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"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | After everything—after all the escape attempts—to right here, now. I think that the next leader—in the next decade—that might be you. After trying to get away so many times, after so many years... you've found yourself free—dead to us—you could have gone wherever it was you wanted to go. And you came back. You've become a powerful story. A power symbol, one the CRM may need to tell to win the hearts of the people who will see some of their freedoms "delayed" yet again. I sacrificed. Okafor sacrificed. I would expect the same from you, but you've said it: you already have. | „ |
| ~ Major Beale to Rick Grimes during his Echelon Briefing. |
| “ | The sword that kills is the sword that gives life. | „ |
| ~ Beale's catchphrase, and justification for his genocidal actions. |
Major General Johnathan Beale is the overarching antagonist of AMC's The Walking Dead television franchise. He is the leader and commander of the Civic Republic Military (CRM), which oversees and protects the Civic Republic, the largest post-apocalyptic civilization, located in Philadelphia and home to hundreds of thousands of people.
He was portrayed by Terry O’Quinn.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close To Being Pure Evil?[]
General[]
- He is by far the most heinous villain in the entire franchise, due to having a kill count in the hundreds of thousands, which trumps any other character in the series.
- Although he claims that his scientists believe humanity will go extinct within the next 14 years, as a result of the walker epidemic as well as starvation, lack of resources, and human conflict, there is no actual evidence to support this claim, and even if there were, it wouldn’t justify the mass murders committed by the CRM for “the greater good”, as it would be extremely hypothetical and illogical, and would contribute to the declining human population.
- His actions, including having spies stationed across various communities, which he openly admits are there in order to destabilize each community to weaken them for the CRM’s political agenda, have nothing to do with protecting and serving humanity, and more to do with wanting power and control over every other civilization in the continental United States.
- While he did grow up with an abusive, alcoholic father who once punched him so hard that it broke his jaw, leading him to run away from home and join the military, this does not make him a tragic, as his trauma had no lasting impact on him and is unrelated to the atrocities he commits.
Background[]
- As commander of the CRM, he was responsible for orchestrating and carrying out the mass extermination of any communities that refused to join the Civic Republic, or whose manpower threatened the integrity of the CRM. This included slaughtering 107,055 innocent people in both the Campus Colony and Omaha. He was also planning to do the same to Portland.
- He was also responsible for the mass kidnapping of thousands of survivors (including Rick Grimes) and forcing them to endure hours of strenuous and hard labor, killing walkers. Although these survivors were given food, a house, and safety, they were forbidden from ever leaving or returning to their homes, to keep the existence of the Civic Republic a secret.
- Anyone who attempted to escape would either be severely punished or outright killed. If an escapee did manage to return home, the CRM would track them and destroy their community like they did several others.
- Anyone who was a leader or an "A" would be taken to experimented upon by the CRM's scientists on Beale's orders. Only "B's", or regular people who were only trying to survive, would be taken in.
- The only known people to avoid this fate were Rick Grimes and Pearl Thorne who were both protected by Donald Okafor.
World Beyond[]
- He was the mastermind behind Project Votus, a scientific program where human test subjects were experimented on against their will in an attempt to synthesize a cure for the walker virus.
The Ones Who Live[]
- He assembled the CRM Frontliners with the intention of invading Portland, pillaging their community, and slaughtering its residents.
- He attempted to kill Rick Grimes after Rick showed hesitance during the Echelon Briefing.
What Prevents Him From Being Pure Evil?[]
- Despite his cruel and heinous actions, he is genuinely affable to his soldiers and shows them great respect. When Okafor died, Beale personally presided over his funeral, commemorating Okafor's sacrifice, and prior to Rick’s attempt to kill him, Beale had tremendous respect for the latter, claiming that out of the 2,533 people he’d had the Echelon Briefing with, Rick stood out due to his courage and bravery, and that he may become the next leader of the CRM.
- He genuinely loves his son. In World Beyond, Mason Beale struggles to accept that his father could be connected to genocide and human experimentation, even when faced with proof. This implies that Beale, though strict, is ultimately a well-meaning father who tries to shield his son from the darker sides of the CRM.
External Links[]
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 Near Pure Evils
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Comic Universe Telltale Series Television Universe Fear the Walking Dead Tales of The Walking Dead The Ones Who Live | ||