The Walking Dead: Top 100 Moments
36. Stuff and Thangs
Episode 301 “Seed”
Original Airdate: 10/14/2012
Submitted By: Tracey Philipps
When season 3 of The Walking Dead opens, Rick’s group has been on the road for a very long time, long enough that Lori’s baby is due within days. Rick is desperate to find a location where the baby can safely be brought into the world.
Daryl and Rick stumble upon the prison while out hunting. Rick envisions food, medical supplies and weapons inside the prison. And the group sets about clearing the prison yard of walkers. Night falls and the group shares a sparse meal around a campfire in the now secure prison yard.
But there is little rest for the weary when Rick announces they need to keep pressing further into the interior of the prison the next morning. Lori catches up to Rick alone and they talk about the baby’s imminent arrival. Lori wants to address their estranged relationship. Rick explains that he does not have time for talking. He says, “I’m doing stuff, Lori. Things.”
Of course, with Rick’s accent, the last word came out a little more like “thangs”. And, thus, was born the popular phrase “stuff and thangs”. Just like “Carl” eventually becomes “Coral” so did “things” become “thangs”.
The phrase quickly become a pop culture buzzword. Different iterations of “stuff and thangs” cropped up all over social media in hashtags and user names, as well as on merchandise.
The words quickly became associated with any non-descript activity. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?” “I don’t know, just ‘stuff and thangs’.” The “thangs” portion itself became a popular add on for most anything. I recall writing an article about Walker Stalker Con titled “Tips and Thangs”.
But within the confines of the episode itself, the phrase highlights Rick’s effort to distance himself from matters of the heart. He does not indicate specifically what he is doing, but is insistent that he spend time on more important “stuff and thangs” than discussing his relationship with Lori.
Sadly, Rick continues to avoid the topic leaving many unresolved feelings after Lori’s tragic and untimely death. One might say that it was such “stuff and thangs” that led to Rick hearing voices through a broken telephone.