10 Reasons Why Rick Grimes is Better Than You

[zihna]

Or, 10 Reasons to Stop Bashing Other Characters Just Because You Like a Different One More

Word Count: ~4,200
Warnings:  Strong language, discussion of death & murder, the morality of a post-apocalyptic world. 
A/N: Many many thanks to twizzler, who edited this longer-than-necessary monster and provided continuous moral support, and avengersassemble

Comments

[socialskeleton]

This is a great list, and I see where you are coming from.

That line from Kirkman you quoted really rubbs me the wrong way, though. Maybe, it's just that it seems so defeatist and I have trouble handling that. But I am not sure what to take away from it either: That being nice/ morally sane is a flaw of character? Or that Rick is just really incompetent?

[zihna]

Thank you :)

Yeah, Kirkman's comment rubbed me the wrong way too, at first, until I sat down and thought about it. It is defeatist, extremely so--the whole concept of The Walking Dead is pretty defeatist--and it's hard to thing of the protagonist this way

[theroguesgambit]

It makes me sad that an article like this needed to be made

[zihna]

By all means, rant away! It's very cathartic.

See, I absolutely adore Daryl, when he dies I will be a devastated wreck, but you are completely right, he's not the only character in the show. He's not even the main character, so posts that say he should just kill Rick already, or that he's a better leader/father/whatever than Rick, or more important to the group then Glenn, or better than everyone else at everything. Daryl, like the rest of them, is human. That means he has flaws. He has fears. He has damages and breaks inside of himself and he's not always a good person.

This is a show about a group of characters. One character alone just wouldn't cut it. The interactions between them, the loves and the hatreds and the loyalties and the griefs that spring up between them are what makes this show amazing.

So, yes, in short, you are wonderful, your ideas are wonderful, and please, rant as much as you like :)

Thank you very much! <3

[ashgaelsonaria]

Like the overall post but
Sometimes you hate a character for legitamite reasons and not because you like another more.
Rick is great - awesome leader
Daryl is great - good go to guy as is Glenn who is evolving into an awesome harass.
But so far on the show Andrea has
Excused her sitting around and not helping with the fact that she spent a few hours at sentry duity
Told a depressed teenage to go ahead and kill herself
Accepted that the governor was keeping severed head in tanks in his study.
Seriously.
She was ok first season but has been disitigrating like a block of ice in an erupting vulcano sense.

[zihna]

Thank you :)

See, I have no problem with hating characters for legitimate reasons. I for one cannot wait for Merle and the Governor to get machete'd.

My problem is when people hate on a character because s/he is "a slut" or because one does not like the choices the character has made. All the characters in the show are great and wonderful and multi-dimensional--they all have both redeeming and damning qualities. I've been seeing a lot of character hate and shaming in the fandom recently and it's a tragedy because it's really scaring off a lot of marvelous people.

Each and every character has a reason for why they do what they do. I'm not asking anyone to love all the characters or agree with every choice they make. All I'm asking is for an attempt at understanding the motivations driving each character, and for people to stop hating and shaming the characters that another person might love.

[ashgaelsonaria]

Well, that. Is reasonable
I can. Not fathom any reason any o e with any intelligence would go to someone for an explanation after finding a wall of heads in their study.
Which is more a case of a bad plot move then anything. I rather think they jumped the shark on that one and have to wonder - did they not have anyone question this?

[still_glorious]

I totally and wholeheartedly agree in regards to the character bashing. I never got why there was so much Lori hate at all. Nobody i know understands it either. i hated that everyone called her a cheating bitch because she thought her husband was dead, thanks to Shane. I love Rick. He is a born leader in these dire times and does what is nessassry. And, a Daryl Dixon, admirer myself, Daryl wouldn't have become who he is without Rick. That is a fact. I never questioned him and i never blamed him for those things you mention in the end. It's not Rick's fault but circumstances. Shane was overcome by insanity due the circumstances and he didn't handle it very well, I do understand his hesitation towards Randall because it's hard to realize that you cannot just trust other people, that Dale ran out was not Rick's fault, of course he didn't go back for Andrea because the farm was overrun. He couldnt risk the others etc etc etc
So, to sum up, wholeheartedly agree with you on Rick :)

[alea_senpai]

This is so thrilling!! *_____*

And you are so right with all you said. He is awesome as fuck, not just Daryl (But I love Daryl too) and Adrew Lincoln is doing a great job showing all this awesomness to us. :)

I really wish this post and your "10 Reasons Why the Governor is Not Your Friend" could make love and have some double-awesome post-babies. :D

Thank you for writing this. :)