Summary
- Plot armor persists in TWD, keeping characters like Rick and Daryl alive through improbable situations.
- Characters evolve for the better post-apocalypse, with individuals like Daryl and Carol growing from past flaws.
- TWD erodes traditional social norms, showcasing a shift to equitable communities led by women like Maggie, normalizing new norms.
It’s hard to believe that The Walking Dead and its spinoff series have been around for 14 years now. Fans of The Walking Dead have noted just as much about the franchise that they hate as they love. One of the things they’ve noted the most is that there are some tropes that the franchise has formulated and then stuck with through thick and thin from the first year through year 14.
Some of the most unpopular tropes in the horror TV series are killing off new characters without giving them a time to shine. There’s also the moments when writers and showrunners reuse tired storylines instead of developing something more original. However, The Walking Dead is clearly doing something right as the franchise has become one that seems like it will just keep going and going, and going. And as long franchise keeps on rolling, it seems extremely likely that there will be some tropes that stand the test of time and keep getting applied, no matter who is behind an episode or series.
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Certain The Walking Dead Characters Have Impenetrable Plot Armor
For those not aware of what plot armor is, it essentially means that certain characters cannot be killed off and it seems as though the story always allows them to survive situation where more minor characters might be killed off in seconds. The Walking Dead has certainly rolled out plot armor over the years. One of the most obvious examples of this came early in the series when Glenn was surrounded by zombies, seemed to get pulled down by the horde and was almost certainly devoured, and yet somehow managed to get under a dumpster and survive.
Of course, Glenn’s plot armor eventually had some chinks in it as Negan killed him off, but characters like Rick, Michonne, Daryl and Carol have all rolled out their plot armor over and over. Granted, that plot armor is needed after a few seasons because the show realizes there are some characters that are liked more than others. If Rick or Michonne or Daryl had been killed off, but then some of the franchise’s best successes, including the spin-offs Daryl Dixon and The Ones Who Live, would not have kept the horror franchise alive and thriving.
The Apocalypse Made Someone A Better Person
The apocalypse, on its face, is never a good thing. It is literally the end of the world as we know it. And when the apocalypse comes with a zombie plague that wipes out 99% of the population, no one is claiming that is is what is best for the world as a whole. But one of the tropes that The Walking Dead has stuck with from Season 1 all the way to the end of the original series and into the spinoffs, is that there are some people who become much better people because the world ended and they kept living.
There were plenty of characters that grew into better people as they survived the end of the world.
There were plenty of characters that grew into better people as they survived the end of the world. Daryl Dixon is of course, right at the top of the list. He was a small time redneck who did drugs and hung out with his brother before the zombie plague arrived. It could be argued that Carol became a better person, considering she was the victim of domestic abuse before and even at the beginning of the outbreak and turned into one of the most impressive survivors. Eugene became a better person as well since he started out as a cowardly liar and then repeatedly showed his value and eventually became a legitimately good person.
At the beginning of The Walking Dead, social norms were held onto, such as women doing much of the domestic labor, men protecting the group from threats, and adults attempting to shield children from the dangers of the world. As time passed, the survivors slowly let go of many traditional values associated with their old civilization. Though some of these changes were negative, many of them made their new communities more equitable. One of the most well known aspects of this was when Carol and Andrea and Lori were stuck doing laundry while Rick and the other men in the group went hunting.
As the show went on, more communities saw women leaders such as Maggie step up and become the people that everyone looked to in order to get through various crises. One thing that becomes clear the longer The Walking Dead roam the earth is that social norms that people can fall into become less useful.
One of the things The Walking Dead did and does best is that it tends to tear down those social norms without making it a big deal. It simply makes it clear that’s how the world works now and it doesn’t appear to be something that is conscious. But the trope is there and will continue to be there through the spinoffs.
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