The Walking Dead and FearTWD: Dealing with those who become walkers

When reflecting on the series as a whole, the idea of putting down a loved one plays a huge role. This was first seen in the first season of The Walking Dead with Morgan, who’s reanimated wife Jenny haunted him, but he wasn’t able to pull the trigger and end her turned state. This had a horrific result as she later attacked their son Duane, thus sending Morgan into a ruthless killer mentality.

On the flip side, we’ve seen in the case of other characters that putting a walker family member down can be incredibly freeing. Carl preventing Lori from turning was massively important for him. Because of this, he assisted in Spencer putting walker Deanna down after she turned and wandered through the woods outside of Alexandria. It wasn’t easy for Spencer to plunge a knife into his mother’s head, but it freed him from the pain of knowing that her eternal rest was being delayed.

Interestingly enough, there have been several characters who embrace the idea of becoming a walker. In season 1, Jim was bitten and decided to allow himself to turn, rationalizing it by believing himself to be joining his deceased family that also reanimated. While someone likely put him down at some point, it is entirely possible that he is still out there stumbling around rural Georgia. Similarly, Clara, the woman who Rick found struggling to survive outside of the Prison, had the mentality that dying and turning would allow her to join her walker husband.