Quote Originally Posted by Sammy D View Post
A critical point separates We're Alive from other Zombie works. It has all of the things you expect, zombies, violence, destruction, moral ambiguity, so on and so forth.

I think the thing that makes it special is the optimism of the human spirit. In every other zombie story essentially we watch the last of society. Every last vestige of human morality is chipped away over the course of the story. In We're Alive despite everything we still see signs that the characters believe that they can win. Right down to the final line of season 3. We still have clear heroes and villains and not just because of different groupings but based on actions. Michael will not be cutting off Tardust's finger if he is ever captured (I hope).
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Zombie stories have always been about our paranoia about the end (I am thinking of Night of the Living Dead for this one) or a warning about some aspect of our culture like materialism (Dawn of the Dead respectively). We're alive is as the subtitle says a story of survival. Despite the odds being firmly against them I have to believe a remnant can and will survive. It is the optimism, humor, and hope that makes it different from everything else.
I've got to admit, I'd never connected Dawn of the Dead to materialism. For me the zombie represents fear, the drudgery of the day to day, loss of identity, herd mentality, the inevitability and inability to avoid death. All of which, for me, have been represented in this story, as well as every other. I think the thing that sets it apart from the rest is simply the medium. There have been times when it's like listening to an audio version of The Walking Dead. What makes it the most unique would be the quality of the presentation. It sounds better than 90% of the podcasts currently available.