For those of you caught up with The Walking Dead, you know that at the end of the last episode, “Inmates,” we were introduced to three new characters, who find Glenn and Tara in the midst of a walker fight: Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene. The three are very important characters in the comic series, and look as though they’ll be just as important in the television series. I don’t think they’re going to be minor characters who’ll be killed off in the next episode. Based on comments from Michael Cudlitz, who plays Abraham, in The Hollywood Reporter, it looks like he’ll be around for the long haul, or as long a haul as anyone can be expected to stick around The Walking Dead.
Why is that great? Because Abraham and his gang will introduce to the series three things the show needs very much right now: Comic relief, a sense of purpose, and hope. In Eugene’s character — a “package that has to be returned” — they might even introduce a clue as to the origins of the zombie outbreak, or at least a thought as to how to defeat it.
In an interview with THR, Cudlitz spoke at length about his character, as well as Rosita and Eugene. Here are the six most important take-homes from that conversation, and why they might give hope to Walking Dead fans tired of the run-around.
1. How are Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene different from the comics?
According to Cudlitz, they’re very familiar to the comic readers. “They’re almost exact up to the point where we meet them,” he says, while also suggesting that where they go in the TV series could be different.
2. What’s the relationship between Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene?
Abraham and Rosita are romantic partners and lovers, while “Eugene is the package — he’s the mission and he has to be protected.” I have no idea what that means, but I’m very intrigued.
3. In the comics, Abraham is headed to Washington. Will that still be the case in the TV series?
Cudlitz says that we’ll find out quickly in the next episode. “You know they’re headed for Washington but the audience will learn all that in the next episode as to where they’re going, why they think they’re going there, what information Eugene has and that Abraham and Rosita believe him. There is no subtlety in it.” He also suggested that “you better f—ing be on board, because you don’t have a choice!”
4. Why their introduction to the series could finally provide the show with some much needed comic relief.
Eugene, Abraham, and Rosita have a bickering, weird social dynamic, Cudlitz says.
There are a lot of things that when you look at them from the outside make them seem like a massively dysfunctional family. There are going to be some moments where you’re laughing at these people and the choices they’re making and the way they’re handling each other. That’s not something that you’ve done a lot of during the previous episodes of The Walking Dead.
5. What kind of leader is Abraham?
He’s a get sh*t done, don’t ask questions kind of leader.
They’re not locked in this day-to-day rhetorical self-examination of life and what does it all mean. You take one of Abraham’s lines from the series and he says, “You know what we’re doing here: If it’s dead, f—ing kill it.” They don’t discuss it, talk about their feelings and what they should do or if they should take a vote. Abraham is more like, “By the time you all have your f—ing meeting, I’ll have handled it already.”
Yes! That’s exactly what this show needs right now, although a character like that may threaten Daryl’s fan favorite status.
6. He will not, however, be a threat to Rick’s leadership, says Cudlitz.
He’s not the guy who designs the entire plan — he’s the guy who will execute an element of it and do it immediately without question. He’s not necessarily someone who is going to be the king — or someone you’d even want to be the king — he’s the guy you’d want as your first, the guy leading a section of a larger plan.
A good-guy henchman!
With that, I’m officially excited about the rest of the fourth season of The Walking Dead.
Source: THR
