengths and Faults

Strengths
- He is a mature and able young man, and he makes intelligent choices
- Wants to always do what's right. He follows in Rick's footsteps and tries to imitate everything he does.
Faults
- At the start he did not help the group at all, he merely dragged them down.
- He whined and cried non-stop. It's not his fault really, but nonetheless it was still irksome to deal with every single episode.

- When things were happening, he was told to stay in the house.
He never stayed in the house!

Some people believe that Carl is seeing and doing things no child should have to deal with. While I would agree nearly 100% of the time, when it comes to Carl I have to disagree. This is a Zombie Apocalypse. The world that we currently live in is gone for the characters in the show. If Carl's parents continued to hide him from the dangers of the world, he wouldn't live long. It's a brutal world and to live in it, one has to adapt to fit in.

So far, Carl is progressing well down that road. I can't wait to see what else is in store for him in future episodes.

- Ben Ferguson

Lori Grimes: #4

Lori Grimes 

Actress Biography
Lori Grimes is played by Sarah Wayne Callies. Callies was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the daughter of two university professors.
Callies attended and graduated from Dartmouth College in addition to receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree from Denver's national Theatre Conservatory.

Prior to her role as Lori Grimes in The Walking Dead, Sarah had several jobs in television shows, such as her role of "Dr. Sara Tancredi" on the hit television series, Prison Break.
Playing Lori in The Walking Dead has truly been her breakout role, and she has garnered much attention for her acting skills.

Who knew there was so much make-up in an apocalypse?

Who was she before the Apocalypse?
As was mentioned in my previous blog about Rick, Lori met Rick in high-school and they married not long after they graduated. They have had one son named Carl. The couple seemed to live as a typical suburban family in King County, Georgia. While Rick went off and policed the county, Lori stayed at home and took care of Carl and the house.
The couples marriage began to encounter a few bumps in the road, when Rick began to distance himself from her. His refusal to speak about their problems resulted in many verbal fights. Before Rick got shot and entered his coma, the last words Lori spoke to him were accusing him of not caring about his family in front of their son, Carl. Little did she know, she would not speak to him for another month and a half, due to the coma and the apocalypse. Not the greatest departing words to a loved one, if you ask me.

Personality
Throughout the first 3.5 seasons, Lori was depicted as a strong, generous, independent and emotional woman.
When the apocalypse began, she Lori believed that her husband was dead and that the world was coming to an end. and trying her best to keep herself and Carl safe, Lori became emotionally overwrought.

 During this short time she began a relationship with Shane, a mistake that would cause her trouble for the remainder of her life. With Rick's eventual return, she found herself with both extreme happiness and extreme guilt. She becomes torn between her husband and Shane; realizing they were both essential to her survival. However, her actions put Rick and Shane at odds, significantly more so with the revealing of her pregnancy.

Throughout season two, she does everything she can to ensure that her unborn child will be healthy, and even debates with herself about whether or not the baby should be born into such a horrible world. After the farm they are living in is overrun, she becomes deeply disturbed by Rick's actions, as well as Carl's involvement in the death of Shane. As the third season begins, she and Rick have grown increasingly distant, something that burdens her deeply. However, their relationship is never fixed as, tragically,  she dies during a breech childbirth.

Strengths and Faults

Strengths
- Always wanted order to be kept, to avoid straying from what society used to be.
- Supported Rick in nearly all his decisions. Even if what he said was questionable, she knew that since he was the leader and her husband, she had to support him to keep the group intact.
- Cared deeply for her son Carl.

Faults
- Lori was an emotional roller coaster. Some days, she was calm and clear headed. Other times, she is the most frustrating and most disliked character on the show.

Why so many people loathed Lori's character
- She had an affair with Shane less than a month after her husband had apparently died.
- Indecisive.
- Turned Rick and Shane against each other. She basically told Rick to kill Shane because he was becoming a cancer to the group, but becomes furious with Rick after he actually does it. Her conflicting beliefs made her an easy character to dislike.


Favourite quote

"You are going to beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you. You gotta do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So, so, if it feels wrong don't do it, alright? If it feels easy don't do it, don't let this world spoil you. You're so good, my sweet boy. Best thing I ever did, and I love you, I love you. My sweet, sweet, boy I love you."

—Lori's last words to Carl before dying.^[src]

Video 
"Who is Lori Grimes?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXv6-_PHr-c

Rick Grimes-Part two: #3

Rick Grimes continued

*Spoilers ahead*

Loss of sanity

Over the course of the show from season one to three, Rick's mental stability begins to become unhinged. There have been many deaths and losses that would weigh heavy on anyone's heart, but especially Rick's because as the leader he puts all the blame on himself.

Some of these tragedies include the death of his longtime best friend, Shane, the death of a young girl, Sophia, and the death of his wife, Lori. 
The death of Shane was a huge blow to Rick. The two had been best friends for their entire lives. What made the death worse for Rick than it already was, was that he himself killed Shane. Granted, Rick only did it in self-defense, but it was still hard on him. Rick was forced to do it because he discovered that Shane planned to kill him and the only way to prevent it was to kill Shane first. In a way, by killing Shane, Rick was killing part of himself; the part that was left from before the Apocalypse. Shane was one of the last connections he had to the world before, and now he was gone.

The second death that deeply affected Rick was the death of Sophia. When the group was searching through abandoned cars along a highway, they came upon an enormous herd of Walkers. In the wild frenzy of escaping them, Sophia ran off the road into the forest next to it. After the group realized she was gone, Rick set off into the forest after her. Hours later, Rick returned to the group empty handed. Over the next few weeks, Rick remained hopeful that they would find Sophia and organized search parties to go out looking for her. When the group finally found her, she was a Walker. This young, innocent girl had been bitten. Rick was devastated and took the blame for the failure. He made it his duty to put her out of her misery. 

Rick is devastated when he finds out that Sophia was bitten.

 When he shot her, something died in him. Throughout the weeks of searching, Rick never gave up hope. He felt, no, he knew, that she would be saved. Having to put her down was a huge shock and a real wakeup call for Rick. The guilt of his failure has remained with him ever since.

In the third season, Rick seems to have found his breaking point. The death of his wife, Lori, seems to have completely destroyed him. Lori's death was one of the most emotional episodes I have ever watched on television. The group was staying in an abandoned prison and had plans to start a new life there. Lori had been pregnant for about eight and a half months and was due to give birth soon. As luck would have it, she went into labour right when Walkers broke through the prison's defenses. Lori, along with her son Carl and a young woman named Maggie, became separated from the rest of the group. When Lori first gave birth to Carl, a C-section was required. With this new baby, it was required yet again. Maggie was unsurprisingly inexperienced with delivering babies. Lori lost too much blood and died in childbirth. 

Rick realizes that he won't be seeing his wife alive again.

When Rick found Carl and Maggie and he asked where Lori was, the only answer he received was the cries of a newborn baby. Understanding dawned on Rick and he broke down in tears.

After Lori's death, Rick seems unable to cope. The fabric of his sanity begins to tear away. While alone in one of the far reaches of the prison, Rick hears a phone ringing and picks it up. Phones have not worked in over a year, yet the one next to Rick does. When he picks up, he discovers that Lori is on the other line. Rick has begun experiencing hallucinations of Lori, but it does not stop with a "simple" phone call. 
Rick starts seeing Lori in the flesh everywhere he goes. He becomes obsessed with these visions and tries to find them as much as he can. He distances himself from the rest of the group, often going out beyond the protective barrier of the prison in hopes of finding her.

Rick sees hallucinations of his dead wife, Lori.

The latest episode has left us still wondering, what will become of Rick Grimes?

Rick's loss of sanity shows that although he is the main protagonist in the show, he is not perfect and has faults, just like the rest of us. Everyone has a breaking point, even the heroes.

Strengths and Faults

Strengths

- He is just. Rick has held onto the values he had as a police officer before the apocalypse.

-He is a good friend and father and cares for all members of the group.

-He is a charismatic leader. This strength, as well as the one above, make his friends and family extremely loyal to him and they trust him implicitly.

-Rick is also an extremely capable fighter.

Faults

- Places too much responsibility on his own shoulders. he takes too much of the blame when things go wrong.

- Sets goals for himself that are often impossible to reach, such as finding Sophia and bringing her back safely. 

Quote
"I'm just a man looking for his wife and son. Anyone who gets in the way is going to lose"

-Rick Grimes

If you are still dying for more information about Rick, enjoy this video where Andrew Lincoln discusses he character. Credit for the video goes to amc.  -->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLgoTTQTDkY


Thanks for reading,
 Ben Ferguson

Rick Grimes-Part one: #2

 Rick Grimes

Rick Grimes is the main character in The Walking Dead television show.

If you aren't sure what The Walking Dead is about, I'd advise that you go back and read my first blog. It gives a brief summary of what happens in the beginning of the show. If you've already read it, well, bro-fist to you good sir or madame!

**I'd also like to add that there will most likely be spoilers in every single one of my blogs. I would avoid spoilers if I could, but it would be a fairly ineffective blog if no one learned anything about the show.**

Actor Biography

Rick Grimes is played by Andrew Lincoln, a British actor. He was educated at Beechen Cliff School in a town called Bath, in England. He went on to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, which is quite a prestigious place.

Previous jobs
Lincoln's first big chance came in 1996, when he was given the role of Edgar Cook in the popular UK drama series, "This Life". In 2003, he played the role of Mark in the popular film "Love Actually". Seven years later, in 2010, Lincoln received the lead role in The Walking Dead.


Who was he before the Apocalypse?

Rick (right) shares a joke with Shane

When we first met Rick, he was a police officer in King County, Georgia. He worked alongside his partner and best friend, Shane Walsh. Rick and Shane were close all through high school, with Rick being the more quiet one and Shane being the popular ladies man. After graduating from high-school, the two of them both went to college for police administration and became sheriff deputies at the King County Sheriff's department.
Rick met his wife, Lori, in high-school and after dating for a short period of time they married and had a son named Carl.

Personality
Rick's personality changes considerably throughout the show. During the first season, we are introduced to a charismatic man who is calm during tense situations, smart and just. A perfect example of this is when he meets up with some other survivors in Atlanta: Glenn, Andrea, Jacqui, T-Dog, Morales and Merle. The group has been trapped in a building by walkers (a term used in the show, meaning "zombies"), and there does not seem to be a way out. Time is running out with the walkers pounding on the fragile glass doors. While the others are beginning to panic, Rick spots their new getaway vehicle, a van, across the street. The only problem, however, is a large group of walkers that want nothing more than to eat their guts, is in the way.

Using the knowledge that if the walkers hear you, see you, or smell you, they eat you, Rick comes up with a brilliant yet sickening idea. Using an axe, he hacks apart the body of a dead walker (how dead can a zombie get?). He and Glenn then grudgingly wipe the corpse's guts on their jackets.

Rick in action as he and Glenn "stealthily sneak" through the Walker Horde.

Rick and Glenn, now smelling just like all the other walkers, proceed to walk through the horde towards the van. The pair then drive back to the rest of the group and save the day. They all proceed to escape Atlanta to meet up with the rest of their group in an encampment outside of town.

In each episode, challenging situations arise. While everyone else panics, Rick manages to keep a cool head and make smart decisions that follow his personal code of what is right and what is wrong.

Fast forward to where we are now, just over halfway through the third season. Several traumatic and trying events have occurred (you will have to read future blogs to find out all of them!). Rick is shaken, unable to make smart and well thought-out decisions, and has become ruthless, killing anyone who may pose a threat to his group. His rule over the group has become more dictatorial, but he still has the respect and trust of the group.

This new, more traumatized version of Rick has developed a mindset that clashes with his strong personal values from the earlier seasons. He has learned that sometimes the decisions he has to make to ensure the survival of the group are not always just. This forces him to do things he would never have imagined doing a few months earlier.

When I started writing this blog about Rick, I did not imagine that it would grow to be so long. In an effort to ensure you do not become bored, I have split Rick's blog into two parts. In part two, I will examine Rick's apparent loss of sanity during the third season, his strengths and faults, and more.

Stay tuned,

-Ben Ferguson