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The Walking Dead Villains: Who ISN’T The Worst? Part 5

By Liam O'Leary

Andrew J. West as Gareth, The Walking Dead -- AMC
Andrew J. West as Gareth, The Walking Dead -- AMC /
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Michael Traynor as Nicholas, The Walking Dead -- AMC
Michael Traynor as Nicholas, The Walking Dead — AMC /

Nicholas

Cards on the table: I’m going to dip a little into Season 6 stuff here. Now, I obviously didn’t do this with Merle or The Governor before, but, since Nicholas didn’t really do anything to make himself a villain to any degree in Season 6, and also because what he did do is pretty crucial to proving my point, I have opted to defy my usual procedures for this case. Now that that is out of the way, let’s proceed…

Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Daniel Bonjour as Aiden Monroe, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead -- AMC
Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Daniel Bonjour as Aiden Monroe, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead — AMC /

I think I’ll start this by saying that, in a weird way, the greatest charge against Nicholas, might end up being his greatest defense, namely, that he is afraid…terribly afraid.

“What?! How is that his defense?!?!” You might ask? Well, to address that, let me first draw your attention to this: On the whole, the Alexandrians are petrified of walkers. With a few exceptions (Aaron, Heath, Annie, Scott, David, and Francine), nearly all the Alexandrians go-to response to meeting walkers is the same, no matter how many there are: Run like Hell.

To properly assess Nicholas, you need to acknowledge the fact that nearly all the Alexandrians have almost a pre-apocalypse mentality. To them, despite having lived in the apocalypse for all this time, it is almost as if the reality of the situation is new. They act as if they are just now coming to grips with the fact that the dead are walking and trying to eat them. This is the mentality, it seems, Nicholas has.

Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Josh McDermitt as Eugene Porter, the Walking Dead — AMCT
Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Josh McDermitt as Eugene Porter, the Walking Dead — AMCT /

This is the reason behind everything Nicholas did. All those people he abandoned, all those times he chickened out, all of it was motivated by his overwhelming fear of the walkers. To be honest, the fact he even went out on supply runs at all seems borderline miraculous considering how powerful that fear was.

Even his attitude towards Glenn and his confrontation with Eugene sprung from that fear, and also the fear of others realizing just how afraid he was. When he got confrontational with Glenn and Eugene, even when he lied to Deanna, was all an attempt to put up a brave front; A mask to hide the fact that he was in near crippling fear of what lay beyond Alexandria’s walls.

Michael Traynor as Nicholas, The Walking Dead -- AMC
Michael Traynor as Nicholas, The Walking Dead — AMC /

As absurd as it may initially appear, even his attack on Glenn in the woods was the result of him desperately attempting hide his fear.

After Glenn caught up with Nicholas in the woods and began beating him up, he finally got to the bottom of everything Nicholas had done up that point when Nicholas said one phrase: “I don’t belong out here.”

That was it. Nicholas, for all his bravado, did not belong outside the walls, he never did, and he knew it.

That said, I imagine there are those still angry that Nicholas attempted to kill Glenn, but, let me ask you something: Did he?

Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead -- AMC
Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead — AMC /

Let’s be honest here: If Nicholas wanted to kill Glenn…he could have. He could have blown Glenn away…but he didn’t. The reason he didn’t kill Glenn, is the same reason Glenn didn’t kill him: Because Nicholas, chickenshit though he might be, is not a killer.

Nicholas may have been determined to silence Glenn, to not let anyone know how afraid he was, but, when it came down to it, he couldn’t kill him. Even though it would have been easy for him to do, he couldn’t do it.

And once Glenn came to realize just how afraid Nicholas was, Glenn realized that he couldn’t kill Nicholas for something that was, frankly, natural: Fear. Once Glenn opted to spare Nicholas, we saw a man who was dedicated to making amends, and owning his mistakes.

Corey Hawkins as Heath, Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Steven Yein as Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead -- AMC
Corey Hawkins as Heath, Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Steven Yein as Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead — AMC /

This is what makes Nicholas redeemable: His desire to make amends. After Glenn gave him a second chance, Nicholas made a point of helping Glenn and Rick, in an absolute first for him, he took down a walker to help Heath (Pictured right), and, in spite of his overwhelming fear, began to taking down walkers, including that of Will, one of the people he left behind.

In the end, when Nicholas tragically ended his life, he made sure to thank Glenn for giving him the chance to make amends, and even his final act, I think, was an attempt to return the favor to Glenn: To give him a second chance. Nicholas chose to sacrifice himself in the hope that it would give Glenn a shot at surviving, and, though it didn’t go quite the way he intended, he succeeded; He gave Glenn a second chance.

If anything can redeem Nicholas, that would be it.

Next: A Man Misjudged?

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