10 Reasons Why Rick Grimes is Better Than You

[zihna]

Or, 10 Reasons to Stop Bashing Other Characters Just Because You Like a Different One More

Word Count: ~4,200
Warnings:  Strong language, discussion of death & murder, the morality of a post-apocalyptic world. 
A/N: Many many thanks to twizzler, who edited this longer-than-necessary monster and provided continuous moral support, and avengersassemble

Comments

[theroguesgambit]

It makes me sad that an article like this needed to be made.

I love Daryl Dixon. I find him to be the most interesting person on the show, and Norman Reedus plays his every move and reaction so thoughtfully that you just feel the layers of unspoken back-story woven into that character's life. So, yeah, I absolutely get why everyone loves him. There's a lot to love.

But I HATE it when fans feel like they need to knock other characters down to lift their favorites up. If you dislike a character because you actually see fault in him, that's fine (I'll say right now that I can't stand Michonne at this point; everything she does seems erratic, poorly planned out and annoyingly self-serving, and I hope she starts shaping up soon) but too many people seem to feel like it benefits their favorite to tear apart the rest of the group, despite the rest still being fantastic.

The characters wouldn't appreciate that, the actors certainly don't appreciate their cast-mates being beaten down, and how dull would the show be, honestly, if your favorite character was the only one left on it?

This is an ENSEMBLE show. The characters' interactions with each other are what make them so compelling to watch, and each person has his own place in the group. I can't see anyone but Rick leading the group right now; as Carol said in 3.01, he got them through the winter when no one else could've done it, "...Shane couldn't have." He makes mistakes and he falls apart sometimes but he always manages to pull himself back together and get the job done. Daryl might be able to take charge on a short term basis (like he did after Lori) and he'll do a great job managing a crisis situation. But, like you said, he's not a long-term planner. That's not how he thinks, that's just not his skill set, and that's why he and Rick make such an effective team.

Honestly, I despise all this blind fangirlism (or fanboyism, whichever) over Daryl. These blind supporters, these rigid torchbearers who seem to feel that burning down the rest of the forest will make their tree look taller. It cheapens Daryl as a character to have all these people trying to make him perfect and infallible in their minds. He's far from perfect, and that's what makes him so interesting. He's a total badass and a little bit broken, and he is perfectly capable of standing on his own without fans ripping apart any potential competition.

*Big breath* Ok, your big rant kind of inspired my own little rant. Hopefully that got all this frustration out of our systems and we can go back to ignoring the unfortunate fan-wars and enjoying this amazing show. :)

[zihna]

By all means, rant away! It's very cathartic.

See, I absolutely adore Daryl, when he dies I will be a devastated wreck, but you are completely right, he's not the only character in the show. He's not even the main character, so posts that say he should just kill Rick already, or that he's a better leader/father/whatever than Rick, or more important to the group then Glenn, or better than everyone else at everything. Daryl, like the rest of them, is human. That means he has flaws. He has fears. He has damages and breaks inside of himself and he's not always a good person.

This is a show about a group of characters. One character alone just wouldn't cut it. The interactions between them, the loves and the hatreds and the loyalties and the griefs that spring up between them are what makes this show amazing.

So, yes, in short, you are wonderful, your ideas are wonderful, and please, rant as much as you like :)

Thank you very much! <3