After recently finishing Last of Us, as well as just finishing this weeks episode of The Walking Dead, a question popped into my head. Given the 2 possible Zombie apocalypse scenarios, who would you rather have on your side: Rick Grimes (from the TV series) or Joel from Last of Us? For me this was a question that required some deep thought so had to break up the factors in order to really wrap my head around it.
First off the obvious: Who’s better in a fight? For me personally it’s Joel hands down! The man has a talent for beating the crap out of people and zombies. Also given the type of zombies Joel has to go up against (Runners, Stalkers, Clickers and Bloaters), The Walking Dead type of zombies would be a walk in the park for the man. If that wasn’t enough, Joel is like an ill tempered zombie killing MacGyver… nail bombs, home made flame throwers and the ability to make this stuff with normal household items is an asset.
While Joel maybe the best at what he does, he may not have the best communication skills. When it comes to leadership I would have to go with Rick on this one. Although Rick may have had a couple of episodes where he went a little crazy here and there. He did keep as many people as he could together and in one piece…well except for Hershel. If Joel was in any kind of group setting like The Walking Dead I would think he would either keep to himself and let nature take it course, or cut his losses and move on.
Finally there is the question of morals. Which of the two would be able to make the right choice when it came to doing the right thing? For those of us who have played the game, Last of Us, you may think this is an easy decision. But when you look at how different the two worlds are it’s not so easy. There have been a ton of cases where Rick has gotten the group in trouble because he was sitting on his moral high horse, as opposed to Joel where the answer is obvious. But ultimately, if there was a cure and a possible end to all the worlds suffering, we all know that Rick would be able to make that choice and he’s the one you would want to have in your corner.
So for me I would have to go with Rick. Sure he’s a bit of a cry baby and is ok in a fight, but to survive a zombie apocalypse you need more than just somebody who’s good in a fight. Sometimes you need somebody who is going to give you enough hope to make you want to live.
