Brandy Pettigrew remembers Hershel, the beloved patriarch of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’.
—
With The Walking Dead Season 5 trailer release date officially set for July 25th, it is time to start talking about my favorite show again. Did you miss my first Good Man of The Walking Dead? Those of you who were already introduced have been asking, who is my next Good Man of The Walking Dead. Well, (SPOILER ALERT for those who haven’t watched Season 4) he’s gone, but still in our hearts. I couldn’t go any further in my discussion of these good men without talking about Hershel Greene.
Hershel was my favorite character on TWD from his arrival on the show in Season 2. He reminded me of so many men I see everyday. He is the man on his tractor in the field, the guys in the local General Store having coffee while talking about the weather, and he is my grandfather. These are all men of a bygone era that is still alive today in my small town community. They are the kind of men not often represented in TV and film. So, here was there chance, Hershel Green to represent them all.
Hershel, played by Scott Wilson, was a Georgia farmer and Veterinarian before the outbreak. He lived on his farm with his two daughters, Maggie and Beth, as well as his second wife and stepson (who had both turned before we met him). Within the first few episodes he saved Carl’s life (after his hired man accidentally shot Carl while hunting) and had given the group refuge on his farm until Carl was well enough to travel.
We learn a lot about Hershel through Season 2. He was an alcoholic before his daughter, Maggie, was born. The love for his wife, his daughter, and his faith in God changed all that. Hershel was sheltered from most of what had occurred since the outbreak by living off his land. His farm was almost sustainable on its own. He protected his farm and the people that lived there fiercely. That was the primary reason he didn’t want Rick’s group to stay on the farm any longer than necessary. The secondary reason was that he was protecting his secret, the townspeople and family members who were already zombies, he was hiding in the barn. Hershel believed that these people were just sick and that there was hope and a cure out there somewhere. He was keeping them safe until help could arrive. He never saw his dream for a cure become a reality, but even though he faltered, he never stopped having faith: “Christ promised resurrection of the dead… I just thought he had something different in mine,” he says.
Throughout the show Hershel touched the lives of each member of the group. Once he accepted them into his farm he became much more necessary to the group than just for his medical expertise, his knowledge of the land or his steady aim of a rifle. He developed a close father/son bond with Glenn. For Rick he repeatedly reminds him of his humanity, helps him to keep faith in a higher purpose, and was the sounding board he needed for the difficult decisions facing a leader of a diverse group. With each member of the group at the farm and the prison he was a guiding light to calm, rational thought. Hershel reminds them all of their basic goodness when the world is falling apart around them:
“You step outside you risk your life. You take a drink of water. You risk your life. And nowadays you breathe and your risk your life. Every moment now you don’t have a have a choice. The only thing you can choose is what you’re risking it for.”
Up to the end of his life Hershel kept fighting for peace and understanding. In his final moments, his serene smile tells it all. He finally heard Rick say that both groups could live together and that everyone can change. Hershel had fulfilled his mission. He may have died, but he did not die without making an impact on those he loved.