You'd have to be a member of the Walking Dead not to be aware of Sunday evening's required viewing—and the show's fans are very lively when it comes to who they want to make it, and who could just go die.
There is a scary amount of Andrea hatred out there. People want that woman dead, now. I won’t go into the misogyny of the hatred, nope. You can’t make me—unless you ask my opinion and then I have trouble shutting up. Please, don’t even get me started on the One African American at a Time rule on that show. Please, don’t.
But listen, about Andrea: I don’t get why everyone’s knickers get twisted by the woman. I agree, she’s not the most observant person out there, which can be an issue in the world of zombies. But she has a good heart and a compassionate brand of intelligence needed to keep that world civilized. She’s strong and tough and thinks well in a crisis. I agree, she’s a dope when it comes to trusting the Governor. But if a guy had that kind of Achilles heel, a soft spot for a woman, we’d think of the weakness as his sign of humanity, not utter idiocy.
The other day I got into a bitter twitter fight (it wasn’t actually that bitter, but I like the rhythm of that phrase) with a person who does not like Andrea. We went back and forth about whether or not Andrea is a terrible person. She ended up convincing me that yes, Andrea probably did tell the Governor about Rick’s family secret. I’m still thinking it might have been Merle because I’m willing to blame anything bad on him. But even if Andrea did tell the Gov the truth, she doesn’t deserve to the loathing and booing and hissing she gets.
Since I’m going out on a pro-Andrea limb here: I think she’s the perfect mate for Rick. Actually that should be put that the other way around. He’s a good mate for her. Let her take the lead for god’s sake, be the alpha in the relationship. She’ll have learned from her time with the Governor to be less trusting, but she’ll still have a human heart. And at least she doesn’t see her dead sister wandering around or get phone calls from the other side. She’ll be smart enough to listen to Rick and the others after this upcoming war is over.
Come on, she’s leadership material even for the new age of kill-first, don’t-bother-to-ask-questions-later. She’s smart, she’s not scared of killing (even you most anti-Andreans out there must have loved that moment when she rolled her eyes, marched past the two macho posing Daryl and Woodbury guy and stabbed the walker). Yet Andrea still has the urge to make peace, to create some form of society.
And about her wicked stupidity when it comes to the governor—let’s keep in mind she hasn’t been privy to the same information Rick has. He’s talked to Michonne, Glen, Maggie and the others. Andrea’s been holed up with the grand master of propaganda. Here’s a guy who’s got dimples, is apparently hot stuff in bed, and has the actor’s ability to tell his backstory in a manner that almost caught Rick. She’s questioning all she’s seeing in Woodbury so she’s not as stupid as she could be. And wanting to save human lives is a worthwhile cause, even if it does make for somewhat boring television on occasion.
I hope they spare Andrea and she gets to kick ass and then become the boss-lady. She has what it takes. And because she apparently has a thing for sleeping with insane, she might as well get Rick. He’s crazy and cute, her main needs in a man, but he has a good heart (I think…who knows? It might change any minute).
I can’t think of another character as strong and loyal and smart and calm as her…except wait a minute. Michonne.
Forget Andrea as leader.
I’m now boarding the Michonne bandwagon. She’s like Andrea, but with better instincts about people. Add Andrea and now we have a real team. Forget matching Andrea with a guy. I’d rather have those two women in the lead. Since Andrea thinks with her ovaries, maybe she can keep a boy-toy on the side if she insists on remaining a straight. What do we call a bromance with women?
First Michonne has to learn to talk more so she can actually tell people what to do. But once she does that, with an entirely-loyal-unblinded-by-sexual-attraction Andrea at her side….Zombies and the Governor wouldn’t have a chance.
Kate Rothwell set out to write a natural-born do-gooder in her historical Somebody Wonderful. She writes romance using her own name and the pseudonym Summer Devon. Kate lives in Connecticut with four men (three of whom are her sons). You can out more about her at KateRothwell.com and SummerDevon.com.
