Betting on a squirrel toss? Whodda thunk?

 Top Moments of The Walking Dead Season 1

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It’s over. (*sobs*) And now fans of The Walking Dead are left to ponder and pine for almost a year before we get to see Rick Grimes and crew decapitate more zombies.

Anyone who was on twitter the night of the finale got to laugh, squeal, shake their head as I bit my finger bloody through the explosive last episode.

I got so thoroughly over-excited that had it not been for faithful #zombiesurvivalcrew members @PatriciaIVicens, @jogden38 and @creativeconduit I would have missed the code to enter for the shamble on role – thank you again ladies!

Our only solace in the immediate aftermath of the finale was the generosity of IronE Singleton – a.k.a. TDog – our #zombiesurvivalcrew co-captain, who came on to the blog and answered all our questions with a depth of sincerity that was astounding.

I ended up having to go back and watch the finale two more times before I was even able to begin processing what I actually saw. Sitting down to think about it after, I began running through my

 top moments of season one

 

Here is where I landed ….

1 – Rick & Glenn take a walk –

Anyone who wasn’t shaking on their couch when walker-goo-covered Rick & Glenn took a horrifying walk through Atlanta’s zombie-infested streets just simply isn’t human. This was the epitome of (fictional) bravery and left many of us watchers wondering – could we do the same?

This was the perfect example of what it would take from each individual to survive a zombie apocalypse, and if you can’t hack it – you’ll be meat.

2 – Dale & Andrea –

A lot of people have asked and here is the answer. The scene near the finale’s end when Dale makes his amazing sacrifice was the moment my finger began to bleed. If the interplay between this loving, wise, generous father figure and the “daughter” he’s devoted to had gotten any more real I probably would have ended up in the hospital.

It’s moments like this that will carry The Walking Dead forward. And, yes, I know that death stalks them all, but I’m hoping Darabont, Kirkman and crew will keep this kind of character interaction very much alive.

3 – Daryl’s Squirrel toss –

Daryl had the best entrance of all the characters (with the exception of maybe Glenn). Three plus weeks later I’m still trying to figure out my favorite part. It’s a hard choice, because everything in that sequence was sublime — from the squirrel toss and the illegal choke hold, to “C’mon people, what the hell?!? It’s gotta be the brain. Dontcha all know nothin’?!?” and tears for his brother.

In the span of just a couple minutes The Walking Dead gave us a multi-dimensional character you just knew you were going to love to hate.  This was refreshing compared to the very one-dimensional introductions we received to most of the other characters. And, of course, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Daryl quickly became a fan favorite.

4 – The Vatos –

Ok, I admit it…. When Miguel snuck up on Daryl, blew his hiding place and sparked a violent confrontation with members of the main survivors group, I jumped to conclusions. It made sense at the time. I mean let’s be real here. Anyone with any intelligence is going to expect that when the entire world goes to sh*t and people are battling to the death every minute of every day that it isn’t going to be just “good people” wandering around.

And as it turned out I was right, and wrong … while we can’t say that most of the vatos were “good guys” they weren’t entirely bad either. And from what little Darabont and crew let us know most of the boyz had risen above whatever naughtiness they dabbled in before the zombiepocalypse to stay and protect the ones they love.

5 – Daryl & Glenn –

Could these two be any more opposite….? And yet, because of the zombiepocalypse they are stuck together. And even with Daryl’s bigotry it doesn’t take him long to see something beyond slanted eyes.

The exchange where Daryl is impressed by Glenn’s planning skills and asks what he did before – only to discover that Glenn was a pizza delivery boy – again tells us a lot about what kind of character it will take to survive during a global cataclysmic event and reinforces what should be an uncontestable truth for us all. Never, ever judge a book by its cover.

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