Overall, this is a tamer issue compared to the one that preceded it. It was a quieter issue where most of the characters have a chance to take a breather and re-examine where they are at after one very hellish week in Paradise. While we wait until next issue to find out what’s gonna happen to poor Allen, we have an excellent opportunity to examine romantic relationships and their place in the zombie apocalypse. To do so, we will examine two couples: Tyreese and Carol, and Glenn and Maggie.

Tyreese and Carol found each other in what was a very bleak situation. They did not have a legitimate shelter like the prison, and they had to survive by living life on the road. Cold weather was creeping in, and food reserves were growing scarce. Oh, and of course the zombies did not help matters. There was a limited number of rugged survivors in Rick’s group initially, and all of them felt like their time could be up any moment. Tyreese was an attractive man, Carol was an attractive woman, and they were both single and lonely. Therefore they started having sex and POOF instant relationship! Honestly, their relationship seems more built upon their mutual fear of loneliness (more so on Carol’s part) and convenience. The sex was a distraction from the zombies always ready to tear them to shreds. But now that Tyreese and Carol are in a more stable environment and are starting to meet new people (Michonne), the cracks in their relationship of convenience are starting to show.

Now, let’s look at a healthier post-apocalyptic couple: Glenn and Maggie! Their relationship was really the opposite of convenience. The tension that initially prevailed between Rick’s group and Hershel’s family did not make it easy for people from each group to form a strong romantic bond. And yet that is exactly what Maggie and Glenn did. Maggie stood up to her father as she fought for Glenn, and Glenn was even willing to leave his initial group and stay with Maggie at the farm. They were both givers, and they gave much more than just sexual comfort to one another. While a lot of Tyreese and Carol’s relationship is marked by insecurities, Glenn and Maggie are both secure enough with one another to go through ups and downs (even breaks) and yet still make up and endure. They are friends and companions first and THEN lovers. Their relationship is built on mutual self-sacrifice and something far more important and enduring than mere sexual escape.

Relationships in a fully functioning society are messy. But the messiness reaches alarming proportions in a world populated by walking corpses and no stability. People can either find a reason to keep going in the arms of a loving partner, or they can crash and burn. But the stakes are definitely much higher for both scenarios during the zombie apocalypse.

On a final note, I really want to commend Andrea for using her seamstress skills to furnish everyone with cleaner clothes and new styles to come. Not only is she a badass with a firearm, but she uses her softer skill with needle and thread to make everyone’s life better. The television series iteration of Andrea really could have learned something from her comic book counterpart. more