The Use Of Dramatic Irony In The Walking Dead
By Susie Graham
Dramatic Irony. This was my favorite literary term in high school English class. The idea that the audience knows more than the characters do. This creates a different experience for the reader or in the case of The Walking Dead for the viewer. The writers of The Walking Dead have employed dramatic irony sparingly, but in quite a few cases early on to help us emotionally connect with Rick Grimes. In other cases to see into the mind of The Governor. And in one case of faux-dramatic irony, to learn of a huge lie.
The Love Triangle
We knew before Rick was reunited with his family in the quarry that his reunion was going to have some complications. We knew Rick was alive and we knew Shane and Lori were together in the camp with Carl and they were more than friends. All four of those characters were unaware of what we knew. This dramatic irony created a tension in us that made their reunion much different than if we had learned the story from any of those individual’s points of view.
The CDC
Knowing that Jenner was inside the CDC made that scene outside so much more tension filled for us as viewers. We knew Rick wasn’t crazy and the camera did move. They didn’t have to move on. Someone could open the door. But knowing he was in there and knowing if he would let them in are two different things. But we want to let the group know Rick isn’t crazy. There is someone inside.
Clear
I turned it on and you weren’t there. We knew Rick was there. We knew Rick talked to Morgan all the time on that walkie talkie. He even went back to Atlanta for it. He left notes on cars for him. But Morgan wasn’t in a receptive state. But we knew. We had Rick’s back.
Walker Shane
This was a quick irony of so many kinds. Camera angles. Who knew what and when. Pure brilliance. Mystery in moments and not a moment to process it. Rick didn’t know Shane was a walker. We did. Carl did. We didn’t know Carl was going to shoot Shane. Carl didn’t know Rick killed Shane. Nobody knew this would be the last night on the farm.
Ghost Lori
Poor Tyreese and Sasha. They didn’t know Rick yet. They would find out much later, but we knew the real reason Rick threw them out. He was telling Lori to get out. She didn’t belong there. We knew what was happening. We had Rick’s back once again.
The Governor
Dramatic irony was used quite well with the evil of The Governor. We saw who he was, but his charm as it were, let him fool Andrea and Tara and others. It made many situations more tension filled as we knew not to trust Phillip or Brian or The Governor. Even the heartbeat Governor music and moments of visible thought before The Governor turned on his own people or whacked Martinez with a golf club or Hershel with a sword whispering, “Liar,” or stabbed Milton creating a zombie killer for Andrea, served as dramatic irony if only for a split second. We knew the characters’ fate before they did.
Eugene
The big lie of ‘I am not a scientist’, I would put under almost-but-not-quite dramatic irony. The audience didn’t know for sure that Eugene was lying, but the signs were pretty clear to us even though they were not at all clear to the survivors. So when Eugene finally confessed, it was not a surprise, but it was still an incredibly emotional experience for us as viewers, for Eugene, for GreatM, and most notably for Abraham. The use of almost dramatic irony made it more impactful than if the secret itself had been a shock to the audience. Since we weren’t shocked by the reveal of the lie, we were able to focus more on its emotional ramifications.
Dramatic irony is an interesting device to use in an apocalyptic drama. It creates tension. We have information that the characters don’t. We want to tell them. Or maybe we want to keep it from them. Whatever the case, we have secrets.
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