The Walking Dead: How Far Is “Too Far Gone”?

The zombie apocalypse WILL effect us — we know this — and some, very badly, but, at what point do we consider them too far gone?

Last week, I discussed how the zombie apocalypse has effected members of The Group in Fear The Walking Dead,  and raised the question of whether some of them could ever get back to anything resembling “normal”, or whether the person they were was lost forever.

That, in turn, got me thinking: At what point do we consider someone truly “too far gone”? At what point do we consider a person beyond reach and deem them crazy or even hostile?

To do that, I suppose we must first answer this: Is anyone so effected by the zombie apocalypse that they actually can be deemed “too far gone”?

While I imagine most people would immediately jump to “Yes”; after some reflection, you realize it’s not as easy a question as you might have initially thought.

Throughout both The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead, we’ve seen characters who’ve run the gamut from completely normal to unpredictable and violent, sometimes from the same person!

With so many characters going through rollercoasters of emotion and personality shifts, saying that a person is “too far gone” because they display certain characteristics is, frankly, rather presumptuous. We’ve seen several characters go either in part or in whole into Crazytown, and come out the other side…

Owen

If ever there was an example of someone thought to be “too far gone” (Even by himself), yet proved to still have a decent person within him, then the leader of The Wolves, Owen, would be it.

The Wolves were vicious murderers, and Owen seems to have been the founder of their warped philosophy (Which saw their rampages as “liberating” civilized communities), matter-of-factly telling Morgan of his intent to slaughter the Alexandrians if given the chance.

Yet, after spending a few hours with Denise (After kidnapping her, of course), and seeing that, despite what he’d done, that she was still willing to help him deal with his bitten arm…he changed.

Seemingly flush with a new empathy (For Denise, at least), he cleared a path for her to reach the town’s infirmary. Despite being shot by Carol, he selflessly tackled a large walker to ensure Denise got to safety, even yelling at her to go on.

Redemption: CONFIRMED.

Of course, members of The Group have drifted in the deep end of the crazy pool, too, and yet, found their way back…

Rick

Let’s be honest with ourselves: If Hershel had seen Rick between the fall of the prison and leaving Georgia, he would not like what he’d see.

What he’d see is a vicious, brutal, and excessively violent version of his friend. A version of Rick he’d barely recognize.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Rick’s treatment of “Deserved It” Dan, and the Termites, I don’t begrudge: They were twisted predators who would have done the same and worse if given the chance.

…Yet, not all of Rick’s actions in this period were justified, and this is where Hershel, amongst others, would probably fear Rick was setting down roots in Crazytown.

For example, look at how Rick was when dealing with the cops at Grady Memorial Hospital. Despite needing them to execute the plan to trade for Beth and Carol, Rick, for no real reason at all, blows away Lamson (According to Noah, one of the most decent cops at the hospital)!!

Then, after stopping him from attacking Daryl, he nearly executes Licari in cold blood; had it not been for Daryl (Who certainly had more reason to be angry at Licari than Rick), he would have. In fact, the only reason they went with this plan at all was because of Tyreese’s insistence: Rick’s plan was to go into commando-style and just kill anyone who got in the way!!

If Hershel, hell, maybe even Carl, had seen Rick like this, they would be concerned Rick had lost control and was delving into some sort of murderous insanity.

And yet, after spending time with the Alexandrians, and seeing them to be otherwise decent (If thoroughly unprepared) people, slowly, Rick started coming back. He started behaving normally again, and not choosing to shoot first and ask questions later.

It took a while, and losing a lot of people to walkers and The Wolves to finally do it, but, Rick managed to stave off the invites to Crazytown and get back to being a version of Rick his departed friends and family would recognize.

…Of course, while we do have examples of people who could be construed as “too far gone” making their way back, and just jumping to that assessment may be presumptuous, it isn’t so all the time…

The Governor

Just because some people may be prematurely deemed “too far gone” doesn’t mean they all are.

The Governor, even before Michonne put down Penny’s walker and destroyed his eye, was a heartless killer, who thought nothing of gunning down innocent people and lying to their faces as he did so.

Watching him throughout seasons three and four of The Walking Dead, you come to realize how much of a megalomaniac he is. Within both of those seasons, he kills dozens, tries to kill more, and is happy to throw still more into the meat grinder to achieve his ambition of control.

Come to think of it, that might be how we can answer this question of how far “too far gone” really is. You see, the thing that seems to separate those who don’t have the ability to come back from Crazytown from those who do is the person’s willingness to not only kill people who pose no legitimate threat to them, but their willingness to continue to, despite being given a better option.

With Owen, Rick, and several other characters across The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead, when presented with a more peaceful option, despite their more violent actions previously, they opted toward the peaceful route, showing that, if nothing else, they were willing to change.

The Governor, on the other hand, did the complete opposite. When he brought his new group to attack the prison the final time, despite Rick offering him a chance to peacefully coexist, The Governor, in a horrific act of senseless violence, chose instead to execute Hershel, brutally decapitating him with Michonne’s katana.

Just because some people may be prematurely deemed “too far gone” doesn’t mean they all are.

Despite his claim to want to find a safe place for his new surrogate family, his megalomania shone through, as he simply couldn’t stomach the idea of coexisting with Rick and (As proved by his murdering poor Martinez) he

definitely

couldn’t tolerate the idea of having someone that his group, especially Lilly, could look to instead of him. So, rather than accept coexistence, he chose to do something he knew Rick could never forgive.

Next: Fear The Walking Dead: You CAN'T Go Home Again

And that, I think, answers my question. Do you agree? Do you you think that sets down when someone’s “too far gone” or do you think no one can truly be written off? Let me know in the comments! And, if you like this and want to read more of my writings, specifically about how to survive a zombie apocalypse, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can get it on Kindle here and on iTunes here!