Agreed. I mean, Rick would see you lagging behind and help you move faster to escape the hordes. Shane would kneecap you to put more space between him and the walkers. It's not always a question of who's more likely to survive on their own but who's not going to kill you to get what they want.

 

I thought they were both deputies. At least in the comic Rick is a sheriff's deputy. Have they changed this in the TV show?

 

Rick outranks Shane in the show. they have deviated from the comics to keep the veiwers on their toes. This is why Shane outlived his comics character and Dale predeceased his comic character by a good amount of time

 

Something that was said during the first confrontation between them at the school ... something Shane said... that leaving Rick in the hospital was the hardest thing he ever did.... can't remember the specific words but I remember thinking... Wow Does that mean that Shane thought he might still be alive and left him there anyway???

Then in the field last night, Rick was telling Shane... what... you just think you can screw my wife.. raise my kids... and it will all be great... and Shane said something like, "we were doing fine... and then you came back and wrecked it all!!"

it made me think what if in Atlanta, Shane actually KNEW that Rick was alive... and left him to die in the hospital ... and told his wife that he was definitively dead and then set up house with said wife by screwing her and trying to raise Carl .... that would make him just the sorriest piece of shit to walk the earth. I gotta say, I never really believed that Shane would do that. Even after Otis, I still didn't want to believe.

 

Rick was not the sheriff. They were both deputies. The actual sheriff does not go out on patrol, like Shane and Rick did. You are right about Shane as a leader. His way or the highway and that would mean your ass if you didn't agree. I almost believed him last night when he told Randall he wanted to join his group.

 

Wake up in hospital scene

If you remember in the episode where Rick wakes up that the door to his room is barricaded with a hospital bed. I think Shane put it there in haste as he had to retreat from the hospital because the soldiers were "shooting everyone" as Shane has told Rick in a past episode.
He thought that Shane was dying at the time he evacuated from the hospital and that he was dead afterwards.
The Lori thing I beleive was an accident. In a world gone mad they were thrown together and he was a friend of Ricks. One thing led to another.
However I think she has blood on her hands in Shanes death. That little talk she had with Shane at the windmill sent him over the edge. Her telling him that the child might be his. I don't think she told Rick that.
What a piece of work she has turned out to be !

 

The child could be either man's. That's obvious to EVERYONE so i don't see where damning Lori for Shane's death makes any sense whatsoever. She was trying to atone for her own failing. It's the one decent thing she's done. I can't believe people are still desperately trying to make Shane out as a poor misunderstood victim of circumstance. The guy was a homicidal train wreck. I know most of us don't like Lori but we can't blame everything on her. Shane brought this on himself and deserved to be not only killed but disgraced. He became a true villain.

 

I'm starting to think that Shanes behavior and decompensation is a result of being infected.

 

I think their is greater chances of survival with Rick rather than Shane. If you look on Ricks situation all the fatal situation were due to fate and not due to inappropriate decions of Rick. Rick as a leade tired his best to give best to his group. But shane is badd ass he can kill you if he as to for lori. And even Rick can now as shane has made Rick a new Shane.

 

I think it was Rick's constant bad decision-making that drove Shane crazy as much as it was any supposed infection.

Rick has made awful decisions from day one. Leaving the quarry to go to the CDC, Leaving Sophia in a ditch to hide while Walkers were everywhere... oh and how about having unprotected sex?

Was he this careless in the comics?

 

Had to refer to the Dictionary but I tend to agree with you. I thought they (production team) set out to show Shane behaving in similar ways to Jim in his illness, at least on Shane's last day. However do remember he held Rick in his sights and obviously considered murder way back in the Quarry. Shane had a personality problem which was brought out by the intense stress of the ZA and the shattering effect of Ricks return. I think Shane was infected during the time in the Coach after his fight with Rick. It is reasonable to assume Randall got infected during his time in the Barn.

 

The CDC decision was a good one no fault of Ricks the place exploded. Shane made it clear he supported the decision to the group. It's OK to have unprotected sex with your wife especially since you know she has only ever had you as a lover, so no bad decision there. Shane however had the unprotected sex with his best friends wife and Annie Oakley in the car during the ZA, very bad decision there. The Sophia thing was essential. The reasons were made clear at the time Rick could not use his gun and needed to isolate each walker in order to win the fight as to continue running would result in him tiering and being unable to fight. Sadly Sofia did not follower his instructions. Now if two shots will attract a passing herd then how much more likely is what Shane did at the Barn too?

 

You are right it's best to be in a group lead by a leader who realises his own selfish interests are the same as the Groups. Rick knows that without the Group his Family will perish and so seeks to meet their needs. Shane sees the group as just a means to an end and does not fully realise how much they are all mutually dependant.
I don't feel for a second Rick is a new Shane. Freeing Randall proves that: killing Shane was self-defence and done in an intelligent way. Rick new his friends were in the woods in the dark and did not wish to fire a shot and put them at risk if he could avoid it, Shane actually wanted a shoot out.

 

I thought Rick was a deputy but just picked up the sheriff's outfit/hat when they got to the station. :/

 

Bad decision in that the unprotected sex could (and did) lead to pregnancy.

As far as the CDC, yes the explosion was not his fault. But, why leave the safe confines of the quarry in the "hope" that the CDC could help. Or, did the quarry become unsafe and I'm just not remembering that?

 

I don't think that was a bad decision, at all. Nothing wrong with being pregnant, even during a zombie apocalypse.

 

Yes, the quarry was unsafe. They were trying to decide between Ft. Benning and the CDC.

As far as the pregnancy, damn straight. Hello...zombie apocalypse! Having a screaming baby tagging along is suicide. Not to mention, I find it highly unlikely that people would be having sex in any case. The world just went to hell. There are rotting corpses roaming the earth. I can't speak for anyone else, but in reality, I find it unlikely that people could relax enough to even feel like having sex. As a parent several times over, it's hard enough to get in the mood with a baby in the next room, let alone a stinking zombie that wants to eat you.

 

Some very interesting theories. I still don't really think Shane intended to leave Rick for dead in the hospital. I think that's part of his tragic journey. He was an extremely good guy in the beginning and Laurie misunderstood what really happened at the hospital. He was already a different man before Rick even came back into the picture. I think his twisted attachment to Rick's family sealed his fate. I think it made him crazy. It made him forget how much he cared for Rick. It also made him unable to see that this was more Laurie's fault than Rick's. She used him for comfort and rejected him when her husband came back. She repeatedly shamed him for trying to be involved with Carl. I almost even sympathized with Shane at first because he was initially very happy to see Rick and tried to be cooperative. Once he tried to force himself on Laurie, all bets were off. He lost all control. I'm pretty sure the damage was already done by the time Rick reunited with his family but it only got worse as Laurie pushed him away. I am rewatching season 1 and Shane's resentment towards Rick emerged pretty quickly. He held a gun to his back not very long after Rick joined their camp. I understand how Shane would feel like Rick was replacing him but none of this was ever Rick's fault to begin with. He was grateful to Shane. He saved his life and did a pretty good job keeping the others safe. It's like they were saying on "Talking Dead", there's no good or bad. They are just surviving. I don't like when people say that a certain person is to blame when a character dies. It's the zombie virus that's killing people. Most of society is dead. They are all very lucky to be alive at all.... and every character has been contributing to the group's safety. Even if Rick did have bad ideas, he was still able to keep msot of them safe. They are improvising anyway. Nobody knows what to do. They just try. Maybe Shane would have done better but he burned his bridges early on. I'm sure Shane had some vague jealousy over Rick before the apocalypse. They are both very alike in their capabilities so Shane probably thought he was the special protector in the group until Rick returned. It made him crazy. I don't think any of this aggression and rage would have come out under normal circumstances. Shane was physically strong but losing control emotionally. He was the first victim of crazy-brain in the current group. Surpassing even Daryl They say you can't survive being the "nice guy" but you can't survive being "love sick" and psychotic either.

I still find it fascinating that despite Laurie's obvious rejection, Shane still wanted her. So much that he was willing to kill his best friend. Rick was completely innocent and probably was the only one in the group that was concerned for Shane's survival. The tables only turned in their relationship because Shane forced it to be that way. Rick was gearing up for a confrontation after Laurie told him Shane was dangerous. But at that point murder was not an option. He gave Shane a chance and he completely blew it. I really don't know what else Rick was supposed to do.

 

Not having sex? To be honest, I'm nailing everything I can before the inevitable happens. Even with rotting corpses walking around. You have absolutely nothing to lose. Plus if she's pregnant and the SHTF, you can throw the zombies a combo meal by shooting her in the leg while you manage to get away. Maybe that's what Shane was thinking?