Fans of the show, continue reading in 3, 2, 1……..
The Walking Deadis life.
No matter what I say next, be it positive or negative, the above statement is a truism.
Credit: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic; Gene Page/AMC
I hate you,The Walking Dead.
Do you hear me?
I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.
Youre dead to me……
Sigh, I love you,The Walking Dead.
Never leave me okay?
Youre just… Im just… (Insert angry/devastated/exhausted/hearts/applause emojis.)
Though highly ambitious in scope, it felt intimate, personal.
Popular, sure, cause who doesnt love a good scare at Halloween?
(Sidebar: No more animal deaths.
Kill a day player, not another horse.
What was I saying?
Right CHARACTERS you love die on the reg here.
Good job, writers!
(More conflicting emojis.)
During the first season, I referred to most of the characters by nicknames.
(Now that I think of it Dale was also inThe Mist.
Coincidence?!!)
I dont think I had a nickname for Lori.
If I did, it was probably Bugs, cause she bugged.
Get your own damn tampons!
Its clear now, that assigning nicknames was a defensive mechanism.
My heart wouldnt break if I didnt use their names!
Im one step ahead of you writers!
Good plan, Emma!
But like young teens in love, someone is bound to get pregnant right?
Wait, thats a bad analogy.
What I mean is, when Sanka eventually became a walkers dinner, my heart broke.
Dumb plan, Emma!
Like the characters inThe Walking Deadworld itself, I had little time to properly deal with Sanka Dales death.
Hell continued to break loose and it was time to move on and worry about the next inevitable death.
And so many have died.
Like Shane, who turned out to be right about a whole lot of stuff.
(I miss you Shane!
Youre great as The Punisher!
Jon, sorry Jon Bernthal, youre great as The Punisher!)
Like Lori, who bugged until the moment she gave birth to baby Judith.
WHO WRITES THIS TORTURE PORN?
Carols missing baby girl… Carols reason for continuing.
Her walker body put down in front of her own mothers face.
I need more death to distract me!
I love you Hershel.
I still feel the loss of you.
Sweet, moral compass Hershel, killed by the MOST annoying villain ever, The Governor.
You eye-patch wearing psychopath.
Why would Andrea fall for you?
Speaking of worst…
Like Beth!
Your death made Maggie and Daryl really sad, which made your death even sadder.
Hindsight is 20/20 Tyreese.
Sadly in your case, six feet under.
Damn, I liked you, T-dog.
Your face was eaten off IN FRONT OF GLENN!
I almost forgot about you Merle.
You died just as you became someone to root for.
Same with Nicholas actually.
With so much carnage and heartbreak over the past six years, you would think I would stop watching.
Like Jack says to Ennis, I wish I knew how to quit you.
But he couldnt and Ennis died by a bunch of crazy human animals.
That brings me to Sundays season 7 opener, The Day Will Come When You Wont Be.
Ive been dreading this episode for months.
Ive dreamed weekly about the brutality facing my beloved heroes.
After watching it, Im emotionally and physically where I knew I would be.
Present time, I am totally ruined.
I am without words.
I will find them, however, because I have a job to do.
I will find them for the wonderful Abraham.
Abraham, a character I liked immediately.
Thats usually a bad sign for me.
The more I connect, the worse the loss.
Defiant, even after the first brutal strike from Lucille, Abraham was able to die with honor.
It was gruesome, painful, poetic.
Suck my nuts, indeed, writers.
And then there is my most beloved Glenn……..
I cant…. its just…. (find the words, Emma….)
I dont readThe Walking Deadcomics.
I know little about the fate of my fictional family.
However, Glenns death in the comics was so iconic, that it was impossible to avoid the spoiler.
But the show has verged from the comic world enough that I hoped Glenn would make it out alive.
In my dreams he had.
There, I was able to save everyone and destroy Negan before he could do any harm.
But those were dreams and the worst has happened.
Glenn was a favorite from the very beginning and somewhere along the way, he became my everything.
Glenn has always been the soul of the show.
He represented what the new world could be, no matter how bleak.
Glenn was always there to remind the rest of the characters, and us, of our humanity.
I used to say, Kill anyone but Glenn.
Especially Glenn, but never them.
Every fan has their, kill so and so, and Im out.
Ive said those words myself, many times over.
And now that its happened, I find myself in a familiar place.
Do I continue watching this show that has affected me in a clearly unhealthy way?
Should I get some therapy maybe?
Who does this Glenn person remind you of?
I can hear my therapist ask.
Then I would say, Well, he is very sweet like my father who loves pizza.
Is that it Dr. Burke?
Is Glenn my dad??
I did ask him to buy my tampons once and he is Korean-American!
Then she says, Emma, your father isnt Korean.
He a third-generation German-American from Minnesota.
And maybe you should start coming twice a week?
(Insert frustrated, sad, happy, curious emojis here.)
Like Glenn and like my dad, Im not a quitter.
I have to see this through.
I believe there is hope for my fictional family because there is still love among them.
Some may be on borrowed time, some more than others.
But, really, arent we all?
(Dr. Burke, I believe I just had a breakthough.)
