2. Rick's Going to Have to Man Up
Without a conflicted Rick, this show loses its heart. A big theme of the comic book was watching this essentially decent man be forced into making horrible choices, but the TV show forewent this by passing the buck to Shane. As a result, Rick became far less interesting. He was just so
inert. With the lack of a dark place to go to, he just seemed weak-willed; easily manipulated by Lori, not forceful enough with Hershel and lacking the conviction to sway Shane. It wasnt that he made bad decisions; he just seemed incapable of making any at all. He became a human doormat, and thats not what we want to see in our main character. This hasnt been helped by this series plotlines. Whilst the first season had Rick running and gunning on a daily basis, TWDs stay on the farm helped cement the view that Rick is much like a soldier in peacetime. Hes ill-suited to the general rigmarole of day-to-day concerns, and much more at home with a tangible threat to respond to. Enter the Governor. If the trailers to be believed, his introduction means that this series will begin to take on the dynamics of a turf war, as his group attempts to take The Prison from Ricks. Such a threat can only be good news for the character- rather than pussyfooting around, hes going to have to grab that leadership mantle, and grab it with conviction. Hes going to have to make unpleasant decisions and do whatever it takes to survive against this new menace, even if it means compromising himself. This is going to give Rick an added dimension he so desperately needs. Though weve already begun to see it- hes unblinkingly gunned down human threats to his territory and has thrown out group democracy in favour of what has been (awesomely) named the Ricktatorship- the presence of tribal warfare means hes going to have to go further. These strains need to be but a beginning to Ricks leadership burdens. After all, in both these moments, the difference was plain to see- Rick was ten times more self-assured, and all the more watchable for it. If this new-found gravitas can be carried into season three, were in for unmissable viewing.