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but he wanted to see a long term story, see the characters change, who lives, who dies, who flakes, who learns

And the characters have changed, especially Rick. The episode where Rick, Michonne and Carl go on a car trip had one scene that just struck me. Well, two really.

First they pass by the hitchhiker and don't stop to help. Everyone in the car is just stonefaced, no emotion at all. I thought, wow, 1st Season Rick would have stopped to help this guy. Then, coming back, a bloody smear on the highway where he had been standing and his backpack lying there. They pass by, and then back up, grab the backpack, and keep on going.

This said a lot about how the characters had changed. Really, the coldness of those acts. So, now, in Season 3, we have a different story because the events have created different people than we started out with.

My hubby says that this program is like the alien invader movies from the 50's. They were about a fear of communism and what it represented. He thinks this show is hitting a chord with people by letting us live out our fears of total societal collapse.

Yeah the character evolutions are amazing. Glenn turning from gen X pizza delivery guy to a real go to get things doner to a family man. Daryl and Merle learning how to be good people (great writing there on the reunion when Merle mentions the original plan was to steal from the encampment, shows their journey was much further than we’d thought). Those backpacker scenes were amazing, and you have to wonder how different it would have been if they hadn’t encountered the Governor, they really hadn’t dealt with bad people before then. Also would they have done things differently if he hadn’t been so loud, kind of showed he wasn’t the brightest survivor out there. Of course first season Rick wouldn’t have cared, he liked everybody.

Yes. Your observations are good ones. The coldness of ignoring the hitch-hiker showed how all the characters have changed. It’s a hard world and people in that tv world would certainly not act like most civilized people behave now. I also think the show captures people’s fears about social breakdown, which is a fear that many people have right now.