Andrew (The Walking Dead)

Andrew
The Walking Dead character
Andrew, as portrayed by Markice Moore in the television series.
First appearance	Issue #13 (comics) "Seed" (TV series)
Last appearance	Issue #19 (comics) "Killer Within" (TV series)
Portrayed by	Markice Moore
Information
Significant other(s)	Dexter (comics)

Andrew is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and television series, where he was portrayed by Markice Moore.

Comic book series

Andrew was a dread-locked former drug user who believes God sent the zombie apocalypse to help him "get clean." He is of African-American background. He had a relationship with Dexter, probably due to the amount of time spent locked up with him alone and the two other convicts. He is apparently in love with him. When Dexter is accused of murder, he organizes Andrew to find a way into the previously unexplored Block A and gather up the guards riot gear to take over the prison. After Dexter's death, Andrew is extremely distraught; he subsequently fled the prison during the time Michonne and Otis arrive.

Robert Kirkman has since stated that Andrew had died.

Television series

Fictional character biography

Andrew is an inmate-survivor at the prison and Tomas' right-hand man. He is one of the five prison inmates (along with Tomas, Oscar, Big Tiny, and Axel) introduced in the Season 3 premiere, "Seed" where they witness Rick Grimes amputating the lower portion of Hershel's leg after he is bitten by walkers. In the episode "Sick," Rick makes a deal with the prisoners to clear out a cell block for them in exchange for half of their food, but Tomas tries twice to kill Rick while clearing out the cells. When Rick kills Tomas, Andrew attacks Rick, after which Andrew flees and ends up in a courtyard, surrounded by walkers, where Rick locks him in. In the episode "Killer Within," a mysterious figure lets a horde of walkers into the prison courtyard, which leads to the deaths of Lori and T-Dog. When the prison's sirens sound off, Oscar explains that the back-up generators are powering the alarms, and takes Rick to shut them down. Andrew, who is revealed to have survived and let the walkers loose and turned on the alarms, gets into a confrontation with Rick in the generator room, successfully disarming him. Oscar picks up Rick's gun, and Andrew orders him to shoot Rick, but Oscar instead shoots Andrew dead.

Development and reception

Andrew was portrayed by actor and rapper Markice Moore. He had originally auditioned for the pilot episode for the role of T-Dog, which went to IronE Singleton. Moore was later cast on season 3 as Andrew through his agency: "Production was very hush hush about season 3 so I didn't even know I booked it officially until a week before shooting. I was elated; I couldn't believe it when my manager, Gail Tassell called to tell me the good news. I'm a huge fan of the show, it's my favorite show on TV, so yes it was a dream come true."^[1] Per Glen Mazzara, "Andrew is really Tomas' right-hand man. These guys are really the ones who have been intimidating Axel and Oscar."^[2]

Zack Handlen, writing for The A.V. Club, wrote that "things become sort of uncomfortable" in the scene in "Sick" where Rick chases Andrew into a courtyard full of zombies and locks the door, noting that while Rick does not actually kill Andrew, "it's a cold, cruel move, and it indicates a growing chill in Rick's character".^[3] Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter noted that in "Killer Within", Rick's decision to lock Andrew out "amid a sea of walkers came back to bite the group in a major way".^[4] Glen Mazzara felt that this decision would haunt Rick, as Rick "believed he was committing an act of murder to save the group and that murder led to deaths within his own group and forced his own son to put down his mother".^[4] Los Angeles Times columnist Laura Hudson considered the identity of the mysterious figure breaking open the lock on the prison gates to be "not that much of a "mystery" if you consider how many black guys there are running around outside the prison with vendettas against Rick (note: one)".^[5] Ted Pigeon of Slant Magazine described the episode's opening sequence: "With its dreamlike, foggy setting and a conspicuously waist-down perspective of the saboteur, a peculiar sense of disconnect underlines the implications of what's being depicted. The scene ends with a single close-up of a heart placed on the cold cement. It's a foreboding image that gains magnitude as "Killer Within" gives way to a sudden strike of tragedy. Moreover, the pre-credit sequence lends insight into how the episode amounts to a particularly poignant, if also problematic, entry in the show's run."^[6] Pigeon also notes that the opening segments of the episode "establish the origins for the ensuing chaos while going to painstaking lengths to conceal the identity of the man that caused it".^[6] HitFix writer Alan Sepinwall commented on Andrew's sabotage of the prison: "on the one hand, it helps justify Rick's decision to chase after the little guy in the first place. On the other, it seemed like an overly-elaborate plan from someone who probably would have been better off just leaving once he managed to get the gate open."^[7] Bex Schwartz wrote in her review for Rolling Stone magazine that when Andrew ("the tiny prisoner") tries to get Oscar to shoot Rick, "Oscar shoots Andrew instead, because Oscar understands life and death and remembers that Andrew was one of the bad dudes".^[8] Moore commented on how Andrew died in the series: " It's weird because I have so much fun playing bad guys and I loved the way Andrew went out! He went out like a G, and he took a few people with him! [...] Die Hard TWD fans will remember my character forever because of all the trouble he caused. Plus Andrew almost got Rick! The fight scenes were great! Especially in my death scene."^[1]

References