Smoking Cowboys

I had this in my drafts and decided to finish and publish after @4thenorthstar's recent post about mirrors and the Land of Oz (excellent post, read it here). I've written before about my interest in Omaha in TWDU, which was originally propagated by Beth's sweater, which I learned is called the "Over the Rainbow" cardigan by Free People, and why I think she, herself, is "over the [narrative] rainbow" in a way. This post is much bigger in scope than anything I've written about Omaha before and speculates a possible link between Beth and Omaha, the hidden jewel of TWDU. You can read it here on tumblr or listen to the audio here on my youtube channel. Enjoy!

The image above from season 1 of World Beyond is the closest look we've ever gotten of Omaha in TWDU. It is, by and large, and total mystery. The state of Nebraska is mentioned heavily in TWD season 2, not surprisingly, in the eponymous episode "Nebraska," in which Dave mentions rumors of "a rail yard in Montgomery running trains to the middle of the country—Kansas, Nebraska." Gimple could literally NEVER let worldbuilding like this go to waste. We already know how much he likes to use the train metaphor.

In the scene, a couple of "city slicking" interlopers are looking for a cut of the Greene farm. Of course, they, like many villains in TWDU, recognize the value in agrarian living as soon as the lights go out and the cities fall. In fact, the farmer archetype, as is first embodied by Hershel at the Greene farm, then Rick at the prison, then Maggie at Hilltop, is a very important symbolic treasure in TWDU, because it represents the heart of all struggle in any society founded on the cultural traits of Protestantism and good old fashioned self-reliance. In season 4, Hershel's entire philosophy revolves around self-reliance, self-defense, and self-governance while rejecting isolationism and tyranny.

In TWDU, Omaha partners with both Portland and Philadelphia semi-early on in the new world to form the Alliance of the Three, a civilizational upstart that exists almost entirely beneath the defense umbrella of the CRM. Over the years, the CRM seems to have instituted actual martial law, living in accordance with their own interests and rejecting the demands of civilian governments like the Civic Republic in Philadelphia to govern themselves. In their effort to maintain perfect control, and in the face of rising civilian unrest, the CRM evolves into a tyrannical force under the command of Major General Beale. "Threats" to their sovereignty are eliminated without question by "reclamation teams," while fear, usually propagated in the form of columns, or hordes of walkers that the CRM knows how to navigate en masse, is used to rule the masses with a "benevolent" iron fist. Televised propaganda about the continued dangers of the real world, despite the walls and infrastructure of places like Portland and the CR in Philadelphia, keep civilians living in a perpetual state of dependence on the CRM for defense and resources—resources which have only become more and more abundant as the CRM's influence spreads. In the CR, they have things like coffee, sugar, tropical fruit, anesthetic, medicine, and electricity. Without the CRM to defend their "rights" in the new world, would any of this be possible? The only price one has to pay is obedience. Don't make a fuss, follow the rules, and do your part.

Sounds a lot like Grady, doesn't it? A government creating the very dangers that it claims it is there to protect you against. It also sounds like several other tyrannical "proxy" governments in TWDU, including P.A.D.R.E. in Fear and of course the Commonwealth. All use strict, hierarchical governing "systems," guaranteeing safety and luxuries to the people, but only at an enormous, often hidden cost.

Back to Omaha. Omaha is the mythical "nowhere" place of TWDU. It is just over the rainbow and out of reach, heard of but never seen. We never once visit Omaha, not even in World Beyond. In fact, rather than have the story simply start in Omaha, tptb invents the Campus Colony, a "satellite" of Omaha in what is assumed to be nearby Lincoln. Why would they do this? Why not just have the story take place in Omaha. Why invent a whole new little placeholder, which is *sort of* Omaha, but not quite. Is it because something is hidden there that we are not yet ready to see? I don't know, but I think so.

In TOWL, we see Omaha's destruction televised on the night that Rick contemplates suicide. We know this takes place roughly just as the Endlings are about to reach the CRM research outpost in Ithaca, NY. Omaha dies, and it becomes just like a fabled land of legend. Many people have heard of it, but no one has actually been there, and it was destroyed before its true purpose and potential could be revealed. We've also never met an ordinary citizen from Omaha. We have only met Huck, who is a CRM soldier, and who only arrived in Omaha after the Fall.

Omaha, home to roughly 100,000 people, is obliterated by the CRM using some sort of modified chlorine gas, and both World Beyond and The Ones Who Live sort of hand wave the whole thing as just some impenetrable tragedy and little more. On this note, I have theorized that we may see Omaha, which is like the last frontier of major TWDU mythological settings, in a flashback series as possibly a place of a civilian revolution, an uprising against the CRM, or at the very least a powerful “hold out,” which would account for its desolation. Of course I think Beth was there and was directly involved, something that would have been foreshadowed by her time at Grady, and I think that part of the reason we don't get to visit Omaha is because it really is “over the [narrative] rainbow," so to speak, or it's "through the [narrative] looking glass," if you will. In Gabriel's words from WHAWGO, it is "that which cannot be seen." It's real, and permanent, just like Beth is, but it's structurally hidden behind the comic book story, which Gimple is contractually obligated to tell. 

I like to think of Omaha as a symbolic “heart” and center for yet another American revolution, and the American dream as epitomized before Modernity and the Industrial Revolution of the 1900s. The original Wizard of Oz written by Frank Baum has, in the past, been analyzed as a Populist allegory with focus around the Peoples' Party, having formed in Omaha in the 1890s, in response to rising concerns about consolidating wealth and Industrialization of major cities. The uprising consisted of farmers alliances and labor organizations with a focus on securing rights for farmers and rural working class in a time of the Industrial takeover. Note that this is just one academic interpretation of Baum’s Oz; however, the connection between Omaha and Oz is irrefutably epitomized by the fact that the Wizard of Oz himself is actually just a salesman from Omaha whose hot air ballon blew “over the rainbow” during a storm one day. That he is able to “make” himself into the Wizard of Oz from nothing, just a stranger in a strange land, is yet another manifestation of the American dream. The notion that Omaha might be "Oz" is something I've been pondering for a long, long time.

I think it’s more likely that Omaha in the literary sense is just a symbolic jewel of traditional American rural life coming into contact with the promise of riches, technological advancement, and wealth of a more industrialized world (ie: the Emerald City). Of course, the messaging is still fairly clear: In the end, Dorothy still wants to go home, albeit to Kansas, but it’s really the same thing. The manufactured "beauty" of the new world was enough to entice her for a little while, but in the end, there really is no place like home. Home is where the heart is, where the roots are, etc. etc.

I think the parallels within the story, particularly per the struggles between a self-reliant but somewhat stark and difficult rural life that comes into contact with the shiny promise of Industrialization (ie: greater wealth but greater reliance on government bureaucracy and "protection") are really striking in terms of what may have taken place in Omaha in TWDU, a land of agrarians, and a settlement of 100,000 in the new world. Recall that Omaha, prior to even the formation of the CRM, managed to thwart Operation Cobalt and to save itself after the Fall. Though we still have no idea how it managed this, as this is but another secret the story has kept, we do know that it was self-sustaining when it joined Philadelphia and Portland to make the Alliance of the Three. One could imagine their longterm survival had something to do with Nebraska’s vast oceans of corn and cattle ranches as well as a certain hardened Midwestern “state of mind,” which is traditionally libertarian, harboring self-reliance and a significant suspicion of government. That said, in the new world, where industrialization is but a luxury in the face of impending starvation, access to experienced farming settlements with a lot of corn is a major advantage. Some might even call it necessity.

We see glimmers of this tension in the flagship via Hilltop, a clear Omaha proxy, which becomes highly contested as a stronghold for food (sorghum) and ethanol (corn). Rick and Maggie both know right away that this is a highly contested place. On that note, Hilltop is first attacked by the Saviors during AOW, then again by the Whisperers in season 10, and then again by the Commonwealth in season 11. This is not only because of its vast access to food and fuel but also for its symbolism as the sort of “last hold out” of the American dream as was forged during the Revolutionary War: self-reliance, homegrown prosperity, and independence from the monarchy.

Major General Beale, just like Lance Hornsby, would have known that if a population does not need you to survive, then you will struggle to bring them under your control. We see this struggle play out straightforwardly in season 11 when Maggie, a product of rural, Protestant roots planted by Hershel, upholds Hilltop’s independence and refuses Lance’s offer for them to join the Commonwealth. Lance is so desperate to get his hands on Hilltop’s corn and ethanol and to bring it under the Commonwealth’s control, however, that he ends up infiltrating the city with Commonwealth soldiers and ends up hiring Leah to take Maggie out. Maggie’s self-reliant attitude makes her a major threat to not only the people of the Commonwealth, who Lance views as needing her resources to survive, but also to the Milton family, whom Lance works for, and who desire to exact full control over the land.

In the episode "Warlords," Maggie tells a story to Lydia and Elijah about some corporate farmers who tried to get her dad to sell their farm before the Fall. Her story focuses on how her dad refused the salesmen on principle. By sticking together, refusing the corporation's "gifts," and outlasting the ensuing drought, they got to keep their farm and their sovereignty, and when all was said and done, despite some modest losses, their farm was worth three times more than it had been previously. Lydia and Elijah question Maggie, and their questions are good. Why did her father let the gifted food for the cattle rot? Why didn't he feed the cattle? The cattle were hungry, Elijah says. Maggie promises them that such hardship was only temporary, as it always is. But having come of age in the new world, and in a state of constant upheaval, the notion of "things going back to normal" or "the drought ending" are foreign ideas to Lydia and Elijah. Maggie's wisdom is perhaps too stark, too gruesome to understand at this point, and in the face of such bountiful offers by a civilizational entity like the Commonwealth. This is a generational struggle, not just ideological.

But what's learned here is that Maggie's sense of making something from nothing and pushing through rather than giving into hard times is earned, and while, not always popular in the moment, typically the right choice in the long run. This is why Maggie the farmer, though she is not always the warmest, most kind, or popular character, is a strong and sympathetic leader. It's what makes her so much like Rick, and it's why her people do follow her to the edges of the earth in those later seasons. Because as we all know by now, Maggie is right. She is right to question the Commonwealth and their relationship to the outside world. She's right to doubt their governance, their morals, and their motives. She's right to hold out, to remain self-reliant, and to hold onto what's hers, even if it's hard. Even if it makes people question. But recall that Maggie never forces anyone to stay at Hilltop. She wants them to come to these terms on their own, and to follow their hearts, because she knows that's how actual lessons are learned in life, especially when you're young. She is a good leader. She is not a tyrant.

On a related note, and on the topic of the Commonwealth as CRM proxies: In the previous episode "The Lucky Ones," as Lance is attempting to swindle Maggie into joining the Commonwealth (using tactics suspiciously close to those used by the corporate farmers in her story), there's suddenly a "swarm incoming," and a whole little mini horde of walkers conveniently descends on the settlement, right then and there. While it's never stated outright, Lance's reaction strongly suggests that said swarm was his orchestration, a way to show off the Commonwealth's powerhouse military force. It's an amoral means of devilish persuasion. Lance is a villain. He's a bad guy. Of course, Maggie sees right through him. It's not a coincidence that MG Beale uses this same exact tactics against Omaha, Portland, and the Civic Republic in World Beyond and The Ones Who Live. Like I said before, the CW creates the very danger that they claim to want to protect Hilltop against. It's insidious.

Now, what's eventually learned in Dead City is that Maggie, whose life has been filled with horrible personal tragedy, goes too far with all this. She eventually slips into a kind of harsh isolationism that does, in fact, threaten the wellbeing of her people. This of course brings us back to Hershel's tenets in season 4. Self-reliance is good. But total isolationism is bad. Learning to walk this line is something that multiple characters, including Rick, Daryl, and Michonne, all have to overcome over the course of the series.

OKAY. SO. Back to the template. If Gimple IS using the various wars and skirmishes in the flagship to tell a larger story, or to create a sweeping template for TWDU at large (ie: the CW as a CRM proxy, Hilltop as an Omaha proxy), then one can see how a similar scenario may have befallen Omaha. The CRM wants more control, but Omaha, which is self-sustaining, self-reliant, and likely under strong leadership, feels it doesn’t need the oversight and, like Philadelphia, desires to divest from martial law. So, they actually rebel. Or, they make very real threats to rebel. MG Beale, sensing a threat, sends someone (certainly a Leah archetype) to take out the leader and subsequently floods the city with chlorine gas, sending walkers in to clean up the mess. Meanwhile, Lt. Colonel Kublek feeds her soldiers a lie, which is that Omaha was actually TOO dependent on the CRM, and that it had to be taken out before it became a liability.

The truth, however, is the opposite, and the CRM destroyed Omaha for, I think, three reasons: 1.) To eliminate a threat to their sovereignty, 2.) to send a message to both Portland and especially Philadelphia, to keep them living in fear and dependent on the CRM for protection, and 3.) to use their resources, scot-free. Of course, given Beale’s singularly tyrannical temperament (not that far off from Hornsby tbh), reasons 1 and 2 above are truly the priority. I believe he would burn the corn if that’s what it took to secure the annihilation of his enemy. Same goes for Hornsby. And considering that we learn a lot in World Beyond about the role of the CR civilian government and its desires to retake the city from martial law, MG Beale, who is a paranoid tyrant in a changing world, would have great incentive to remove said temptation from their grasp, no matter the cost.

Side note: I don't believe it is a coincidence that Hilltop is mysteriously abandoned at some point between "Rest in Peace" and the timeline for Dead City. Though we don't know what happened to Hilltop, we know that a.) It has been abandoned, and b.) Maggie and her people have migrated somewhere else, to a sad and desolate place called the Bricks. Maggie herself also seems significantly more depressed, frustrated, and distant in Dead City than she does at the end of the flagship. Her anger with Negan also seems to have renewed in a more concentrated form. All of this begs the question: What the hell happened to Hilltop? Also. What the hell happened to Maggie? Why the hell are they hiding this from us? Does it have something to do with what happened to Omaha? Either metaphorically or literally? Honestly, it's a glaring mystery, which most of the GA seems to have simply dispensed with, or didn't even notice in the first place. We should keep in mind that Gimple rarely allows his glaring mysteries to linger forever. Important examples of this are Major General Beale himself, who is mentioned frequently but never shown in World Beyond, and also T. Brooks Ellis, who shows up in World Beyond as well. These things are waiting for us, at some point, down the pike. We can think of Gimple as a gardener. He plants his seeds as he goes, and they grow at different rates, but they all grow. That is a major reason why I am still here in Team Delusional. Too many seeds in "Coda" are still biding their time underground, planted but still unaccounted for.

Now, if Hilltop really is a proxy for Omaha, then I greatly love the notion that Omaha’s leader may have been another Greene sister, the one who got lost “over the rainbow” many years ago. This would be a very interesting culmination of the “mirror” trope that’s really hammered in by WHAWGO (you can read my post about TWD and Alice Through the Looking Glass here). It also wouldn’t surprise me if the “city out west” that Maggie mentions in “Home Sweet Home,” which Georgie went off to investigate without her, was also Omaha, creating an unwitting connection between Beth and Maggie in the real world, as Georgie would have almost certainly been involved in what would have at that time been a budding revolution. Are twin sisters Hilda and Midge an indication of this parallelism? Two sisters. One cause. Maybe??

According to this theory, or, I guess, elaborately explicated headcanon (if you will) Beth would have escaped Omaha before the mass killings, likely with help from US military hold-outs who she would have recruited to her side, foreseeing a war. Like Maggie, she’d find herself perpetually on the run, sort of like a leader without a home to go back to. Their joint revolution in the end would become a perfect catharsis for Hershel’s sacrifice in season 4, carrying forth his philosophy of self-reliance, self-defense, and self-governance, which he believed could be done WITHOUT total isolationism and WITHOUT tyranny. This beautiful comeuppance would supply great weight to his sacrifice.

It also creates a powerful culmination of what I like to call Nick Clark's "Third Way," ie: at the end of Fear season 3 when Nick is about to blow the dam, John Proctor, in all of his intellectualizing and philosophizing, proposes that there are only two ways to look at the world: "You either harness the fury," he says, "or get stampeded." It's almost a perfect analogy to Gareth's "You're either the butcher or you're the cattle" mantra in season 5. Anyway, to Proctor's claim, Nick Clark responds, "I'm looking for a third way."

The Third Way, I believe, is a philosophical reference to Jesus Christ as the "Good Shepherd." Jesus talks about himself as the Good Shepherd starting in John 10:11, in which he says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them. The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn't care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I'm known by my own; even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep."

Jesus teaches that in this world, there are wolves and there are sheep, but there is also the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is not mercenary. He doesn't run when his life is in danger, or when the going gets tough. He stays and defends his own even if that means death, and in this, the wolves are thwarted and the flock may prosper. This passage deals with things such as loyalty, persistence, blind faith, and necessary violence, ie: sometimes in order to protect his flock, it is necessary for the Good Shepherd to kill the wolves. This is an exact template for much of Morgan's struggle to kill the Wolves in season 6, and Tyreese's struggle to kill Martin in season 5. Both are wolves. If you cannot kill the wolves, then your flock will scatter and die. It's also perfectly allegorized by Rick shooting out the bridge and sacrificing himself to save his flock from the walkers in season 9.

I believe that Nick, who is a clearly stated Christ figure, is a proxy for Beth. I think that when Nick's actor wanted off the show, they then migrated that purpose over to Alicia, but that's another post for another day. I believe that the Third Way, or the way of the Good Shepherd is a philosophical layer that makes perfect sense with the Omaha sacrifice, and also with characters like Beth and Maggie who we see consistently standing strong on their principles and rejecting the mercenary, or the easy way out, even if that means committing self-sacrifice. This is why I think that Beth may have been in Omaha, and that Omaha as a setting has been hidden from us precisely because it *in some way* holds the key to her return (and to many more "returns" as well).