Shane Is Still The Walking Dead’s Best Villain

The Walking Dead has had its fair share of villains over the past decade, but Shane Walsh is arguably still the most compelling.

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The Walking Dead has had a memorable list of villains, wreak havoc on its group of survivors, but Shane Walsh is still the best of them. The character was played by Jon Bernthal in the AMC show, which is based on the post-apocalyptic comic books by Robert Kirkman. Bernthal starred in a leading role for the show’s first two seasons, and even though The Walking Dead is now in season 10, his character remains one of the most memorable in its long history.

Prior to the apocalypse, Shane was Rick Grimes’ partner at the King County Sheriff’s Department. He was also Rick’s longtime best friend and was close with his partner’s wife, Lori, and son, Carl. When Rick was shot and stuck in a coma at the hospital during the outbreak, Shane stepped up to save his partner’s family. He found a camp of survivors by a quarry near the outskirts of Atlanta, where Lori and Carl could be safe, and – believing that his old friend was surely dead – began a relationship with Lori. Upon Rick’s return, Shane started to lose control as he fell deeper and deeper into the villainous role.

Besides the walkers, Shane served as the first real villain of The Walking Dead. Even though there have been plenty after him, the details surrounding Shane’s transformation into an antagonist make him the best villain to appear in the series so far. He has continued to haunt Rick well after their final encounter, proving that though Shane may be dead and gone, he left an indelible mark on the show and its original protagonist.

Shane Was A Perfect Example Of A Good Guy Going Bad

Shane was the first main character in The Walking Dead to lose his humanity in the post-apocalyptic world. In the beginning, the character was presented as a hero who rescued Lori and Carl. Even though he had his flaws, especially when it came to starting a romantic relationship with his partner’s wife, he did so believing that Rick was long gone. Shane was a natural-born leader, so bringing Rick back into the mix caused his ego to take a hit. In a normal world, Shane could have distanced himself or found other outlets to deal with his dismay, but that wasn’t the case anymore.

Instead of coming to terms with Rick’s return, Shane started to lose his sanity. His voice and opinions became less influential among the small group of survivors, whereas Rick emerged as the leader. The fact that he lost all chances of becoming a family with Lori and Carl only sped up Shane’s madness. He may have had an aggressive nature before the virus took over, but he made no efforts in toning down his rage when the new world demanded it to survive. His violent actions while staying on Hershel’s farm only reiterated that notion throughout season 2.

Unlike the other villains on the show, viewers followed Shane’s full transformation from a good guy to a full-blown antagonist. He had no interest in leading others since his morals were solely focused on himself and strictly Lori and Carl. The constant disagreements and lack of control drove Shane to the point that he contemplated killing Rick on multiple occasions. He didn’t care about forging a better word or saving everyone he could; Shane just wanted what Rick already had and he didn’t care how many people he hurt, or killed, in the process. Shane’s leap into darkness didn’t go unnoticed, especially from Rick. When finally threatened by his former partner, Rick did what he had to do to give his group a future. That certainly wouldn’t be the first time Rick was forced to kill a villain in the series.

Shane’s Villain Motivations Weren’t Comical – They Were Real

Since The Walking Dead is based on a comic book series, the show would often go out of its way to present characters as if they leapt from page to screen. Some characters were more memorable than others, and that was usually the case with the villains. They usually carried a distinguishable set of traits or characteristics, but at times their aesthetic was a bit comical. The Governor had his eyepatch, Negan carried a barbed wire baseball bat named Lucille, and Alpha wore the face of the dead. The motivations of these villains and others were just as unrealistic in the sense that they easily managed to gather gullible followers and string them along to do their dirty work.

Living in a world that was overrun by zombies wouldn’t make the average person wake up and decide to become a dictator or tyrannical leader. Villains like the Governor, Negan, and Alpha set their sights on Rick because his group was flourishing. Their concern about another group living close by was justified, but the reasons to wage war on other survivors were usually a bit far-fetched. Shane, on the other hand, had a personal set of motivations for targeting Rick and endangering other members of his group: he was driven by jealousy and his obsession with Lori. Shane’s decisions were based on emotion, not greed, power, or recognition as was the case with other villains.

Walking Dead’s Villains Have Been One-Dimensional Ever Since

Shane was truly the first and last villain to carry around a lot of depth when it came to his character’s complicated layers. His most intriguing aspects stemmed from his past with Rick, which was something The Walking Dead couldn’t emulate with the other villains. Sure, they had their fair share of encounters with Rick and the group, but there was never a long history of interactions that helped fuel the fire. The series also entered a lose-lose situation when it came to its big bads. As villain entered the fold, they either didn’t get enough screentime to evolve or they overstayed their welcome.

That said, the majority were one-dimensional characters that barely scratched the surface of their true selves. Joe and the Claimers pillaged from the innocent, while Gareth used the apocalypse to justify cannibalism. The Governor and Alpha became caricatures of their past selves to gain a loyal group of followers. Technically, one could argue that Negan fell out of that one-dimensional group, but his layers didn’t start to peel away until he was in captivity at Alexandria. Since that happened much later in his arc, Shane still reigns as the most compelling villain in The Walking Dead’s history.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-best-villain-shane-reason-why/