Like the MCU, The Walking Dead seems to have its phases

The Walking Dead debuted its tenth season trailer, but like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I would say the AMC franchise show has its phases. Here’s my take.

The Walking Dead introduced to the fans its tenth season trailer at the San Diego Comic Con. It’ll be interesting on how the franchise shall continue its ensemble of shows and future projects. According to Deadline Hollywood, AMC even released a theatrical movie tease. It appears the story of Rick Grimes is to continue on the big screen. A third spin-off is also on the planning board.

When Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige debuted its Phase 4 line-up, you have to wonder how not much different the other franchises are when it comes to a changing of the guard of sorts that’s indicative of one door closing and another opening. Just as in life.

With the trend of world building stories on the big and little screens, I believe that other franchises have their phases as well. Marvel Studios showed its movie line-up and included an avid amount of future small screen content within their fourth phase. I feel that AMC has its own format, but categorized in its own way. These are my “phases” of The Walking Dead.

Phase 1 – Rick Grimes and friends

In The Walking Dead’s season one, episode one, Rick Grimes wakes up in an abandoned, demolished hospital, completely unaware of what occurred and the horrors he’d come across when he saw his first non-animated corpse in the halls. It is here where he has one mission, to find his family. Here, Rick makes his first apocalyptic friend (Morgan), reunites with this partner, Shane, and his family, Carl and Lori.

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This is Rick’s first group as they make way outside of Atlanta, comes across Hershel’s farm and which is later overrun. It is just outside of that and prior to the prison, Rick Grimes has a major defining moment…taking out his friend Shane which resulted in…

Phase 2 – The birth of the Ricktatorship and prison time

When Rick’s group left Hershel’s farm and made way to the prison, he explained to the others what he had to do to Shane and how serious a threat he’d become. Grimes felt he was the one carrying on with the group’s survival and credits himself for the longevity of their lives. He finally states, “This isn’t a democracy anymore” at the conclusion of season two’s episode of “Beside the Dying Fire”. And that was that, and it carried on for quite some time and it kept him a force to be reckoned with for a while.

Phase 3 – Woodbury and The Governor

The Walking Dead is not without its big baddies and I would say The Governor was the first Negan-like community leader of the series introduced during season three, episode three’s “Walk With Me”. At least that’s what I can recall. Only difference is, Negan was transparent, The Governor kept his evil hidden away from the community.

The stand-off between the prison and The Governor left us with a beheaded Hershel, a major character that was missed. As season four had concluded, we had witnessed a change in Carol that echoed in her personality from that day forward. She had to kill a little girl for trying to befriend the dead and deemed her psychosis a threat to the group. I’d consider this more of a footnote, but highly mention-able, indicating a shift in Carol’s outlook on life in the zombie apocalypse.

Phase 4 – Alexandria: The Ricktatorship rears itself strongly

The Walking Dead crew made its way to an epic venue that was kept standing firm in this community. For a while, they had been chased out of every place due to some conflict or disastrous encounters. It’s season 10 and still, Alexandria remains occupied, with Negan behind bars, but let’s save the Saviors leader until later.

The Alexandria Safe-Zone makes its debut in season five. Deanna Monroe had led this community and apparently had been living a rather cushy life within its walls. With Rick and his group making their way in and winning Deanna’s confidence, he and others have a hard time trying to buy into this lifestyle of ignorance, according to them.

You could say The Walking Dead is more like walking entropy. Everything is bound to fall apart in this world eventually and Rick violently makes it known to Deanna that Alexandria is no exception. That one should not ever let their guard down.

The Ricktatorship personality had its ebb and flow throughout his journey to this gated community.  You could tell when Grimes went into “Ricktatorship Mode” via his thousand yard, dead stare. It had reared its head tremendously when an abusive husband makes trouble for them and kills Deanna’s husband. She then gave the order for “Sheriff” Rick to execute him.

Rick is not without a doubt to take out someone, even in a peaceful community, should they try to make waves. He trusts his intuition about not trusting people and even if the threat is impromptu in nature, he’ll take action. That said, the Ricktatorship had a good run, keeping his friends alive until someone decided to rip that “R” word right out of the spirit of Rick Grimes.

Phase 5 – Negan overthrows the Ricktatorship

The Walking Dead show probably figured that Rick Grimes was about due for a bout of humility. The Ricktatorship had a good run and he was pretty keen on keeping his friends alive with his strategies, until he was met with numbers. The numbers that I’m referring to were the Saviors and its leader, Negan.

What was so fascinating to Negan and likely to a lot of us was the fact that Rick Grimes was still trying to hold on to the Ricktatorship by threatening Negan AFTER the Savior’s leader bludgeoned to death Glenn and Abraham. Negan decided to take Rick on a little trip to…reprogram his attitude as he realized Rick was “addicted” to his leadership role for all these years. This is where Rick caved to the demands of the Saviors.

Phase 6 – The Whispers saga

I shall now concluded the phases of The Walking Dead at this point by doing a major time jump not unlike the show’s when it introduce Rick’s daughter Judith Grimes during season nine. At this point, Rick has headed off on a helicopter to parts unknown, at least, parts unknown…to us. That could be another phase altogether.

Enter The Whispers as they had made way towards Hilltop’s front gates. Unlike Negan, Alpha is psychopath of another flavor, with a daughter in tow. The daughter catches wind of how wonderful it is to live among those with a semblance of humanity as opposed to living like savages under Alpha’s regime.

Now, do you feel if there’s any other noteworthy phases you could add to my contribution? What other foot notes in the history of the TV series would you find mention-able?

The Walking Dead Season 10 premieres Oct. 6, will you be watching?