Does The Walking Dead Need Another Shane?

As I prepare for The Walking Dead’s season two marathon, I’m starting to wonder: Does The Walking Dead need another character like Shane?

Now, before you start thinking I’m advocating for something absurd like a clone, or a doppelganger, or Shane returning somehow, yet looking nothing like Jon Bernthal, NO. None of that is being suggested here.

Instead, what I’m advocating for is a character who fills the role that Shane played in the second season of the show, i.e., being a serious threat to The Group from within The Group.

Think about it: Since Shane’s death, there has not been anyone who’s actually joined The Group (Tomas doesn’t count), who has ended up becoming a serious threat to it.

Sure, you’ve had the odd person that Rick hasn’t gotten along with, but, no one since Shane has, over time, been a legitimate threat to A) Rick’s position within The Group or B) The overall safety of The Group.

Now, you might argue that Pete, Ron, Carter, even Father Gabriel posed threats to The Group, or at least, members of it. And, while you may be correct, none of them represented the sort of threat to The Group that Shane did.

While all were threats in their own way, none of them meant to The Group, and especially Rick, what Shane did. None of them were established members of The Group, really, and therefore, weren’t trusted friends of any of its members, specifically Rick.

The closest is Father Gabriel, but, he was not especially trusted by The Group at the time, so, his attempt to speak ill of the others to Deanna was not that big of a betrayal. What’s more, his motive for doing so wasn’t him descending into madness like Shane, just his attempt to atone for his failure to protect his flock.

Shane, however, was a solid member of The Group, having been part of it from the beginning. This wasn’t a newcomer or some relative stranger, but Rick’s best friend, the closest thing he has to a brother.

This made Shane’s actions not the acts of someone who is afraid Rick may pose a threat like those of say Pete or Carter, and not someone distraught over losing a loved one, like Ron, but a complete act of betrayal, one that ultimately not only effected Shane (Leading to his death), but also effected Rick, the entire group, and even us as viewers.

None of the others since have had that sort of impact on the show the way Shane did. Shane was a character that we had grown to care about, and seeing his demise has had such an impact that he is a character that still is debated by fans to this day.

I feel like the most accurate comparison that can be made is to a Greek tragedy: We watch a hero rise in Shane, but, because of his love for his best friend’s wife, he sinks into jealousy and eventually outright madness in his quest to obtain her. No other internal threats The Group’s had (If you can even call them that) can even compare to Shane in this respect.

Now, obviously, with The Walking Dead delving into the Saviors story arc, the likelihood of a new Shane-like character, some sort of serious internal threat from an established and trusted member of The Group, is highly unlikely right now.

But, I still think, once this storyline is concluded (Maybe season eight?), a new arc along these lines would be rather refreshing.

Since season two ended, The Group’s problems have largely been external: The Governor, The Claimers, Terminus, Dawn, The Wolves, The Quarry Herd, and now The Saviors; as I mentioned before, there have been some internal problems, but none of them have proven the same level of threat as any of these external ones.

I’m hoping that, over the next season or two, we begin to see someone, pick a person, who eventually begins to turn against The Group (Or at least, say, Rick or Daryl), and eventually either attempts to attack someone, abandon them when they need them the most (Possibly leading to them being bitten or eaten outright), or sells them out to either The Saviors or another threat that we haven’t learned about yet.

Whether we’d watch this character struggle with their discontent with The Group, friction with Rick, mental breakdown, or some combination of all three, is anyone’s guess.

But, in any event, I would greatly enjoy seeing the show go in this direction. I honestly feel like, for too long, the show has been devoid of a serious internal struggle that, in my opinion, my shake The Group to its core far more than external threats.

Watching Shane and Rick’s relationship implode, we got to see Shane struggle between his loyalty to his friend and his desire for that friend’s wife, Rick attempt to bridge the gap with the closest friend he has and get him back to normal, Shane air out his motivations for his actions, and ultimately, Rick struggle with his guilt over having to kill his best friend.

If there was a new backstabber, we could see The Group at this point in the apocalypse struggle with the sort of seismic internal shift they haven’t had to deal with in a very long time, and, depending on who it is, see the sort of struggle with the aftermath from a different perspective, like from Daryl’s or Glenn’s or Michonne’s. All of these are things, I think, would give The Walking Dead a great new twist.

Next: The Walking Dead, Season One: Things To Note

Do you agree? Would having a new Shane add a welcome dimension to the show? Or…would it just screw everything up? 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!