Hershel Greene : #15

Hershel Greene

Quote

Hershel Greene: "I can't profess to understand God's plan, Christ promised the resurrection of the dead. I just thought he had something a little different in mind."

About the Actor

Herschel Greene is portrayed by a man named Scott Wilson.Wilson's acting career began way back in 1967, when he accidentally signed up for an acting class while drunk. It was the best drunk decision he ever made. Since then, he has acted in many films, including In the Heat of the Night (1967), In Cold Blood (1967), and The Great Gatsby (1974).

Who was he before the Apocalypse?

Hershel had lived on a farm for his entire life, living with his wife, step-son and two daughters, Maggie and Beth. The farm had been a part of the Greene family for over 160 years. In his later years, he became a veterinarian because of his love for animals. When the Apocalypse first began, Hershel's wife and step-son were both bitten and turned. Since then, Hershel and his two daughters continued to live on the farm. In the second season on the show, we were introduced to Hershel when Carl got shot and was rushed to the farm for medical help.

Personality and Progression 

Hershel is a man of God, and believed that the undead could be cured. At the start of the outbreak, he took all of his former friends and family that had died and turned and locked them up in his barn, in hopes that a cure would be found for them.

By living in isolation on the farm for the entire Apocalypse, Hershel did not have to witness the true horrors of the Walkers. He never had to undergo the struggle of living on the road, in constant fear of them.

 

Hershel defending his farm from Walkers.

He was shown their true nature when hundreds of zombies came stumbling out of the woods towards the farm and the group is forced to evacuate. Hershel told the group that the farm had been with his family for generations and that he would die defending it. He made a valiant attempt to defend the farm, shooting many of the approaching walkers with a shotgun, but there were too many. Rick managed to pull Herschel away in time and the group escaped the farm.

After escaping the farm, the group was on the road looking for a new home. On their travels, they were lucky enough to find a prison that Rick believed could be their new home. It had large fences to keep zombies out and there was more than enough space for the group to live inside.

The only problem was that all the inmates and guards that previously occupied the prison had turned into Walkers. Hershel and the group set about clearing the prison to make it safe for living.

While they were moving through the prison, Hershel stepped over what looked like a dead inmate. Unfortunately the inmate was not completely "dead".

Rick prepares to amputate Hershel's bitten leg.

The walker grabbed Hershel by the leg and bit into his calf. Rick appeared and shot the walker in the head. At that time it seemed like Hershel's time on the show was coming to an abrupt end, but it was not to be. Rick quickly removed his own belt and tied it around Hershel's leg, just above the bite. He then grabbed a hatchet and without further ado, bloodily hacked at Hershel's leg, amputating the lower part of the leg to get rid of the bite. This quickly thought out and brutal act saved Hershel's life. It kept the infection of the bite from spreading to the rest of his body. For the next few days the group took care of Hershel and kept him from bleeding out and getting an infection.

I laughed too hard at this, so I had to add it.

Hershel survived and has walked around on crutches since. He has continued to act as the moral compass of the group, giving advice to those who need it and supporting them. I guess you could say that

Hershel has thankfully survived all of season three and is coming back in the fourth season. I look forward to seeing him hobble his way through the next season of the show.

- Ben Ferguson