The world of the undead can turn even the most average of human beings into something much more; that is of course unless you were unfortunate (or fortunate?) enough to meet your end before the planets occupants were forced to evolve in drastic ways.
If a run of the mill police officer can transform into the man Rick is today, then what of the other characters? Let us look at backstories in AMC's 'The Walking Dead' that could have made for great one-off episode.
1. Merle - The Right Hand Man.
In what seems like a lifetime ago back in Season 1, Merle was left handcuffed to a pipe on a roof in Atlanta due to Rick and the slippery fingers of T-Dog; this resulted in Merle having to cut off his own hand in order to escape.
If Merle really was the toughest guy Daryl ever knew, it would be great to see that displayed, and not only in the position of a right-hand-man to a more prominent villain on the show. Could we have seen Merle escape Atlanta, survive on his own and eventually be picked up by the Woodbury crew, showing his worth and rise to a trusted Governor henchman?
2. Terminus.
"Sanctuary for all, those who arrive survive," a safe haven for all who could reach it. Terminus was a train station in the first episode of Season 4 run by Gareth. It was created for the exact purpose as written on the signs that lead to it. However a group of bandits decided to turn up and take it over, capturing and imprisoning the founders in the process, subjecting them to rape and murder.
Somehow Gavin and co were able to take Terminus back but no longer wanted to help people, believing no good to be left in the world. They would allow survivors to enter under the false promise of safety and butcher them, using humans as a food source.
How did Gavin lead the prisoners into taking back Terminus? How did they decide that eating people was the way forward?
What was the story with the bandits leader who they decided to keep trapped in a container for all this time? We will sadly never know the full story of Terminus; in a world where the good can so easily become the bad, we will have to close the page on this story and only view the Terminants as the bad guys.
3. Negan Is Coming
In the show, Negan's story is currently untold. Surely a man of his title has a hell of a story to tell. How did he get here? Why is he so obsessed with dominance and why does he get such kicks from toying with his enemy? Common traits of a villain sure, but the journey is usually far more interesting than the destination.
Sadly not even the comics can give you much in the way of an answer for this one, though Kirkman is slowly releasing small strips revealing the backstory of Negan that currently show him as a high school gym teacher with a wife named Lucille. Will the show go in the same direction? If any villain deserves a backstory episode...it should be Negan. But let us enjoy the bad side of him for a while...
4. The Battle of Atlanta
If the world of 'The Walking Dead' has taught us anything, it is that in a zombie crisis you would be wise to avoid the big cities. The most populated areas would likely be overrun, and as such the army would think about clearing these areas as fast as possible before it gets out of hand. Glimpses of this was shown in a flashback of Season 2 where Shane makes his way through the hospital to protect a comatose Rick.
A fully budgeted, Walking Dead produced battle between the army and Atlanta as they learn, fight and fall to the zombie invasion could have been one of the best 'Army vs Zombie' spectacles we would ever have seen. Frank Darabont had the idea to use the soldier from the very first episode as a main character in an episode that would have shown how he got there.
Perhaps we would have seen other episodes of a similar fashion had Darabont stayed on board after Season 2. Darabont sadly departed from the show, taking with him an idea that could have given the audience the biggest insight on the pre-apocalyptic world of AMC's 'The Walking Dead'.
