The Walking Dead Theory: Is the red machete CURSED?

Rick’s Red Machete has become somewhat iconic — iconic enough to get its own The Walking Dead Webisode — but…is it also CURSED?

If you didn’t see it the other day, I wrote a Things To Note article about the latest Walking Dead webisode: Red Machete. In it, I speculated that the third part of the story, Made To Suffer, along with referencing a phrase used several times in The Walking Dead, was named so to refer to the largely tragic fates of everyone who possess the iconic weapon.

While writing that, I thought it a nifty idea, but didn’t focus much on it beyond that (Admittedly, I wanted to get some sleep). Since then, however, the idea has been swirling around in my head a little more and, the more I think about it, the more accurate it seems to be.

A walker kills The Red Machete’s (Red Machete) first owner (Christopher Troy). The Walking Dead: Red Machete — AMC /

Let’s start at the beginning.

When we first see The Red Machete, it is grabbed by a young man inside Gerald’s Hardware as he attempts to defend himself from a walker.

…He is unsuccessful.

Within a few seconds, its first owner dies a terrible death. Not a good sign for the luck of The Red Machete.

It then falls into the possession of David and his eldest daughter, Mandy.

Now, if you’ve seen the webisodes, you’d know that nothing ill actually befalls Mandy. In what we see, at least, Mandy gets through unscathed. However, when you look at the larger picture, you realize that assessment is…erroneous.

Jose Rosete as David, The Walking Dead: Red Machete — AMC /

Before she is deprived of the weapon, she loses both her little sister and her father to the dead. Within the span of the second part of the series, Sorrowful, Mandy has to lay graves for both.

One could argue that the curse fell upon David, as he’s technically the second owner, but, either way, tragedy strikes the family. While Mandy does survive owning the weapon, it isn’t without a terrible loss.

Which then brings us to The Red Machete’s third (fourth?) owner, Derek.

We don’t see much of Derek’s time with The Red Machete. It seems like it might not have been that long since Derek stole the weapon from Mandy, but, we can’t tell.

What we can tell is why Derek’s time with The Red Machete is relatively short: Because he fails to use it properly against a walker, who subsequently devours him.

The Red Machete (Red Machete) adorns the chest of a walker. The Walking Dead: Red Machete — AMC /

From this point, the new “owner” of the machete is the walker Derek stabbed with it, the weapon stuck within the walker’s chest.

We watch as she wanders around for an indeterminate amount of time with the weapon, until she is ultimately relieved of it, and, presumably, killed.

If so, this makes at least four owners of The Red Machete that met with tragedy.

The person who rescued the machete from the walker? Why, none other than the leader of The Claimers, Joe.

…We all know what happened Joe, right?

Jeff Kober as Joe, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead — AMC /

Well, just as refresher, in the Season Four finale, “A”, Joe and his Claimers caught up with Rick, Carl, and Michonne, with the intent of killing Rick and doing God knows what to Michonne and Carl.

Well, let’s just say things didn’t work out that way.

Rick ended up ripping Joe’s throat open with his teeth, before he, Michonne, and Daryl, slaughtered The Claimers.

That’s five owners of The Red Machete that met with tragedy.

Which brings us to the current owner, Rick. Now, I imagine at this point, you might think my theory falls apart. Rick is still very much alive, despite his long time in possession of The Red Machete.

However, to say that Rick’s life has been without tragedy since he “claimed” the weapon would be untrue.

Christine Woods as Lieutenant Dawn Lerner, Emily Kinney as Beth Greene, The Walking Dead — AMC /

Think about it. Rick became owner of the weapon just before arriving at Terminus, and what happened there?

Oh yeah! The Group got captured by a colony of cannibals!

True, they escaped, but, within short order of leaving Terminus, The Group lost Bob, then Beth, then Tyreese, and finally, after arriving in Alexandria, Noah. That’s all just within one season of the show, I’m not even counting everything that’s happened since.

When you look at all of this together, suddenly the idea of The Red Machete being cursed…doesn’t seem quite so far-fetched. It seems like everyone, including Rick, has met with tragedy since acquiring the weapon. If Rick were smart, he’d throw the machete into the Atlantic and just stick with his hatchet. Of course, his luck since that became his weapon hasn’t been much better.

Next: The Walking Dead Theory: Is Simon the TRUE monster of The Saviors?

What do you guys think? Is The Red Machete cursed? Is it all just coincidence? Am I crazy? Let me know what you think 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!

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