Walking Dead Star Laurie Holden Has Been Receiving Death Threats
It looks like it’s time to rekindle that old discussion about the differences between actors and the characters they play. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely despise Andrea (Laurie Holden) on The Walking Dead, and every time she appears on screen I root for her to die. I root for her character to die, people, her character. Not the actor. Apparently some fans of AMC’s highly rated zombie drama are having problems distinguishing between fiction and reality, and Laurie Holden has been receiving death threats.
Remember back in season two when Andrea shot Daryl (Norman Reedus) after mistaking him for a walker? In her defense, he was bloody and limping and generally messed up. He looked like he needed to be shot. Fans of Daryl—a character who doesn’t appear in Robert Kirkman’s comic books—are apparently still up in arms about the incident. Some have even taken it so far as to actually threaten Holden’s life for a transgression made by the fictional character she plays on a fucking TV show!
The threats have become alarming enough that producers had Holden and Reedus take this picture together with big-ass smiles on their face, just in the hope of assuaging fans. They thought that maybe, just maybe, the ill-wishers would realize that these are actors, actors doing their respective jobs, and not the characters they play on The Walking Dead.
Even if they were really Andrea and Daryl, not actors, this photo op would go to show that the younger Dixon brother has gotten over being shot. So if a grim, crossbow-wielding redneck can look past being catching a stray bullet, you should, too.
Out of all of the myriad problems I have with The Walking Dead, especially as it pertains to this season, the way they’ve mangled the Andrea character ranks near the top of that list. In Kirkman’s comics she becomes a total badass right around this time in the narrative. One of the strongest, most vital survivors, she’s also an incredible sniper, which is one hell of an asset. She saves the day every couple of issues, and has pulled Rick (Andrew Lincoln) out of the fire countless times. The show, however, turned her into an ineffectual, meddlesome pain in the ass.
There are so many better reasons to hate Andrea than for shooting Daryl. I pray for her death weekly, and if she survives season three, I may stop watching the show entirely. That’s how strongly I dislike her. But it isn’t Holden’s fault. It’s the writers who haven’t given her anything to work with. And no, that doesn’t mean that you should send death threats to the writers either. Come on people. I take TV way, way too seriously, but we have to draw the line somewhere.
Hopefully this is just the work of a few wingnuts, and we wish Holden all the best in this world after her character has been devoured by walkers.
