The Charges Against Lee Everett
Warning: This post contains sensitive material and speculation regarding TWD game and comics. This is a spoiler warning for the comics, games, and TV show. (I do not watch the show, but I suspect some show plot-points are loyal to the comics)
At the beginning of Walking Dead season one, the police man that is driving our main character, Lee Everett, to Meriwether County Correctional Facility. The officer talks about Lee's conviction of murder, and we learn that Lee murdered a senator supposedly for having an affair with his wife. Lee does not deny this, and later in the game, he has the option to tell Clementine that he did murder the man. However, while it is confirmed that the murder did happen, it may not be for the reasons we are lead to think. I propose this theory, Lee Everett killed a Georgia senator, but he did so because the government agent sexually assaulted his wife, not out of jealous rage.
The character of Lee is largely determined by the player, however, there are several characteristics at remain at the core of his character, no matter what dialogue or action the player encounters. He is seen as a generally kind, intelligent, and reasonable person. However, he is also depicted as protective of those around him, through the entirety of the game he sacrifices friendships, people, and ultimately his own life to protect Clementine. He makes it very clear that he is willing to do drastic and immoral things to protect those he cares about, going as far as to threaten death to anyone who dares to hurt Clementine.
"That little girl's in my care! We've been through more together than you can imagine. Anyone who tries to get between me and her - ANYONE! - is gonna wind up dead! You hear me?" (A determinant threat Lee makes to Veron.)
It would be more like the character of Lee Everett to kill to protect his wife from someone he sees as a threat to her safety instead of a jealous rage. While Lee displays plenty of evidence of overprotection and loyalty, he does not display any jealous behavior.
The following is a bit more speculative and relies more on the themes of The Walking Dead universe. TWD, both the comic and the video game, touch lightly on race relations and how powerful people often get away with misdeeds. An example of the former is the constant mistake that many characters make, what Lee is Clementine's father, and the mistrust of Lee that follows when he says he is not. It is subtle but powerful and representative of the setting, rural South. There are two examples of the latter, one in the comics, and one in the game's canon. The first is the Governor's torture of Rick and his sexual assault on Michonne, and how he is able to get away with horrific actions because of his control of his citizens. The second is Carter in Season Two, and how he was able to control his group through fear tactics and power plays.
Thematically, it would fit neatly into TWD narrative if Lee Everett's wife was sexually assaulted by the senator, and Lee killed him in order to protect his wife. However, due to racial bias and the senator's political position, Lee was painted by the media to be a jealous thug who murdered a man for sleeping with his wife.
What do you think of this theory? Leave your comments below debunking or supporting this theory and I will do my best to answer/debate any and all responses!
Comments
I was considering doing a whole thread of this general type of thing a while back, but it required way more work than I thought was manageable. Plus, it turns out @prink already did something similar during Season 2.
Anyway, I skimmed this and I just want to combat the notion that Sam(?) was assaulted by the Senator: it's made clear in certain lines of dialogue that Lee's marriage was showing signs of failing for a while and it's possible that another reason for him wanting to have a kid was to help save it. He got off work early that fateful day with this apparently being his intention and that's when he caught the two in the act.
Can you give me the lines of dialogue that would back this up? I don't remember any lines in the game that hinted at what you said, only the dream with his wife laughing and saying "I love you baby" followed by her screaming. However, I could be wrong.
I'll be lazy and summon @dan290786 since he has an impressive collection of screenshots. It was probably something he shared with Carley, though, since I can't see him telling Clementine.
I think Lee can say, or in an option, that his wife hates him.
That doesn't necessary debunk this theory. After all, his wife did (supposedly) witness him kill a man. Even if this person hurt her, she still might fear/hate Lee for killing him. And Lee does have a history of extreme reactions to finding out people he cares about are in danger. (See his threats towards the man on the walkie talkie after he kidnapped Clem) I don't think it's unreasonable to say that his wife could be terrified of him after seeing such a violent reaction from him.
First off, let me start by saying that this is an interesting theory. However, you did ask for comments supporting and/or debunking your theory, so if you don't mind me giving some of my own thoughts on the matter...
While it's true that he doesn't display much in the way of jealousy, he most certainly displays moments of (arguably deadly) rage. When Andy takes Clementine hostage in episode 2, Lee practically pounces at him no matter what you do. In fact, if you stay silent in that scene, Lee lets out this angry roar as he tries to go for Andy. Then you have that Vernon threat above-- the guy made a simple offer, and Lee more or less flies off the handle and threatens to kill the guy over it. Then you have a lot of determinant dialogues throughout the game where Lee can be supremely pissed off at... basically everything. Threatening to throw Ben off the train in episode 3, getting up in Larry's face at the drugstore, almost choking Kenny out if you choose to fight him on the train, almost smashing Kenny over the head with that bust in episode 5... the list goes on.
The point being, while Lee generally does a good job keeping himself composed, he can be downright vicious if something (or someone) manages to get under his skin. And catching your wife cheating is something that would definitely get under a person's skin. So while I don't think he'd be jealous per se, I definitely think he'd be ready to pound the guy's face in.
A few optional quotes help us fill in the blanks a bit more regarding what happened:
In episode 2, Lee has the option to tell Carley that the death was an accident-- "It was an accident. I mean, I pretty much knew about the affair..."
If you reveal your past to Kenny, depending on the exact dialogue choice, Lee will mention that he "killed a guy in a fight."
If you tell the stranger the full story of what happened, he mentions this about his wife towards the end-- "I was mad at her for so long, and I can't imagine how much pain she felt."
These quotes would seem to suggest three things-- Lee had some notion of what was going on, he was angry towards his wife (if it was non-consensual, why would he be angry at her?), and that he apparently got into a fight with the senator, which led to the death.
So going off of all that, my personal theory is that when Lee found the senator with his wife, they ended up fighting each other. Lee managed to get the upper hand, and ended up accidentally choking the guy to death in a fit of rage. Look at Lee killing Danny St John in episode 2. After he does it, it takes him a few moments to snap out of it and realize that Clementine saw him do it. And one of the dialogue options towards the end of the episode can have Lee telling Clementine that he shouldn't have killed him; that he wasn't thinking straight, that he was angry and scared, that he feels guilt about it. Lee going into (deadly) fits of anger are certainly something that are part of his character, at least to some degree. So it's not out of the question that the death of the senator was a culmination of the rage that is evidently inside him, which unfortunately ended up costing the person on the receiving end of it their life. But it was never something truly intentional. When he found the two of them together, I doubt killing the guy was in his plans. It simply ended up happening that way due to the circumstances. But the law being what it is, and given the fact he killed a senator, the courts most likely argued otherwise, which landed Lee in the predicament he finds himself in at the very beginning of the game.
So basically, to sum it up: Lee commits manslaughter, but due to the victim being a senator, and possibly due to Lee's race, the court rules against him, and he winds up with a murder charge and a life sentence instead.
Admittedly, I did a double take the first time I saw that scene as well.
What if that picture floating around on here that people assume was Tavia is actually Lee's wife?! The woman in the picture looks like a politician or businesswoman. Its most likely Lee's wife met the senator thru her work which is how the affair started.
It's in my character design thread.
That would be sorta interesting. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Tavia is considerable younger than Lee, reskin or not.
While your theory is interesting, I would actually prefer it if he murdered him out of rage, spite and pain. I recently replayed Long Road Ahead and Katjaa asks him if the senator would have killed him if he had the chance to which he replies that he doesn't know. This would lead me to believe that he came home unexpected after calling out sick from teaching his class, caught his wife in the act and was the aggressor, maybe killing him was accidental or not pre meditated and he lost control of his anger. Also, in episode 1 when he hears his wife scream "No!" It seems like it was directed towards him.
It was his conversation with The Stranger if you choose to talk about his wife (apologies for that idiot Pewdiepie in the background):
As requested
Thanks man! Knew I could count on you!