341 replies to this topic

[Doom]

Let's talk about the main character in the series, played by Andrew Lincoln. Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes. Felled by a criminal's bullet in the pilot, we've watched him stumble himself through bad decision after bad decision. Somehow he's still alive. His first on-screen act of foolhardiness was turning his back on fleeing suspect, and getting shot.

He rode a horse into a crowd of walker in Atlanta, resulting in the poor horse's demise. Trapped in a tank, Glenn had to rescue him. He was the leader (or co-leader, with Shane) of then Camp Zombie Dinner Bell, where he routinely left people defenseless, didn't take advantage of favorable situations, and walked into gunfights with no exit strategy. Not even to mention he seems to be completely clueless that his wife was getting it on with his best friend when they thought he was zombie chum.

Rick's latest episode was him making yet another dumb decision, choosing to leave a child alone in the woods so he could hide behind a tree and kill two walkers. The nickname Foolhardy Clutterbuck arrived in season one, a combination of actor Andrew Lincoln's born name, and Grimes' penchant for doing stupid things in dangerous situations, like stopping in the middle of the hunt for the child he'd just lost, to let his son traipse around, and get shot.

Oh what foolhardy thing will you do next, Rick?!

[Vaya]

I have to say, despite his questionable decision making skills, I do rather like Rick and find him a good protagonist for the show. He's generally a good person, saddled with an awful wife and the end of the world.

[HelenBack]

I like him, too. He's not always realistic about the graveness of the situation in which they've found themselves, but he's an action-taker when many would just be, understandably, paralyzed, and I respect that. And, unlike being a sheriff's deputy, a zombie apocalypse doesn't exactly come with a rulebook! I also like his unwavering commitment to doing his best to look after everyone in the group, though he barely knows most of them.

[Doom]

I hope when he does finally find out about Shane and Lori, that he gives shane the tongue-lashing that jackass has needed since he first stepped on screen on this show.

[HelenBack]

Tongue-lashing? How about an ass-kicking and banishment?

[Doom]

Well it is Clutterbuck. You know he's going to be all reasonable and forgiving about things.

[Vaya]

Yeah, Rick strikes me as one of those guys who never gets angry.

Which means that when he finally does there will be hell to pay. I'll be ducking.

[StillTheTooth]

I like him, too, as far as that goes. I agree that he too often makes stupid and preventable mistakes, and that detracts from his overall appeal as a character and protagonist, but still---I like him.

His finest moments in the series, I think, are from season one. The first is when he took down Merle and stuck his gun in Merle's face and called himself "Officer Friendly." Pretty sweet and manly of him. The second moment was when he heroically set out to save Glenn from the Man-Eating Chihuahua's and the kick ass Janitor and nursing home staff (better characters, and more interesting than any of the leads, in fact.) His determination to go and get Glenn back demonstrated his loyalty and courage and his devotion to friendship and survival--when he gave up some of the rifles and ammo from his Bag 'O Guns, that was another golden moment.

I wish that he were just a trifle more badass, manly and competent than he currently is, because while I like both the character and the actor, I don't have much confidence at all in Rick's leadership.

Edited by StillTheTooth, Oct 18, 2011 @ 3:25 PM.

[Lillywhite]

What does Clutterbuck mean?

[Milan23]

I like Rick - sure he's not perfect but I think it's a good depiction of a man pushed into a situation where he's responsible for a group of people and he's going to do his best even if he'd rather just take his own people and hide. What was the line he said to the janitor in S1? Something about you are their leader because they needed someone to be.

And echoing Lillywhite - what is clutterbuck?

[HelenBack]

As noted in the opening post:

The nickname Foolhardy Clutterbuck arrived in season one, a combination of actor Andrew Lincoln's born name, and Grimes' penchant for doing stupid things in dangerous situations, like stopping in the middle of the hunt for the child he'd just lost, to let his son traipse around, and get shot.

[WmDeKooning]

I have to say, I was a little disturbed to see Rick Grimes talking like one of the members of Coldplay or Radiohead in the aftershow program when he was describing the disemboweling of one of the zombies...

[agora]

I like Rick - sure he's not perfect but I think it's a good depiction of a man pushed into a situation where he's responsible for a group of people and he's going to do his best even if he'd rather just take his own people and hide.

I tend to see him as the moral compass of the group more than a leader per se.

In a way, I think he's the incarnation of the best humanity has to offer - both good and bad - so his journey represents to me how long someone could stay humane under those circumstances.

Edited by agora, Oct 21, 2011 @ 10:38 AM.

[Doom]

You know, I forgot how Rick pwned Merle. I think Vaya is right. Rick is pretty soft spoken, but if you cross him, he will bring it. He said on the roof that anybody that comes between him and his family will lose. So I'm looking forward to him finding out about Shane, and Shane losing.

[Vaya]

So I'm looking forward to him finding out about Shane, and Shane losing.

Course he may consider Shane to be family. Shane will still lose, but it would be a lot harder than telling Merle to shut up or die.

[WmDeKooning]

For frak's sake, IMDB say A. Lincoln's last name really was Clutterbuck! What kinda name that?!

Anywho, love that Rick still wears his Deputy uniform. Like the "Law" still exists, zombie apocalypse or not, there will still be order and all that comes with.

[Don Lamb]

I love Rick. Andrew Lincoln is a great actor.

[Heatrae]

I thought Clutterbuck was a euphemism for clusterf**k .. Oops ;)

[Doom]

That's who Rick reminds me of that I've never been able to call to mind. Woody from Toy Story.

[pixelpaintr]

That's who Rick reminds me of that I've never been able to call to mind. Woody from Toy Story.

LMAO. That is too true. I think at his core he just wants everybody to get along and if that doesn't happen, feels responsible.

[Milan23]

Oh my gosh!! So very true!

[lawless]

Heh, Woody is indeed a good likeness for Rick.

Picking up from other threads re: whether he is a moron: I don't think he is a moron exactly, and sometimes he comes up with pretty decent ideas. It was a good idea to try the CDC -- it didn't work out, but it could have been their salvation if it just hadn't been abandoned. I suspect some computer staff person other than Jenner could have turned off the explosives if they'd stuck around, and that they could have worked out ways to get supplies if everyone hadn't abandoned it. At least it was secure from zombies and potentially habitable, unlike everywhere else. Ft. Benning is another logical destination, though I don't think the news there will be good, if they ever make it. They have to go somewhere, and at least they got some useful information about the epidemic at the CDC so they understand the scope of the crisis at least. With their luck and the way things are going, Ft. Benning is probably either overrun with zombies or occupied already by people who aren't taking stragglers. But it's a reasonable thing to try, as it probably has a lot of important supplies they could use in terms of vehicles, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), medical supplies, and weapons. They did see a helicopter. And they don't all have to roll up in their caravan right to the front door. They can check it out from a distance, try to make radio contact first, and feel it out before going in. If they get a bad feeling, they don't have to make contact. They'll need to watch out for potentially hostile sentries and patrols (and the everpresent walkers), but where else are they going to go at this point? I'd probably try it, unless I could think of another less well know destination with lots of supplies and defenses. They can't camp indefinitely, winter will eventually come and they are completely exposed. Anyway, Ft. Benning seemed to be Rick's idea, and I don't think it's a bad one. However, if they ever get moving again, I will be very curious to see how Rick plans to approach it.

I also don't think the plan with Sophia was so terrible. He had to come up with a plan on the spur of the moment that would save them both. It actually worked out ok until something unexpected happened that abruptly made Sophia go in a different direction. Rick doesn't always come up with the best ideas, I freely admit, but he was recently shot and comatose, is half-starved, is trying to take care of a whole group of people as well as his own family and many group members are not actually interested in living and are completely dependent on others (Andrea, Carol, Carl, and Sophia), and he has to deal with his sucky wife Lori and hotheaded creepy Shane. It was foolish for both parents to let Carl join them in the woods in the Sophia search on the one hand, yet on the other, it's not like there is really any safe place. The RV wasn't exactly safety central when the herd came through, look what happened to Andrea. And while I don't think I would encourage my kid to approach a wild animal in the woods like that, on the other hand, I was completely shocked when Carl was shot so I can't really claim to have seen that coming. (I was mostly busy being disgusted with the sentimentality of the whole thing, which was salvaged by the shooting -- nicely done Show!).

I guess I just wanted to say I like Rick, he's a decent person who tries to do the right thing. He does seem to make decisions that go bad kind of a lot, and sometimes the poor quality of those decisions is admittedly apparent immediately. But to be fair, sometimes I think it's just a factor of time, stress, and learning about Walkers as he goes along. He's a rookie at this, they all are, and he's making rookie mistakes. But I don't think he's a complete idiot. Maybe Daryl and Glen will rub off on him.

[HelenBack]

Beautifully said, lawless. And it isn't like anyone else knows what they're doing either. How could they? It's an entirely unprecedented situation.

Even Daryl and Glenn are still following Rick - though both have tremendous tactical intelligence, they haven't got any better longer-term ideas either. Maybe there aren't a whole lot of better ideas to have. Fort Benning, for that matter, was originally Shane's idea, and he put together Camp Zombie Dinner Bell, so maybe they should try to just stay on the farm...

I think people follow Rick because he's honest and he cares about them. There are a lot worse reasons to choose a post-apocalypse leader.

[lawless]

He does seem to genuinely care about the group, and he is honest and decent. There are WAY worse people to follow in the ZA, like Herschel, Meryl, and Ed, for instance. (I am unspoiled, but secretly convinced that Herschel is hiding his zombie wife somewhere on the farm, waiting for a cure or a miracle, and THAT's why he doesn't want them to stay, and doesn't want them to go around armed). Anyway. I did not realize it was Shane's idea to go to Ft. Benning, and I do think it's not going to be what they hope because it's too big and well known, but that helicopter came from someplace, and they have to go somewhere. Scavaging is not going to work forever, and they need some kind of shelter, both from the walkers and the elements. Daryl desperately needs to bathe. If nothing else, maybe they can get better vehicles and weapons from wreckage outside Ft. Benning if it's a no go. But truly, there doesn't seem to be anyplace else they can reach if the farm doesn't work out. Even if Herschel is on the up and up, I still think that's it's only a matter of time before a herd wanders through the area, and only good luck that that doesn't seem to have happened already. Rick is trying as hard as he can, and sometimes his plans work out. When they don't, sometimes it's foreseeable, but sometimes it isn't, and like you said, it's not like anyone else is full of better ideas. Glen and Daryl don't seem to have a long term plan, as you noted. Dale is content to stay with the RV and be a lookout, Shane is losing it (plus dangerous and untrustworthy!) and no one else has any plans other than possibly killing themselves. Again, at least Rick is trying.

I hope he does hook up with Morgan again, eventually, I think they need him.

[caseylane]

I don't dislike Rick. I just get bored when it's all about his family. I think as far as leaders go he's fairly good. He keeps the group's needs front and center, except where his family is involved.

Shane would end up being a terrible leader. He's too hot headed and would end up being a tyrant after awhile.

[diebartdie]

Thing is though, while Shane is obviously going crazy, it looks to me like Clutterbuck is also going crazy! That whole talking-to-my-dear-long-lost-friend-Morgan on the (very limited range) walkie-talkie thing was a little nutzo to me. Seriously, can he not have that kind of conversation with someone RIGHT THERE really with him? Glenn would listen, hell Dale would be THRILLED to have a conversation with ANYBODY. But no, Sheriff Clutterbuck has to talk to a walkie-talkie :/

[caseylane]

In all fairness Rick knows that as a leader he has to keep up appearances. In fact he told the guy at the CDC that very thing.

Even if he knows that Morgan can't hear him, it's a way for him to voice his fears and doubts without letting the rest of the group know that the boss is as afraid and lost as they are. It makes him feel less alone in his position.

[lawless]

If Rick doesn't already really feel the weight of being responsible for the group, I imagine he'll start to really soon, poor guy. I had forgetten that Shane wanted to make for Ft. Benning and Rick wanted to try for the CDC. Well, that makes me very worried about the Ft. Benning plan, because Shane's ideas are not so hot (see Camp Dinner Bell, and distracting the hungry zombies by throwing flares 50 feet from the place you want to sneak into without having an exit plan, for example.) If the show ever returns to that idea, I really will be interested to see how Rick suggests they approach. I hope he learns from their experiences as time goes on and comes up with better plans and ideas -- he's really a nice guy and he's really trying. I also really like his kid, and hope neither of them get eaten.

[EileenB]

Pretty cute video about Rick's walkie talkie skills...

http://nerdapproved....e-talkie-video/

[Milan23]

Haha - I love it! "He's a liar people, he just wants to talk about his wife and kids"

I saw this on pinterest - I feel kind of silly I had no idea this was Andrew Lincoln...AL

Edited by Milan23, Nov 11, 2011 @ 12:50 PM.