The last six months in television have been quite zombie-heavy, what with the release of the final season of The Walking Dead, as well as the debut of HBO’s adaptation of Naughty Dog’s video game The Last of Us. Comparisons were always going to be made between the pair, but as “Rick Grimes” trended on Twitter, matters got a little ugly between the two camps. 

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Specifically, comparisons are being drawn between the leading men of the two shows – Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, and Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller. Given the the former is the name that is currently trending, opinion is tending to skew in favor of the revolver-equipped Sheriff-turned-survivor over the closed-off and bereaved father:

anyways rick grimes will always be THE zombie apocalypse man it’s true it’s true pic.twitter.com/w2wcJAT2sd

— hiyori will have a happy ending everyone shut up (@hiyorikins) April 25, 2023

i say this with no exaggeration but andrew lincoln gives a better performance in his first 5 minutes as rick grimes than pedro pascal did in the entire tlou show https://t.co/xyMlIXE6xc

— b e a n (@atdapyramid) April 25, 2023

Rick Grimes over Joel all day long#TheWalkingDead #TheLastOfUsHBO pic.twitter.com/0CWwisaH7m

— MoviesThatMaher (@MoviesThatMaher) April 25, 2023

While Lincoln’s Rick appears to be the G.O.A.T apocalypse survivor in the eyes of many, Pascal’s Joel wasn’t without his own staunch supporters, arguing that The Last of Us star managed to pull of just as much character development in the span of nine episodes as Lincoln did in nine seasons: 

you’re mad bc pedro did in 9 episodes what that man couldnt do in 11 seasons https://t.co/1tlmOfyCoG pic.twitter.com/Bbi1trpwsU

— anahí (@tyunswt) April 25, 2023

Others, meanwhile, were just straight-up exasperated by the debate, and are of the mind that comparing the pair is like comparing apples to oranges. After all, we follow Rick’s journey from being dazed and confused at the beginning of the apocalypse to the leader he turns into. Meanwhile, we witness Joel’s tragic start to the apocalypse, but we miss out on twenty years worth of “growth” in between his meeting with Ellie.

my god are we really doing the joel vs rick thing again???

— local man hating lesbian ⚢ (@tlouphobic) April 25, 2023

Whether you love one, hate the other, or are into both franchises – everyone who cares about the debate will eventually get to have their cake and eat it too. Rick Grimes will be making a return in an as-yet untitled Rick & Michonne spinoff, whereas Joel will be back in The Last of Us season two. 

However, the closest thing on the horizon right now is The Walking Dead: Dead City, in which we will see Maggie and Negan travel to a derelict New York City. That particular spinoff arrives in June 2023. 

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