At this point, if someone has not heard of AMC’s smash-hit TV series The Walking Dead they are either a newborn or are probably living without any contact to the outside world, most likely hiding from some alleged Zombie apocalypse and stockpiling their weapons and food (much like the characters in The Walking Dead themselves). Now in its 9th season with talk of bringing it through to 13 seasons, the series remains immensely popular among Millenials and pre-Millenials alike. With its premier episode still ranked the single most watched television episode in the world, the story follows ex-sheriff Rick Grimes as he tries to bring his family to safety while fighting off hordes of both the undead and (more often) the living alike. I tend to think that its popularity is not simply the unpredictable-ness of the story (the screen writers are not afraid to kill off anybody and everybody at any given time, right when you think they wouldn’t dare) or the realism of the “fight” scenes (the show is grotesquely violent at times): I think that the show stays popular because it is not simply intended as a story. The Walking Dead attempts to present a world as it really is, without the constraints of government or imposed morality. What is essential to this world? When the chips are down, what do people hold on to (and more importantly, what gets them killed)? Well, Religion is definitely not on The Walking Dead’s essentials list: in fact, it has a much more sinister portrayal of Religion than simply not essential in mind.
Set in the backwoods of Georgia, perhaps it is appropriate that Religion has such a prominent place in the culture: after all, Flannery O’ Connor once observed that the South was no longer “Christ centered” but “ is most certainly Christ Haunted (O’ Connor, Mystery and Manners)”-a particularly appropriate observation for a world where the bodily shells of the dead literally haunt the world. Every person in Rick’s group has had some run-in with God, either by having nowhere else to turn or by being avid Christians themselves. Those who choose to stay among the believers soon realize that though their Faith might be a nice past time to enjoy by the fire, it has no place “out there”, in the real world. Those who turn to prayer when there seems nowhere else to turn, are reminded to “I know it's not my business, and feel free to believe in God, but the thing is, you've got to make it okay somehow. No matter what happens. (Maggie Greene, Season 2 Episode 3: Save the Last One)” Religion does not simply take a back seat, however: it can get you killed, if you are not willing to forsake it now and again to get things done.
More subtly, The Walking Dead makes the attempt to usurp Religion. In the early episodes (when Religion was still a viable option for people), Rick finds himself looking for lost child in an old church. Beginning with “I guess you already know I'm not much of a believer. I guess I just chose to put my faith elsewhere. My family, mostly. My friends. My job,” he asks the Crucified Christ for “Some kind of... acknowledgment. Some indication I'm doing the right thing. You don't know how hard that is to know. Well, maybe you do. Hey look, I don't need all the answers. Just a little nudge. A sign. Any sign will do (Rick Grimes, Season 2 Episode 1: What Lies Ahead).” His prayer is answered by his own child getting shot moments later in a horrible accident. In the later seasons, Rick’s company is joined by a religious minister (Episcopal priest) named Gabriel. At first Gabriel shows himself to be an utter coward, condemning himself to damnation after shutting his congregation out of his church and causing their deaths. After they reach what seems to be safety in a community, Gabriel finds enough courage to counsel the community leaders that Rick’s group is like “Satan…he disguises himself as the angel of light (Gabriel Stokes Season 5, Episode 14: Spend).” and none but he (Gabriel) deserves to be let into such a heavenly place. He is portrayed as nothing short as a demon when a mentally tormented member of the group comes to him for counsel and confession. Gabriel himself changes, however, and his courage and trustworthiness is proven when he partakes in a battle, after which he proclaims to Rick that he had almost “lost Faith. But I have found it again. I have Faith in us. We will win. We can do anything (This is a paraphrase, as I cannot remember exactly which episode this is. The scene is at the end of one an episode in Season 5, I think, or early in the 6th season).”
As a christening blow to the usurpation of Religion, Rick and his group are captured and told that now they belong to a tycoon named Negan (a situation central to the plot of the 7th Season and runs through the 8th). Negan puts Rick’s willingness to serve him to the test, and tells Rick to take his hatchet and cut off the arm of his own son. In a moment strikingly similar to the Old Testament’s Abraham and the commanded sacrifice of his son Isaac, Rick’s blow is stopped at the last possible second, only when his service and obedience to this higher power is proven. I don’t think it is hard to see what analogous role this has the evil Negan playing.
On March 31st, 2013 AMC ran an all-day marathon of The Walking Dead to ramp up anticipation for the season 3 finale. Herschel Greene, a beloved character killed mid series, states almost in despair: “I can’t profess to understand God’s plan. Christ promised a resurrection of the dead: I just thought he had something a little different in mind.” AMC didn’t, though: March 31st was Easter Sunday. And what better way to celebrate the Resurrection by a 16-episode marathon celebrating undead zombies?
