Shane Walsh

Shane Walsh was a main character and later an antagonist, as well as a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He was Rick Grimes' partner at the King County Sheriff's Department and his best friend since high school. Before the initial outbreak, Shane began to harbor feelings and an obsession for Mariana, Rick's adoptive niece, and eventually began a sexual relationship again with her, conceiving twins.
Shane later became one of the leaders of the Atlanta survivor camp and the head of gun training at the Greene family farm. He served as the deuteragonist of the whole of Season 1 and later the primary antagonist of the whole of Season 2.
== Overview ==
Shane is a single minded, fearless, cunning, and at times, brutal man who is a determined survivor and also a strong leader to those in his group.
During the first season, Shane acted as the leader to the Atlanta group survivors, a position he clearly enjoyed and carried out strongly until Rick's arrival; he then became the second-in-command through out the rest of the first and second seasons, much to his apparent dismay. During his incursions with Ana, he developed a strong obsession with her. He believed himself to be a more deserving man for Ana and was determined to fight to keep her and Carl safe at all costs. Shane also showed his potential as a father during Rick's absence and developed an admiration for Carl and treated him as his own son. Shane also viewed himself as being a better father than Rick towards Carl.
Despite his strong leadership abilities, combat proficiency, skills with firearms and protective instincts, he largely became a morally unstable man. This was apparent after being forced to sacrifice Otis to walkers in order to save himself, Ana, and Carl, and by the second season, he had only one motive: to keep himself, Carl, Ana, their unborn children safe. He believed himself to have the most pragmatic view of the apocalyptic world, and the most qualified to lead the group in the post-apocalyptic hell. This was in contrast to Rick, whom Shane believed was too blinded by good intentions that did nothing but cause disaster and interference and were likely to cause the entire group to be killed or worse.
Shane showed signs of suffering from denial of guilt following Otis's death. He was subsequently one of the earliest members of the Survivors to devolve into a hardened survivor and fully adapt to the horrors of the post-apocalyptic world, a world in which Dale Horvath claimed Shane truly belonged in due to his increasingly darkening nature. Shane was more than willing to commit brutality to keep his group safe from anything he viewed as danger, and was shown to be very capable of committing cold blooded murder. This was illustrated when he brutally murdered Randall in order to protect the group from the threat Shane claimed he possessed.
Shane was also a great liar and good at concocting false stories as he was able to convince almost the entire group that Otis sacrificed himself to save Carl during a supply run and later fooling Randall into believing that he wasn't going to kill him but instead, wanted to join his group. He was later able to fool the entire group into believing Randall was loose in the woods as part of his plan to assassinate Rick and during their final confrontation revealed he already had a plan in place to fool the group once he murdered Rick in cold blood, exemplifying his strong cunning.
During the second season, Shane devolved from a good friend and caring person into a cold, cunning and murderous antagonist. He completely shed the concepts of guilt, remorse, and moral correctness in favor of survival for himself and those he cares about by any means necessary. He begins by murdering his own allies, going against the beliefs of the group, and betraying his former best-friend, leading to his eventual demise.
Ironically, the traits and mindset illustrated by Shane in the second season would not have been out of place later in the apocalypse as many of his fellow group members would also devolve into hardened, ruthless survivors themselves. Shane simply adapted to the violent world of murder and deceit much faster than his fellow survivors, paving the way for others who would become just like himself.
== Pre-Apocalypse ==
=== King County, Georgia ===
Shane was born in 1973 and during his childhood, he grew up alongside his best friend Rick Grimes in Georgia, where the two developed a strong bond together to the point where the pair came to regard each other as 'brothers'. Shane was an avid football enthusiast, playing on his school's team as number 22 (reminisce of by the necklace he wears). Throughout his high school years he was a known prankster, once stealing the principal's car. He had many casual relationships with girls and even once having sex with the high school women's athletics teacher.
Later on, Shane and Rick studied at college together for police administration where they eventually graduated and became employed as deputies stationed at the King County Sheriff's Department, with Rick assigned as his partner. He became acquainted with several other colleagues including Lambert Kendal and Leon Basset. He also became friends with Linda and Diane from dispatch. The two patrolled and responded to emergencies as well as criminal altercations and incursions, thus they became effectively affiliated with the local residents of the neighborhood. Shane also served as a gun instructor, teaching several young kids how to shoot.
He was very close to Chris and Rick's family and helped them out on numerous occasions such as repairing the Grimes' family AC after Chris had previously broken it. Throughout his adult life, Shane never married, and instead stayed a womanizer. He did however have several true relationships in his life enough to trust these women with a key to his house, but they never worked out. Shane also had a grandmother named Jean. Shane also was in a secret relationship with Mariana and was her partner at the station for two weeks. He claims Mariana is his one true love and the only person who truly understands him.
== Death ==
; Killed By
* Rick Grimes (Alive)
As Rick realizes that Shane has lured him into the middle of a field in the forest with the intention of killing him, Shane aims his gun at him. Rick makes it seem as though he's handing Shane his weapon, as he refuses to be armed, telling him that they can forget everything and move on.
As Shane grabs the gun and appears to believe in Rick's words, Rick pulls out his knife and stabs Shane in the chest, saying that he had brought this on himself.
* Carl Grimes (Zombified)
As Rick tries to cope with what just happened, Carl appears, shocked to see Shane dead. He aims his gun at what at first its assumed to be Rick, but is actually a now-zombified Shane. Before he can get closer to Rick, Carl pulls the trigger, shooting Shane in the head and putting him down.
== Killed Victims ==
This list shows the victims Shane has killed:
* Otis (Caused)
* Louise Bush (Zombified)
* Doug (Zombified)
* Shawn Greene (Zombified, alongside her fellow survivors)
* Arnold Greene (Zombified, alongside his fellow survivors)
* Duncan (Zombified, alongside his fellow survivors)
* Lacey (Zombified, alongside his fellow survivors)
* Mr. Fischer (Zombified, alongside his fellow survivors)
* Mrs. Fischer (Zombified, alongside his fellow survivors)
* Randall Culver (Alive)
* 2 unnamed Criminals (1 Direct, 1 alongside his fellow officers, Pre-Apocalypse)
* 6 unnamed Greene farm Inhabitants (Zombified, alongside his fellow survivors)
* Possibly numerous unnamed Criminals (Pre-Apocalypse)
* Numerous counts of zombies
== Relationships ==
=== Mariana Walsh ===
Shane and Ana known each other since she was 16. Before the outbreak, they both lived in the same small town in Georgia. It is mentioned that Shane had been a real DIY kind of guy and even showed up Rick by fixing Ana's AC. They had an on and off again relationship since she turned 18. After believing that Rick had died in hospital, Shane, sparing no thought for himself, accompanied Lori, Rosa, Ana, and Carl to Atlanta, where they believed a refugee center to be. Shane and Ana desperately needing physical contact amid the chaos and grief surrounding. They continued their sexual and romantic relationship. When the survivors are stationed outside of Atlanta, Ana sneaks off into the woods to meet Shane for a romantic tryst (Shane later mentions that the pair "carried on quite a bit" in these times). Rick's reunion with his family and Shane is bittersweet, as Shane struggles to accept that Rick has rightfully resumed his role as a protector, father, brother, and uncle. Consequently, friction between the trio worsens and is further complicated by Ana's pregnancy--and the truth that Shane are the babies father.
Shane and Ana decided to call each other husband and wife, as they were very much in love. Ana looked pass Shane's red flags, not wanting to believe the man she fell in love with is slowly fading away. Ana is overwhelmed with shock, grief and anger when she saw that Rick killed Shane, and she told her uncle that he was dead to her for killing the man she loves.
== Trivia ==
* Shane is the first major recurring primary antagonist in the TV Series, the second being Philip Blake, the third being Gareth, the fourth being Negan Smith, the fifth being Alpha, the sixth being Lance Hornsby, and the seventh being Pamela Milton.
** Shane is the first main character to be part of the Survivors and become an antagonist, the second being Spencer Monroe and the third being Eugene Porter.
** Shane is the first major primary antagonist to become a walker, the second being Dee.
** Shane is one of two major recurring primary antagonists confirmed to have a living relative (his twins Alek and Lucy Walsh), the second being Dee who also has a living relative (her daughter Lydia).
** Shane is the first deuteragonist to become an antagonist.
* In both the TV series and the comics, Shane turning confirms for Rick that everyone is infected and will turn no matter what after having previously learned of the possibility in another manner.
** In the comics, Rick learns of the possibility after witnessing Julie and Chris turn after being shot and strangled respectively.
** In the TV Series, Rick learns of it from Dr. Edwin Jenner, but he later admits that he didn't really believe it until Shane turned in front of him due to how insane Jenner had become.
* Shane's most used weapons were a Mossberg 590 shotgun and a Glock 17 pistol which he used until his death.
* Shane's most noted line throughout the series is 'Let me tell you something'.
* Shane is the first main character to appear in every episode before his death. The second being Gareth.
* Shane is the first main character to become a walker, the second being Merle Dixon, the third being Hershel Greene, the fourth being Deanna Monroe, the fifth being Spencer Monroe, the sixth being Sasha Williams, the seventh being Simon, the eighth being Enid, the ninth being Madison Rivera, the tenth being Tara Chambler, the eleventh being Siddiq, the twelfth being Alpha, and the thirteenth being Alden.
* Shane is the first person in the TV Series to cause the death of a living character; Otis.
* Shane is the first walker that Carl Grimes kills.
* Jon Bernthal had tried to convince executive producer Greg Nicotero to allow him to be the only walker with a speaking line, “Riiiiiick," but Nicotero declined.
* Shane's death was accidentally leaked by the AMC TV store on March 1, 2012 in promotional materials for the Season 2 Blu-Ray set. Photos of Shane as a walker were similarly leaked and posted on many websites, including The Walking Dead Wiki.
* Robert Kirkman said Shane's death was planned for the TV Series adaptation "before the first episode of season 1 was shot." "Frank Darabont had actually planned to do it at the end of the first season before he knew that the first season was going to be six episodes. Once the show was given a six-episode order it was decided that we would hold Shane's death for the second season. But from the very first day of planning the second season it was mapped out that Shane would be kicking the bucket at the end of this season."
* Glen Mazzara explained why Shane became a walker in "Better Angels" much faster than Amy, and why he still turned despite not getting bit: "We worked hard to make sure that revelation landed. We knew what we were doing there. We knew it would land a punch. We've never had a main character become a walker to this extent. Those [rapid flashes of walker mayhem] represent the storm in Shane’s brain to some extent … Amy was a weaker character. Shane is in a murderous rage … he’s going to reanimate quicker. There’s just more life in that walker, believe it or not. We do have internal rules for that."
** Glen Mazzara also confirmed that the producers considered not killing off Shane in the second season, but eventually scrapped it out because, “...what’s important about this season is, Rick has to step forward. He has to assume leadership of the group and he has to confront Shane.”
* Shane is one of the few characters to have appeared in almost every form of Walking Dead media, having appeared in the Comic Series, TV Series, Dead Reckoning, Assault, and Social Game: Chronicles.
* At the 2012 Emerald City Comic-Con featuring a panel with Jon Bernthal, Jhene Aiko, and Laurie Holden, Bernthal revealed what his version of Shane's death would have been. The ending would have been the same up until the point when Shane and Rick walk into the clearing while searching for Randall. Rick would have asked why they are stopping in the field as they need to find their prisoner, to which Shane would have confessed that he had killed Randall, which is a job Rick should have done himself. Shane then would have pulled his gun on Rick leading to similar dialogue between the two men as in the penultimate episode, with the second change being that Shane would have admitted he was there to kill Rick. Rick would then have had similar dialogue as in the episode asking why he was doing this, as he thought they settled their issues "earlier." Rick would have then thrown his gun away, instead of holding it in a non-confrontational position, insisting that Shane would have to kill an unarmed man. Shane would have then charged Rick and putting his gun into Rick's face using the same insults as in the penultimate episode about Lori, Ana, and Carl, but adding a new insult such as "I tasted your niece." Rick would have then stabbed Shane to death as in the penultimate episode, having the same dialogue as in the episode telling Shane it was Shane's fault that he was being killed, not his own. Ana seeing the whole things would have stayed by Shane's side until the moment he took his last breath. She would have stood and punch Rick in the face and turning leaving the field. When Shane would have came back as a walker, Rick (having thrown his gun away), would have picked up Shane's gun to shoot him. When attempting to pull the trigger, Rick would come to the realization that Shane never put any ammo into his gun, and must've brought Rick out there to have him kill him, forcing Rick to finally be more like Shane. Carl would have then had shown up and killed zombified Shane, similarly again to the penultimate episode. 
* Although the two of them never met, there were a number of similarities between Shane and Spencer Monroe. Both of them started out as allies to Rick Grimes who eventually became antagonists when they turned on him and decided they wanted him dead. Both of them believed themselves to be better potential leaders of their group than Rick, believing that Rick only ever got other people killed. And both of them were killed with a knife in retaliation for their attempt to have Rick killed, Spencer by Negan and Shane by Rick himself, with both of them ironically trying to kill Rick again after reanimating.
* Shane is the first main character to outlive his comic book counterpart, with the second being Carol Peletier, the third being Tyreese Williams, the fourth being Beth Greene, the fifth being Judith Grimes, the sixth being Morgan Jones, the seventh being Abraham Ford, the eight being Rosita Espinosa, the ninth being Ezekiel Sutton, the tenth being Alpha and the eleventh being Gabriel Stokes.
* Shane's killers are the opposite of the comic series: in the TV show, Rick killed him as a human and Carl killed him as a zombie, but in the comic, Carl killed him as a human and Rick killed him as a zombie.
* Rick and Shane make a cameo appearance in Issue 81 of Invincible, another comic series created by Robert Kirkman.
* Shane is one of the twelve TV Series characters whose comic counterpart lacks a known last name. The others being Glenn Rhee, Dale Horvath, Carol Peletier, Sophia Peletier, Minerva Peletier, Tyreese Williams, Eric Raleigh, Negan Smith, Lucille Oliva, Yumiko Okumura, Max Mercer, and Ezekiel Sutton.
* Shane is the first main character to later become an antagonist. The second being Dwight, the third being Spencer Monroe, the fourth being Eugene Porter, the fifth being Anne, the sixth being Gregory, the seventh being Leah Shaw, the eighth being Lance Hornsby, and the ninth being Pamela Milton.
* Shane is the second main character to be killed by another main character, the first being Dale Horvath, the third being Merle Dixon, the fourth being Hershel Greene, the fifth being Gareth, the sixth being Abraham Ford, the seventh being Glenn Rhee, the eighth being Spencer Monroe, the ninth being Simon, the tenth being Gregory, the eleventh being Enid, the twelfth being Madison Rivera, the thirteenth being Tara Chambler, the fourteenth being Alpha, the fifteenth being Leah Shaw, and the sixteenth being Lance Hornsby.
* Shane appears in the archival footage shown at the beginning of "Lockdown" as Judith narrates past events of the show to the audience before the episode's story begins.
* Due to Shane's aggressiveness as a walker, as well as him heading straight towards Rick, it's possible he was one of the variant walkers.
Category:Characters
Category:Main Characters