The Walking Dead has me all mixed up as we move closer to the winter finale. Last week, I was pretty gung-ho about Officer Dawn Lerner falling at the hands of Beth Greene. Now, I'm wondering if Dawn should not die on The Walking Dead . She's one bad lady in uniform and I was ready to be rid of her as soon as she "doomed" Carol to death. However, the episode made a case for her life — I think.
As I suspected, Dawn gave the order to turn Carol's machines off so as to maintain authority and not appear to be siding with her subordinate, Beth. Officer Lerner is clearly a product of her Walking Dead environment and that whole environment needs to go. However, I was not expecting her to turn around and instruct Beth to go "behind her back" and save Carol's life. Is Dawn more compassionate than we're giving her credit for on this show? Perhaps this isn't the first time that Dawn has bent her own rules in order to do the right thing while still maintaining her authority. Maybe she doesn't deserve to die after all. Could she join Rick's group? Could she die a wrongful death, or even sacrifice herself for the "greater good" she is so fond of? I've changed my mind about this character for at least the third time on this TWD character.
Game Recognizes Game
Last week's episode was like the beginning of a heist movie but we still have yet to see the confrontation. No matter what happens, I'm still excited to see Dawn go up against Rick from a philosophical standpoint. I was fascinated by how quickly that rude police man (played by the same actor as Jasper "Hail Hydra" Sitwell from the Marvel Universe, if you caught that) in last week's episode figured out that Rick was a cop too. I think that was foreshadowing a sort of understanding that Rick and Dawn may be able to achieve. Maybe Rick will be able to see the good in her and they can work something out. Am I being too optimistic about The Walking Dead? Possibly.
Don't Forget the Doc
Not to squash any dreams so soon, but all in all I do not think that Dawn is long for this post-apocalyptic world. Like I said, I no longer believe she should. I just still believe she will. I can't think of anything that Dawn could add to the group. There are too many Type-A leaders already. I can't see her fitting in. Even if she does, how will she survive without dry cleaning? That's the real question we should be asking. So they either have to kill Lerner off or abandon her in the hospital.
Who will do the deed? I'm starting to wonder that if Rick doesn't take her out and if Beth doesn't kill Dawn herself, maybe the killer will be Dr. Edwards. The art enthusiast has already proven himself to be ruthless, self-serving and one step ahead of the boss lady. They don't trust each other and by giving Beth that key, Dawn was undermining Edwards' authority as well as her own. I would not be surprised if we saw him snap and Officer Lerner played the price.
Chess Moves
Of course, there is the possibility that Dawn gave Beth that key in order to frame her later on and be rid of Ms. Greene and her revolutionary attitude once and for all. Her treatment of Noah and culture of indentured servitude is still pretty nasty, and she could just be an evil person. As Dr. Steven Edwards said, everything is deliberate with Dawn. While I want to think that this lady might have some redeeming qualities after all, it could be too late for them to manifest.
Images: AMC, Gene Page (3)/AMC
