Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Comparing first walkers

Little girl zombie The Walking Dead – AMC /

Bunny slipper girl, as I refer to her, or Teddy bear girl as I’ve seen, is the first walker we see on The Walking Dead. She is such an important walker to the show. We didn’t know anything about her as a living person, but we are introduced to the world of walkers through her even before we get a formal walker lesson from Morgan.

Just by her existence we are taught that walkers are dangerous. If a man must shoot one that looks like a harmless little girl in a pink robe and bunny slippers carrying a teddy bear, then they are not to be taken lightly.

We are taught that the dangerous things they’ve become is a result of something that is not their fault. The look on the man’s face lets us know that he feels pity for the little girl that he fears and must shoot.

Bicycle girl zombie The Walking Dead – AMC /

Bicycle girl was not the first walker, but she was a very early walker. She was also a girl, a little older in age and in level of decay. Rick had a similar emotional response to bicycle girl. Chronologically, he met her before he met bunny slipper girl.

So his face didn’t express recognition, but fear when he saw her. He hadn’t attended Morgan’s zombie school yet. When he saw her later, we see the pity. He even talks to her and tells her he’s sorry that this happened to her.

He shoots her not to prevent her from attacking him, like bunny slipper girl would have, but to put her out of the perceived misery that we believe the walkers must be in as we imagine ourselves imprisoned in our own bodies as mindless wandering hungry monsters.

Recently we’ve learned that Fear the Walking Dead will have a “patient zero”. While we don’t know yet if Gloria will be the first walker that we see on screen, since we know that The Walking Dead plays with time in its sequencing of events, I have a feeling she will be our “bunny slipper girl” and “bicycle girl”.

Fear the Walking Dead. Gloria. AMC /

How will Fear’s first walker make the lasting impression that those two walker girls I just talked about have made? She’ll likely be like bicycle girl in that she will cause fear to those who encounter her since our characters are completely new to the infection.

But she is more fresh looking and may fool people, much like bunny slipper girl fooled Rick until she turned around.

The killing of Bunny Slipper girl in those first few minutes let the audience know that the show was going to be daring and dazzling. I think in Fear the Walking Dead it’s going to be Gloria doing the killing that will be dazzling and daring.

She will likely be giving the lessons instead of a Morgan-like character. The people of Los Angeles are going to be learning first-hand what the walkers are. And the fun for the audience will be watching them learn since we’ve already graduated from zombie school. We have Morgan’s teacher’s manual and 5 seasons of internship.

I think Gloria may differ from almost all the walkers on The Walking Dead in that I have a feeling we might get to know her as a person before she’s a walker. I know we knew Amy, Sophia, Shane and Hershel. But we didn’t see them really wander and act like walkers for very long.

I think we might see Gloria last as a walker for a bit of time before someone puts her down. That might be something new and interesting to explore. Watching the shell of the person walk. The person is not there. Their body and face tricking our emotions.

I can’t wait to meet Gloria and some of the other walkers on Fear. I’m much more excited about Fear than I anticipated I would be.

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