Axel (TV Series)

"I didn't mean no offense. I've been locked up a long while and, well, there weren't many women. You follow me? I mean, Maggie, she's with Glenn and you're a lesbian. I was just talking with her."

- Axel to Carol.

Axel is a prisoner who survived the zombie apocalypse along with Tomas, Big Tiny, Andrew, and Oscar. He can be described as level-headed and kinder than the other prisoners. Axel made his debut appearance in the Season 3 premiere episode of The Walking Dead.

Overview
Lew Temple on Axel:


 * “Axel is a gregarious Southern redneck-biker type, who has big heart no doubt," "He has a sense of compassion for his fellow man, but he is not as meek as he might appear, and though he has had to survive with four other hardened criminals, sans Oscar, this brave new world is something entirely different for him. He wants to associate and assimilate into the group of survivors, to the point of trying too hard to be accepted. He has a wry sense of humor and ironic quick wit. He will make you laugh and cry in the same offering.”

West Georgia Correctional Facility
Hardly anything is known about Axel before the apocalypse began besides that he was imprisoned for armed robbery after the police discovered his brother's handgun and they believed Axel used it to rob the store. It is possible he was imprisoned for a crime involving the possession or distribution of drugs, as he mentions that he "likes [his] pharmaceuticals".

Season 3
As the apocalypse began, a big rebellion began in the prison. Axel, Tomas, Oscar, Andrew, and Big Tiny were escorted to the prison's cafeteria by a guard, locked inside as the guard went out to call for backup, but he never returned. The five prisoners spent 10 months locked inside the cafeteria, without knowing what was going on outside.

"Seed"
He, along with the other prisoners, were discovered by Daryl Dixon, Rick Grimes, Glenn, T-Dog, and Maggie after they broke open the cafeteria's door to escape a group of walkers. He witnessed the amputation of Hershel Greene's leg, and was quite shocked by the sight. When discovered by Daryl, Axel exclaims, "Holy shit."

"Sick"
Just like the rest of the prisoners, Axel is confused about what is happening and constantly attempts to calm everybody down. Rick reveals to them what had happened to the world they had known, of which the prisoners were totally unaware. Following a heated argument between Rick and Tomas, Axel tries to cool things down, offering that he and the other prisoners can find another cell block to live in, giving Rick an idea of an offer: Rick's group gets half of the food supplies from the cafeteria and his group assist in helping the prisoners clear out one of the cell blocks so they can live there. As they kill walkers on the way to Cell Block B, Big Tiny is deeply scratched by a walker and is told by Rick that he has no chance of surviving. Axel, along with Oscar and Andrew, ask Rick if there is anything they can do to save Tiny's life, but they all end up witnessing Big Tiny getting brutally murdered at the hands of Tomas. When they start clearing the laundry room, Tomas attempts to kill Rick twice. In response, Rick impales Tomas's head with a machete, killing him instantly. Andrew tries to fight Rick, but is easily defeated and runs away through the prison corridors. Rick leaves to pursue Andrew while Oscar and Axel are held at gunpoint by Daryl and T-Dog. Axel tries to convince them that he and Oscar aren't killers like Tomas and Andrew; he begs Oscar to help him out but Oscar calmly tells him to stop talking.

When Rick returns, he holds Axel at gunpoint, asking him if he was associated with Tomas. Axel begs for his life, pleading that he had problems with pharmaceuticals but he is not a killer. He tells Rick that Tomas and Andrew were the violent ones. He informs Rick that Oscar wasn't in prison for murder either. He also mentions that Big Tiny was a close friend. Rick, convinced that Axel is not like Tomas, holds Oscar at gunpoint. Unlike Axel, Oscar doesn't beg for his life at all. This convinces Rick that he is also not like Tomas.

They reach Cell Block B. Oscar and Axel are horrified as they discover that every prisoner in that block was executed in cold blood, probably by the guards. Axel says that he knew these guys and they were all good men. T-Dog gives Oscar and Axel a final word of advice before he, Rick, and Daryl head back to Cell Block C; "Take those bodies outside and burn them."

"Killer Within"
Axel and Oscar appear near the beginning of the episode, pleading Rick to be allowed to join their group. They pleaded their case by saying they couldn't live in their cell block, unable to dispose of the bodies and live with the deceased inmates, whom they knew and claimed were good people. After begging to join, Rick denies them both entry into their group, giving them supplies for the road. He then goes on to unsuccessfully try and show to the group that he is a kind person and can help out, to the disgust of Oscar, first by offering Daryl to repair his bike and then calling Glenn, "bro". Shots were then fired as walkers invaded the prison's courtyard. Rick, Glenn, and Daryl pass, running by the two prisoners, confused about what is occurring, Axel and Oscar decide to follow them. When Glenn informs Rick that somebody had broken the courtyard's gate open, allowing the walkers to get in, Axel and Oscar are blamed. But both are shown innocent as the prison's alarm blares, attracting more walkers to the prison. Oscar presumes that someone had activated the generator, causing Rick to recruit the two into helping them finding and shutting off the generators. They separate into two groups, Axel with Glenn and Rick with both Oscar and Daryl. The second group ended up discovering the generator room and the person to be blamed for all of this, Andrew.

Both Axel and Oscar are seen regrouping with the rest of the group at the end of the episode.

"Say the Word"
Axel and Oscar are accepted in the group, but with cold shoulders. They assist Glenn in digging Lori, Carol, and T-Dog's graves, and attempt bonding with Glenn while doing so. Glenn says he requires two more graves so Axel and Oscar begin to dig. Meanwhile, Glenn talks with Hershel, saying that he wished they had killed all the prisoners at first sign. Hershel talks this thought away, stating that he believes Axel and Oscar are good men.

Axel and Oscar later assist Glenn with getting zombies away from the main gate, so that Daryl and Maggie can get inside the prison again. They are later seen with the rest of the group as Daryl is feeding the baby, and they all laugh together when Daryl dubs the baby, "Ass-Kicker."

"Hounded"
Axel does not appear in this episode, however, when talking to Rick, Daryl mentions that he is working on the generators.

"When the Dead Come Knocking"
Axel appears in the group discussion, arguing about who should go to Woodbury. Even though he volunteers to go, he stays back, as one of the few males left to protect the prison.

"Made to Suffer"
At the beginning of the episode, Axel is seen flirting with Beth. Carol pulls him aside and confronts him about it. His response is that he hasn't seen a woman in months and that she was his only option, also stating that he believed Carol to be a lesbian because of her short haircut. When she reveals that she isn't, Axel tries to flirt with her but is rejected. Later, when Hershel, Carl, and Beth hear Donna screaming, neither Axel or Carol are present as they are in the guard tower keeping watch.

"The Suicide King"
Axel is seen cooking dinner in the common room, wearing civilian clothes, while Hershel doctors Allen. Axel mentions to Tyreese that he feels like the Prison is his home. Axel and Beth bring shovels to Tyreese's group so that they can bury Donna. When Rick returns to the prison, he informs Axel of Oscar's death, saying that he went out fighting. Axel is also seen protecting Carol from Rick when he starts yelling and waving his gun over seeing a hallucination of Lori.

"Home"
Axel is seen with the group when Glenn is attempting to take charge. When Glenn is about to leave to secure the front of The Prison, Axel offers to drive, but Glenn rejects the offer. Instead, he goes and helps Carol with making The Prison better fortified in the event of an attack. The two begin to bond as Axel discusses his life before the apocalypse as well as before his imprisonment. They appear to be getting closer as they get to know one another better. Later on, the two are talking in the courtyard, when Axel is suddenly shot mid-sentence in the head by The Governor. Carol is forced to use his body as a shield as she is shot at by The Governor and his men.

Killed By
During a conversation with Carol about prison life, Axel is killed from afar by The Governor using a scoped AUG. His body is then shot multiple times as Carol uses it as a shield from the hail of bullets.
 * The Governor

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Axel has killed:
 * Numerous counts of zombies.

Oscar
Oscar and Axel were locked up together and became close friends during the apocalypse. He and Oscar were forced to live and deal with Tomas and Andrew, not showing true care or trust with either of them. Axel and Oscar were able to convince Rick's group not to kill them and to let them join the group. Upon learning that Oscar was killed in the assault on Woodbury, Axel is shown to be sullen, remarking that when Tomas became irate and made attacks on him, it was Oscar who most often came to his defense.

Carol Peletier
"I didn't mean no offense. I've been locked up a long while and, well, there weren't many women. You follow me? I mean, Maggie, she's with Glenn and you're a lesbian."

- Axel to Carol.

When the group discussed the idea of the remaining prison survivors joining the group, Carol voiced her misgivings stating that the men are in fact convicts. In "Made to Suffer", she observes Axel conversing with Beth Greene and, sensing that he may be making advances towards her, privately tells him to keep away from the girl. When Axel shows interest in Carol, she quickly brushes it off. Carol does not trust Axel, but works with him to guard the prison in the watch tower. Despite her distrust of him, Carol comforts Axel in "The Suicide King" when he and the rest of the group learn of Oscar's fate. Axel is also seen protecting Carol from Rick when he starts yelling and waving his gun over seeing a hallucination of Lori. In "Home" Axel has multiple conversations with Carol, and seems to show some attraction to her. Their relationship, however, is not explored due to Axel dying during the Governor's attack.

Rick Grimes
At first, Rick showed a great distrust towards all the prisoners, including Axel. Axel served as a "man of reason" during Rick and Tomas' conflicts. When Rick began to interrogate Axel and Oscar, Axel began to weep and beg for his life to Rick, which led Rick to feel a great amount of sympathy for the man, sparing his life along with Oscar's. The two prisoners were given their own cell block and were even given supplies, as originally agreed upon. After the deaths of Lori and T-Dog, it appears that Axel has worked his way into the group and is now a member.

Big Tiny
Axel was friends with Big Tiny and seemed to care about him a lot. This is seen in the episode "Sick", when he adamantly gave ideas on how they could help him from reanimating. Later, he watched in horror and disgust as Tomas brutally murdered him. Later on when Axel insisted he knew nothing about Tomas's plan to kill Rick and brought up Big Tiny's death, mentioning that he was his friend.

Trivia

 * In a Twitter post by Glen Mazzara, Axel's name could be seen on a list, including the names of other characters. His name was under the title, "You follow me?", a common saying for his Comic Series counterpart. This ended up being a confirmation of the inclusion of Axel from the Comic Series.
 * Axel was first revealed by a sheet of paper that also confirmed Oscar's appearance in the TV Series.
 * Axel is the only one of the prison survivors who is credited as a supporting character.
 * In the Comic Series, Axel appears to be in his mid to late 50s, in the TV Series, however, he appears to be much younger. He also appears to be much more timid than his Comic Series counterpart, as well as being much smaller in stature and weight.
 * It was believed he was arrested for narcotics as he plead for his life, stating that he and Oscar aren't like Tomas, revealing that he "likes his pharmaceuticals", but he "ain't no killer." In an interview with Lew Temple, he also claimed that Axel dealt drugs. In "Home", however, he tells the truth about how he came to be arrested for "armed robbery;" he was imprisoned after robbing a convenience store with a water gun (he is scared of guns), and had originally lied about being a drug dealer so the group would think he wasn't a violent person.
 * The name Axel seems befitting of the character, as the name means, "Father of Peace", which Axel seems to be.
 * He mentioned in the episode, "Killer Within", that he likes to work on bikes and even offered to tune-up Daryl's chopper.
 * It has been stated by creator Robert Kirkman that Axel's catchphrase in the Comic Series will be uttered at least "a few times" in the coming episodes. "You Follow Me?" was first said in, "Killer Within." Lew Temple, the actor who portrays Axel, has said he will say Axel's catchphrase as often as he can.
 * Axel's appearance differs from his Comic Series counterpart. In the Comic Series, he is a heavy-set man with long, white hair and a full beard, whereas in the TV Series, he is much thinner, has blonde hair, and both a beard and a mustache.
 * In the episode, "Made to Suffer", Axel mentioned that there were not many women in the prison before the outbreak, leading to the reason that he was flirting with Beth.
 * The Suicide King is the first episode where Axel is shown not wearing his prison jumpsuit.
 * Axel is the last of the prisoners to die.
 * Axel dies roughly the same way as his comic book counterpart, with a gunshot wound to the head.
 * This makes Axel the third character to die in the same way as his comic counterpart, the first being Amy and the second being Jim.
 * In the Comic Series, Axel gets shot by an unknown Woodbury Soldier, but in the TV Series, he is shot by The Governor
 * Carol told Axel his gun was fully loaded, and he should hope it stays this way. This indirectly foreshadowed his death, him dying with the gun fully loaded.
 * Actor, Lew Temple, talked with Entertainment Weekly about Axel's death:
 * "It was a gut-punch. And that’s exactly how Glen described he wanted it to happen. I certainly wasn't expecting to leave this quickly. Clearly, Axel in Mr. Kirkman’s graphic novel, he does go down in the war at the prison. We knew that was happening. I just didn't sense that it was going to occur this quickly...You’re disappointed, clearly. I loved being on the show. But I was more disappointed for Axel. I know that sounds so actorly, but the reality is I felt that there was a lot more to do with the character. I thought all the nuance that we put into him and the little things that were barely visible and thinly veiled were starting to come into full color. I feel in this last episode we really become a bit interested in him...There was more to do. But I’m happy that I was there for the Governor to get his revenge and that Carol was able to survive."