Seminal zombie apocalypse thriller The Walking Dead might have a truncated first season, however the present’s first six episodes definitely pack a punch. Much more importantly, they introduce lots of the primary characters whose journeys we comply with throughout the following 10 seasons of the sequence.
It’s truthful to say that almost all of The Walking Dead’s best characters are launched in season 1, which tracks the rapid aftermath of zombie “walkers” taking up the planet, from the angle of individuals within the higher Atlanta space of the southeastern United States. The season’s plot unites disparate teams of survivors, to kind a single nucleus of core characters.
Alongside the perilous hazard posed by walkers eager for the style of human flesh, the season explores interpersonal dynamics between those that are nonetheless dwelling. The apocalyptic state of affairs into which survivors have been hurled causes fissures to seem in relationship, but in addition permits for brand new bonds to kind.
Those that’ve seen the present earlier than must face some harsh realities when rewatching The Walking Dead season 1, too, significantly in terms of the unfulfilled potential of sure characters the season introduces to us. For a number of of these featured on this record, the primary season proves to be their sequence spotlight. For others, although, it’s only the start.
Ed Peletier
A Violent & Abusive Husband
If he weren’t so inconsequential, Ed Peletier can be considered one of The Walking Dead’s most hated villains. An abusive husband who oppresses, controls, and beats his spouse, Carol, Ed will get his simply deserts earlier than season 1 is over with. He has no redeeming options as a personality, merely serving because the catalyst for Carol to unlock her darkish facet.
Miguel
The Loudmouth Child Of The Vatos
It’s the looks of Miguel in episode 4 that introduces us to The Walking Dead’s retirement community, run by the Vatos gang to which he belongs. An unruly teenager who seemingly endangers anybody he comes into contact with, he nonetheless has his charms, and gives some comedian reduction throughout Rick, Glenn, and Daryl’s return to Atlanta.
Morales
A Likable Member Of The Group
Whereas he might have ended up changing into considered one of Negan’s vicious underlings, Morales is much from a villain when he first appears in The Walking Dead. With out being particularly exceptional as a personality, he’s only a essentially first rate one who takes care of his household and lends a hand defending the group from walkers when required.
Guillermo
He Listens To His Grandmother
The chief of the gang caring for a retirement group in Atlanta in the course of the fourth episode, Guillermo is without doubt one of the best Walking Dead characters with minimal screentime. The best way he pivots from ruthless gangster to obeying his aged grandmother immediately is positively heart-melting, and will have begun one of many present’s most intriguing subplots.
Jacqui
A Quiet However Calming Presence
Jacqui’s choice to stick with Dr. Edwin Jenner on the Middle for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) kills her off too soon into The Walking Dead, however we nonetheless catch glimpses of an even bigger character ready to be born. As an illustration, her commentary that the ladies of the principle group have been lumped with home chores cuts by means of completely.
Merle Dixon
The Strolling Useless’s 1st Actual Antagonist
Earlier than The Walking Dead turns Merle’s relationship with his brother Daryl into one thing extra sophisticated, he suits the invoice because the present’s first real antagonist. A racist hothead who threatens the remainder of the group in Atlanta earlier than Rick stops him, Merle appears to have gotten what was coming to him, till it transpires that he’s escaped with out his hand.
Jim
The Household Man Who Misplaced Every thing
One in every of season 1’s most tragic figures, Jim is the member of the group most visibly with grief and post-traumatic stress dysfunction after watching his household be eaten by zombies. To make issues worse, he will get bitten himself only a few episodes in. Even when he doesn’t function a lot within the present, he definitely deserves our empathy.
Daryl Dixon
Higher Than His Brother However Not Totally Reworked
Season 1 of The Walking Dead casts Daryl Dixon as a potential villain of the piece, however we start to witness his transformation right into a extra selfless and cheap particular person by its conclusion. Daryl isn’t like his brother, Merle, as turns into more and more apparent in later seasons. Within the first six episodes, nonetheless, he’s nonetheless a comparatively minor and antagonistic character.
Carol Peletier
A Lengthy-Struggling Spouse & Mom
Solely within the second when she bludgeons her useless husband’s cranium repeatedly can we get a glimpse of Carol Peletier’s darker side in The Walking Dead throughout this primary season. In any other case, she’s the put-upon spouse to a monstrous abuser, whose character doesn’t but flourish at this level of the sequence.
Carl Grimes
He Reveals Power Past His Years
Carl Grimes exhibits indicators of being The Walking Dead’s strongest character even in these early episodes of the present. His standout second of season 1 is when his mom asks whether or not he’s frightened about his father, earlier than admitting that she is. It’s Carl who finally ends up reassuring her, by reminding her of all Rick has managed to outlive already.
