Jim (TV Series)

This article is about the TV Series character. You may be looking for his Assault or Comic Series counterparts, the other character, the Survival Instinct character, the unseen Video Game character, or the actor.

Jim
Actor	Andrew Rothenberg
Gender	Male
Hair	Dark brown
Age	Early to mid 40s
Occupation	Auto Mechanic (Pre and Post-Apocalypse)
Family	(Unnamed) - Wife (Deceased) (Unnamed) - Children (2 Male) (Deceased)
Ethnicity	Caucasian-American
Status	Undead
First Appearance	"Guts"
Last Appearance	"Hounded (Voice only/hallucination)
Fate
Death Episode	"Wildfire"

“

That's a lie. That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys. I said it a hundred times. It didn't matter. They came out of nowhere. There were dozens of 'em. Just pulled 'em right out of my hands. You know, the only reason I got away was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family. ―Jim to Shane Walsh about his family and not being hurt

”

Jim is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. During the initial outbreak, Jim and his family were trying to escape Atlanta when his wife and kids were devoured. Eventually he finds and joins a camp.

Pre-Apocalypse

Atlanta, Georgia

Almost nothing is known about Jim's life before or as the outbreak began, he may have been living in the city of Atlanta during his lifetime along with his family. He was an auto mechanic and specialized in car and vehicle repair. During the outbreak, Jim, his wife, and his two sons were attacked by walkers, with Jim narrowly escaping while his family were eaten alive by the walkers.

Post-Apocalypse

Season 1

"Guts"

Jim can be seen trying to help fellow survivor Dale Horvath fix the RV's engine, and later standing by during conversations with other characters.

"Tell It to the Frogs"

When Glenn arrives back to the camp with his red sports car, alarm blazing, Jim quickly deactivates the loud noise by pulling a wire under the hood. When Carl Grimes and Sophia Peletier find a zombie, he and the other men rush to kill it. When asked why was a zombie so far away from the city and out in the woods, he stated that it was probably because food was running out in the city. Later, when Rick and some others are going back to Atlanta to retrieve Merle Dixon and some guns, Jim and Dale negotiate a deal with Rick, they'll lend the bolt cutters they need for their lost tools and car parts from Rick's van.

"Vatos"

Due to a dream he cannot remember or understand, Jim starts digging holes on the hillside. Dale approaches Jim with a canteen of water, offering him a drink since the outdoor temperature is over a hundred degrees. He also asks Jim why he is digging the holes, to which Jim does not reply. Concerned, Dale approaches the other survivors saying they may have a problem referring to Jim's behavior. Jim is approached a second time, by Dale and the others. Dale and Shane Walsh try to talk to Jim, asking him to take a break. Jim tries to have everyone go away, stating that he's not bothering or hurting anyone so they should leave him alone. As Shane approaches Jim, Jim becomes hostile and is restrained.

Jim is tied up to a tree for a few hours and he calms down as Shane explains his reasoning for tying him up. Jim apologizes to Carol Peletier's and Lori Grimes' children who are doing school work nearby with their mothers for scaring them. When asked why he was digging, he replies that he honestly does not remember. Later that night, Jim is present for the conversation about Dale's watch during the fish feast, zombies attack the camp, triggering Jim to help defend the remaining survivors. During the zombies' attack, Jim is bitten by one on the stomach. He also kills the zombie that bit Amy with a baseball bat. Once the zombies are dispatched, Jim says that he remembers, that the holes he dug were a part of his dream, hinting that they are the graves for the fallen.

"Wildfire"

As Jim helps in the clean-up of zombie corpses the morning after the attack, Jacqui notices blood on his shirt, and demands he lifts up his shirt, but he rejects so she alerts the remaining survivors. T-Dog restrains him, and Daryl lifts his shirt to reveal the bite wound he suffered during the attack on the camp. There is controversy over Jim as the survivors discuss what to do. Daryl wants to kill him immediately, but is stopped by Rick. Jim is taken with the rest of the survivors in the RV as the women care for him as he throws up and burns from a fever. While on the road, he claims his sickness is worsening and asks that he be left behind, for the sake of the survivors. He is reluctantly left by a tree after being carried out of the RV, refuses to take a handgun from Rick in order to spare himself/his body the "life" of becoming a walker, and is bid a final farewell by each of the survivors as they leave.

His fate is left unknown, but presumably he died due to the fever, reanimated, and is now a walker, though it's possible he may have been killed again in the years that have passed by since his presumed reanimation. 

Season 3

"Hounded"

Rick begins receiving phone calls from individuals who he believes are part of another group. A man calls Rick and tells him that he and others are in a safe place where no one has turned or gone insane. When Rick begs him to take in his group, the man questions if Rick is dangerous and asks if he has ever killed anyone. He asks how Rick's wife died, noting that he mentioned he had a son and baby. When Rick declines to answer, the man hangs up. Rick later receives a phone call from Lori, who informs him that the people he had spoken to all day were Amy, Jim, and Jacqui, revealing that all the calls did not actually take place in the real world, but were merely hallucinations in Rick's mind.

Death

Killed By

• Zombies

When the Atlanta camp was overrun with walkers, Jim helped defend the camp by attacking the walkers. However, during the attack, Jim was bitten by a walker. Following the attack, the remaining survivors cleaned up the camp where Jacqui notices a bite mark on Jim's stomach. Finding out that he is becoming a walker, the group grants Jim one final wish which was to be left by a tree to become a walker.

Killed Victims

This list shows the victims Jim has killed:

• Numerous counts of zombies.

Relationships

Jacqui

“

Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight it. ―Jacqui to Jim

”

When Jim had been bitten and was keeping it hidden, Jacqui saw the blood and had Jim lift his shirt. Jim refused in a neutral tone, but still had his shirt lifted by other members of the group. This shows that Jim may have had some sort of relationship with Jacqui. Jim begged Jacqui not to tell anyone but she did so anyway, worrying about the safety of the group. Jim didn't however seem to hold this against her and Jacqui was shown helping Jim when he was in pain. Later, she was shown to be devastated, crying on the steps of the RV as they left Jim against a tree to reanimate. Jim's death may have also influenced Jacqui's choice of staying behind at the CDC and committing suicide. 

Dale Horvath

Jim and Dale seemed to be friends as they were often seen fixing the RV together. Dale seemed emotional when Jim was dying, as he thanked him for protecting the camp and for his help. Their relationship was not explored more.

Shane Walsh

“

Hey, Jim. I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this. ―Shane to Jim regarding leaving him behind

”

Shane and Jim weren't seen interacting much, though it can be assumed that the two had a neutral relationship. When Shane confronted Jim for digging holes for no reason, Jim tries to have everyone go away, stating that he's not bothering or hurting anyone so they should leave him alone. When Shane tries to convince Jim to leave, Jim asks if Shane will beat his face in just like he did to Ed if he refuses to leave. As Shane approaches Jim, Jim becomes hostile and tries to hit Shane, but is tackled and restrained. Later, when the group is preparing to leave Jim behind before he turns, Shane reasons that it is not the only option but they ultimately agree to Jim's wishes. Shane however still tries to convince him he doesn't need to be left behind but Jim gives his assurances as they leave him, Shane looking saddened as they do. Months later when talking to Lori about Rick's leadership Shane mentions Jim as one of the people who died because of his actions, showing that he blames Rick for Jim's death.

Rick Grimes

Rick and Jim interacted very little in the small amount of time they knew each other. Jim would ask Rick for help in fixing the cars by requesting parts when he goes on a run into the city. After Jim gets bit, Rick tries to save him by driving to the Center for Disease Control, but it was too late. Rick offered a revolver to Jim to commit suicide in order to prevent reanimation, though Jim refused knowing Rick would need as much firepower as possible. As they left Rick was shown to be very saddened by Jim's fate.

Lori Grimes

“

You keep your boy close. You don't ever let him out of your sight. ―Jim to Lori

”

Jim and Lori didn't have much of a relationship, but she showed care when Jim was having sun stroke, and forgiveness when he apologized for his actions to Sophia and Carl. Jim also gave Lori short but wise parenting advice to her about keeping Carl safe, thus showing he doesn't want her to have to live with the guilt of losing a child like he has.

Carl Grimes

It's presumable Carl and Jim had, at the least, a fair relationship, despite sometimes having unnerving behaviors around him. This is helped made evident by the way Jim assures him that the reason his father had been gone so long back into Atlanta is that, because he's a policeman and ergo helps people, is doing so with another struggling survivor(s) in the city. After Carl goes to play with Sophia, Jim then tells Lori to keep him safe, showing he doesn't want Carl to go the same way his own children did. 

Glenn Rhee

Glenn and Jim barely interacted. But Glenn and Jim had some of the same interests such as cars. While the group laid Jim down by a tree, Glenn appeared very depressed and gloomy. In "When the Dead Come Knocking", Glenn honors Jim by telling (actually lying) to Merle that the group is strong and lists numerous people (of which were already dead) including Jim. Years later, Glenn mentions how Jim had lasted two days before they were forced to leave him behind showing that he never forgot him.

Daryl Dixon

“

You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem! ―Daryl attempting to kill Jim

”

Daryl and Jim didn't get along well during their time in Atlanta and the campsite. When the group realize that Jim was bitten, Daryl attempts to kill him to prevent reanimation, but refrains from doing so when Rick points his gun at his head. Daryl usually complains that a bitten Jim is slowing them down and that he needs to be killed. Despite this, Daryl was saddened when the group left Jim to reanimate, showing that he cared for him.

Ed Peletier

“

That is their marriage! That is not his. ―Jim defending Ed

”

Although Jim and Ed weren't seen interacting it is assumed they had a stable relationship. After Shane beat Ed for abusing Carol, Jim brought it up the next day while arguing with Shane asking him if he was going to beat his face too. Amy interrupted, telling Jim that Ed was out of control and that he was hurting his wife. But Jim continues to defend Ed, it is unknown if this was to continue his argument with Shane or a genuine agreement with Ed.

Appearances

TV Series

Season 1

• "Guts"
• "Tell It to the Frogs"
• "Vatos"
• "Wildfire"

Season 3

• "Hounded" ^{(Voice Only, Hallucination)}

Trivia

• According to Glenn in Four Walls and a Roof, Jim lived for nearly two days following his bite. This makes him the longest survivor of Rick's group after being bitten, and potentially the longest survivor of any group after being bitten. Most survivors who have been bitten, such as Donna, Tyreese and even Amy (who was bitten in the same attack that Jim was bitten in), have turned or died within a day.
• He is one of a few characters to die in a virtually identical way as their counterpart.
  • Others include: Amy, Axel, David Chambler, Deanna, Dan, Joe, Pete, Reg and the unnamed survivor

External Links

• Interview with Andrew Rothenberg about his character - [1]