While the men of AMC’s The Walking Dead (TWD) are fierce warriors, the women are no slouch. Here are a few of the ladies of TWD I’d want fighting by my side if faced with the zombie apocalypse.

Former victim turned badass – Carol Peletier

Carol Peletier played by Melissa McBride, to me has come the furthest—that’s why she’s first. When we first met Carol, she was an abused housewife and mother. She was terrified by her jackass husband/provider. Carol was so beaten down that she kept her head down and did the chores assigned to the women in the camp—washing, cooking, and child rearing. She seemed afraid to engage in conversation with the other ladies and mostly kept to herself.

After a herd of Walkers (zombies) attacked their camp and bit her husband, she was the one who gladly put him down. You could almost see the smile of sweet revenge curved on the side of her lips as she ended his life. Carol was finally free; she didn’t waste a second feeling sorry for herself or waste a half a teardrop on him. Her goal now was to protect her daughter, Sophia and dodge Walkers.

When Sophia got lost in the forest, Melissa McBride gave the performance of a lifetime. I am sure viewers wept and agonized with her the way I did. She hit the performance out of the park again when Sophia was found. That scene still makes me cry even after seeing it more than once.

While on the hunt for Sophia, Carol and Daryl Dixon formed a really sweet friendship. I loved that it was not sexual, but just a bond in the middle of all the drama happening around them. Within that time, Carol developed her shooting and survival skills, which made her a force to be reckoned with.

Memorable lines between Carol and Daryl (Darol):

Daryl is on the lookout, standing on an overturned bus at the prison compound and Carol goes to relieve him and brings him what’s left of the food. She flexes her shoulder and Daryl asks her what’s wrong.

Carol (I’m paraphrasing; I think): I’m not used to the kickback from the gun.

Daryl massages her shoulder in a non-sensual way.

Carol: How romantic.

Daryl: Oh stop

When she feels a little better, he stops. She tells him to take a break.

Daryl: I’ll go down first.

Carol: Even better.

That totally got me laughing because it was so unexpected and a funny moment shared between them. For the first time we see Carol as a sexual woman, the old Carol would never, ever, have said anything like that.

As the show progressed, Carol has killed numerous Walkers, a few people (who deserved it) and a kid. Fear not, the old Carol is not lost, she still protects the people she loves and you see her motherly instincts lurking beneath the surface.

What I love about Carol is that she looks like an angel, loyal to a fault, but don’t make the mistake of crossing her.

The Farmer’s daughter – Maggie Greene

Lauren Cohen plays Maggie Greene. In case you don’t know Lauren has a British accent and sometimes I pick up on it (it makes me smile—I know how hard it is to lose an accent).

Maggie and her family remained pretty sheltered when the Walkers took over—they live on a farm away from everything. Their home was always a safe haven as they had measures in place to deal with the occasional stray walker.

When tragedy strikes Carol’s crew (actually Rick’s crew, but since this is about the women of TWD, it’s Carol’s crew) they find a safe haven on Maggie’s family farm. Only when Maggie is attacked in town by a walker, she begins to get how dangerous they are. Before that Maggie and her family treated the Walkers like people, who have gone mad (crazy).

Maggie formed an attachment to Carol’s crew, Glen in particular, and their relationship turned from PG-13 to Rated R in about the time it takes to kill a walker. Maggie was never the shy, timid type, she always had balls and a certain rebellious attitude. My guess is if the zombie apocalypse hadn’t hit, she would have ditched the farm for a life in New York. Maggie was the only woman (along with the guys) who cleared out the prison facility filled with Walkers.

The wannabe turned sharp shooter – Andrea Harrison

The role of Andrea Harrison is played by Laurie Holden. When I first “met” Andrea at the department store holding a gun to Rick’s head, she came across as uptight wannabe pain in the ass. What was funny is that she threatened Rick with a gun that still had the safety on and didn’t know it. As the episodes progressed, I had mixed feelings about her. She came across very judgmental with the whole Lori/Shane/Rick triangle. I was like:

Girl, Walkers are on your ass and you bitching about who’s banging who?

Overtime Andrea learned to properly use a gun and liked it a little too much. I wanted to slap her when she shot Daryl—thinking he was a Walker. Trigger happy Andrea became an asset to the group, and even managed to survive in the woods all by herself after she got separated from Carol’s crew. Andrea was a survivor, she kicked ass all the way to the end.

The Warrior – Michonne

I left Michonne, played by Danai Gurira for last because she is the ultimate badass with a soft center. Michonne is so cool that she only goes by her first name, and it’s a cool one (Danai is a cool name too, I sense a new character in my novels). I would love to see Michonne get her own spinoff, she is like a superhero with a samurai sword and I’m not talking Mulan here.

Michonne came to us wearing a black hood and decapitating a Walker who was getting ready to snack on Andrea. Unlike the other women of TWD, Michonne came in as a warrior, she had been surviving on her own for a long time. She has superior sword fighting skills and survival instincts. When Andrea was taken in by the Governor’s smoke and mirrors act, Michonne saw right through it.

We saw Michonne’s soft center when she took care of Andrea when she was sick, and again in the way she deals with Carl. Another fascinating thing about this character, is that she was the only person to figure out how to walk among Walkers, without getting attacked. I didn’t know what to think when I saw her with her two “pet” Walkers carrying her bags. Gotta give the girl props, what a great use of Walkers.

So there you have it. With these ladies fighting alongside me, I’m ready for the zombie apocalypse. How about you?