Theodore Douglas (TV Series)

"This is God's plan. He'll take care of me. Always has. He's gonna help me lead you out of these tunnels."

- T-Dog to Carol.

Theodore Douglas, more commonly known as "T-Dog" or "T", was an Atlanta survivor first encountered in the episode "Guts" of The Walking Dead (TV Series). He was displayed as a kind-hearted man willing to fight for his allies, yet he often struggled with physical clumsiness and his own inner turmoil.

Atlanta
Little is known about T-Dog's life prior to the outbreak. He lived in Georgia; it's unknown whether he was living specifically in Atlanta or if he was living elsewhere. He may have had some experience as a locksmith as he knew specifically how the lock he used to prevent walkers from attacking Merle Dixon would hold up. He also attempted to use the door controls when trying to escape from the CDC. Glenn said T-Dog was very religious and even drove a Church van, later rescuing Glenn and the elderly after the outbreak.

"Guts"
T-Dog is introduced as a survivor who lived in the camp to gather supplies in Atlanta with Glenn, Andrea, Jacqui, Merle, and Morales. He got into a fight with Merle Dixon, yelling at him for wasting bullets and attracting more zombies. Merle calls him a "nigger", causing T-Dog to take a swing at him. Dixon proceeded to beat T-Dog brutally, and spits on him. Before Merle could do any further harm, Rick handcuffed him to a pipe. Later, T-Dog was assigned to watch Merle as the other survivors attempted to find a way out of the building they were stranded in. Merle tried to sway T-Dog into handing him the hacksaw by saying that he and T-Dog can come to some sort of parley. When the survivors were getting ready to escape, T-Dog dropped the handcuff keys down a hole and was forced to leave Merle on the roof, but not before locking the rooftop door shut with a padlock. He then escapes from Atlanta with his fellow survivors after Glenn and Rick drive a truck to the department store loading dock.

"Tell It to the Frogs"
T-Dog tells Daryl Dixon that he locked the door leading to the roof to give Merle a chance of survival when he finds that his brother was left behind. He, along with Daryl, Rick and Glenn, head back to Atlanta to retrieve the guns and Merle. Upon reaching the top of the department store, they find Merle missing, all apart from a dismembered hand lying on the ground.

"Vatos"
After finding nothing but Merle's severed hand, Daryl is angry and aims his crossbow right at T-Dog's head, Rick stops Daryl and the group follow a trail of blood that leads to a kitchen oven with the flames on, leading them to believe that Merle cauterized his stump and left the building. They decide to look for him, but T-dog insists they find the guns first. T-Dog and Rick wait in one alley, in case Glenn can't backtrack to the alley he originated from. Upon hearing screams from Miguel, T-Dog and Rick rush over to the other alley to find Glenn being kidnapped. Later, T-Dog is perched on a rooftop armed with a rifle as Rick confronts Guillermo, negotiating for Glenn's release. During the second encounter, T-Dog follows Rick inside the compound, where he and his group learn that it is actually an senior citizen's home that was abandoned, and Guillermo's men are just trying to protect it and the old folk taking residence there. Rick leaves almost half the guns and ammunition with Guillermo. T-Dog and his friends depart from the city and arrive back at the base camp just in time to clear out the remaining zombies that have attacked the survivors.

"Wildfire"
After the attack on the campsite, T-Dog helps everyone else hack up the corpses of their former fellow survivors to stop them from reanimating. They all head back onto the road shortly afterward, planning to head to the CDC.

"TS-19"
T-Dog and the rest of the group are admitted into the CDC by Dr. Jenner after going through a blood test to ensure none of them are infected. He is introduced to the luxuries the facility has to offer, including hot water and real beds. He enjoys dinner and wine with everyone. He cooks powdered eggs for breakfast, especially for Glenn who is suffering from a hangover. He later learns about TS-19 and Dr. Jenner's work, and the fall of the CDC's infrastructure. He joins Rick, Shane, and Glenn as they check the generators in the basement. He is present when Dr. Jenner reveals the purpose of the countdown timer and shuts the control room's door. As the survivors finally get Edwin to open the door for their escape, he attempts to flee with Jacqui, but she opts to remain behind. T-Dog flees with the rest of the group to the CDC main lobby. He tries to operate the door controls, but they are not functioning. He and the group escape through a window when Rick blasts it open with a grenade. He makes his way past the walkers and to the vehicles when the CDC detonates. T-Dog is last seen driving off in his jeep with the remaining survivors.

"What Lies Ahead"
T-Dog is still in the convoy with the other survivors as they travel. When they reach the road block, T-Dog joins most of the group, specifically Daryl, as they scavenge for supplies. When the herd passes by, T-Dog fails to hear Rick telling the survivors to get under cars, and attempts to hide from the herd. In an attempt to get out of sight, he gashes his arm on a large, rusty, broken piece of metal. He begins to lose a lot of blood, and is unable to defend himself as a zombie nears him, but is saved by Daryl who then throws a dead body on top of him to cover his scent from the undead. After this happens, he is bandaged up.

"Bloodletting"
T-Dog and Dale are told to stay behind while the rest of the group go off to find Sophia. During their time hanging around the RV, he begins to show signs of hallucination, believing that the other survivors are leaving him and Dale behind because Dale is old and he is black. After speaking to Dale about this, it is revealed that T-Dog has a major case of blood poisoning. Dale scavenges for antibiotics, but finds nothing until Daryl returns and shows him Merle's old stash of drugs.

"Save the Last One"
T-Dog arrives with Glenn at the Greene Family Farm, where Patricia patches up and fixes his arm.

"Cherokee Rose"
Surprisingly, T-Dog is not seen at Otis's funeral but he may have been resting, recovering from his injuries. Later, T-Dog helps Dale with pumping water from the wells. He talks to Dale telling him to forget everything he said while he was severely injured and hallucinating. He was about to drink infected water from a well with a walker in it when Dale stops him. The group examines the well and formulates a plan to get the walker out and T-Dog helps by grabbing and gripping the rope to lower Glenn in to tie it around the walker and pull the walker out. While the group pulls the walker up, T-Dog informs the group of its progress until near the top when the zombie splits in half resulting in a fruitless result to prevent the water from being contaminated. T-Dog then finishes the walker by beating its face in with a baseball bat. He then sarcastically remarks "Good thing we didn't do something stupid like shoot it."

"Chupacabra"
T-Dog joins the group in a continuing effort to find Sophia. He mentions to Daryl that if he heads up the hill to get a good view of the area to find Sophia, he will perhaps find a Chupacabra, Dale then recites the story of Daryl's Chupacabra. Later, when a beat up, walker-looking, Daryl arrives back at Hershel's Farm after his failed search for Sophia, and Andrea cries out thinking he was a walker, T-Dog grabs a baseball bat ready to take him down until he realizes it was Daryl. After Andrea shoots him accidentally, T-Dog grabs the doll that Sophia carries and informs the group. At the end of the episode, T-Dog sits along with everyone else and eats a quiet dinner.

"Secrets"
T-Dog is first seen in Secrets helping Jimmy to shoot. When Jimmy turns his gun sideways and shoots, T-Dog says "Don't give me any of that gangster shit."

"Pretty Much Dead Already"
T-Dog notices that Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy are leading walkers on leashes towards the farm. He is among the survivors that participates in the barn shooting, following Shane's lead and standing with Andrea, Daryl, and Glenn.

"Nebraska"
After the funeral, Andrea and T-Dog pile corpses into Otis's truck, saying that Shane did what needed to be done. Dale protests, suggesting that a new problem with Hershel was created in the wake of resolving the safety concern of the barn walkers. He is seen at the end burning the barn walker bodies with Shane and Andrea.

"Triggerfinger"
T-Dog is seen with the other survivors when Shane reveals that Lori is pregnant and when deciding what to do about Randall.

"18 Miles Out"
T-Dog did not appear this episode.

"Judge, Jury, Executioner"
T-Dog is seen attending the group debate over Randall's fate where he is openly accepting of killing the young man. He quickly brings up the issue of what to do with his body before the conversation is reeled back in by Dale. He is also seen in the camp with Rick and Lori, with Rick and T-Dog running towards a walker sound near the camp. T-Dog rushes over to see what the ruckus is with most of the other camp members when screaming is heard in the middle of the night, and witnesses Daryl's mercy killing of a mortally wounded Dale, who had been ripped open by a walker.

"Better Angels"
The group holds a funeral for Dale and Rick announce that they are going to prove him wrong by showing that the group can still work together. A scene running alongside the funeral shows Shane, Daryl, Andrea, and T-Dog eliminating a group of walkers. T-Dog is helping the group move into Hershel's home, after seeing Lori lift a box. T-Dog takes the box explaining that Lori should be resting. When Rick and Daryl prepare to leave, T-Dog is sent to get Randall but T-Dog discovers the barn empty and Randall is missing.

"Beside the Dying Fire"
The chaos of the army of walkers heading towards the farm puts the entire group on the move. T-Dog takes a truck with Andrea and begins to fight off walkers that are en route to the farm. When going to rescue Lori, Beth and Patricia, Andrea jumps out of the truck where Patricia is killed and Andrea is overwhelmed forcing T-Dog to flee with Lori and Beth. After escaping, T-Dog mentions that they should abandon the area and head towards the coast but eventually agrees to head back to the highway where they first broke down. After regrouping, T-Dog continues to mention going towards the coast would be best, and reserves himself as the groups' watchman during the night.

"Seed"
The group stumbles upon an abandoned house and Rick, Carl, Daryl, and T-Dog kill the Walkers inside of it. The group is forced to flee, however, when another herd of walkers begins to approach their location. After Daryl and Rick stumble upon the prison while hunting, T-Dog helps out by distracting and killing the walkers while Rick runs inside the prison yard to close the main gate. The next day, T-Dog assists Rick, Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn in killing the remainder of the Walkers on the interior of the prison. The next day after sleeping in the inside of the prison, Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, and Hershel suit up and explore more of the interior of the prison in search of its infirmary and cafeteria. The group is ambushed by Walkers, causing both Maggie and Glenn to split up from the rest. Hershel insists that himself, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog go back to look for them. Hershel manages to find them, but is bitten in the right calf by a Lurker lying against the wall. T-Dog assists them in taking Hershel to the cafeteria, and is present when Rick amputates the lower portion of Hershel's right leg to keep the infection from spreading.

"Sick"
T-Dog is seen raising his gun on Tomas' group when they find out Hershel was bitten. He leaves them be and instead helps get Hershel back to Cell Block C. Rick goes in the cells to help Hershel, while Daryl and T-Dog stand guard. Tomas and his group come, wanting into the cell block. This causes a stand off until Rick comes. While Tomas wants the whole prison, Axel suggest they clear out another, Rick agrees. Rick, Daryl and T-Dog go to clear the cell block for them. When Rick kills Tomas, because Tomas tried to kill him 2 times, he holds Axel at gunpoint. The group spares Axel and Oscar and leaves them in the cell block. He gives them a word of advice before leaving, which is to drag the bodies out and burn them.

"Walk With Me"
T-Dog does not appear in this episode.

"Killer Within"
T-Dog shows sympathy for Axel and Oscar and tries to convince the others that the prisoners may be an asset to the group. He eventually reserves himself to accepting Rick's decision but continues to show disdain. While helping Carol to park the group's vehicles inside the prison's courtyard, a walker invasion begins. He notices that a gate was opened and the walkers are pouring in through it, he then rushes through the walkers to seal the gate once again. While doing so, he ends up bitten in the shoulder by a walker, after killing it, he and Carol run inside the prison to save themselves. T-Dog decides to use his last hours of life helping Carol to get back to Cell Block C in safety, ignoring Carol as she tells him that he should rest because of the bite, they reach the corridor that takes to the laundry room, but it is blocked by two walkers. Carol insists that they should go back and find another way, but T-Dog heroically charges the two walkers against the wall and tells Carol to escape while she can. Carol runs to the laundry room, when she looks back, the two walkers are tearing into T-Dog's body. "I'm dead, just go!", he says.

Later on, Rick, Glenn, Daryl, Axel and Oscar finds T-Dog's remains being devoured by the two walkers. It is assumed that there was nothing left of him to reanimate, and Rick kills the two walkers. Daryl finds Carol's scarf right at the door of the laundry next to a puddle of blood, leaving her fate unknown.

"Say the Word"
T-Dog is mentioned in this episode while Glenn is mourning with Hershel over the deaths in their group from the previous episode (T-Dog and Lori). Glenn relates how, when the evacuations first occurred, T-Dog took his church van and valiantly drove to the homes of all the senior citizens he knew to offer a ride. He regards T-Dog as a hero and a great friend. He also states that T-Dog saved his life on "a thousand" occasions.

"When the Dead Come Knocking"
T-Dog is mentioned by Glenn as one of the people that went back for Merle at the Atlanta camp during his interrogation. However, when Merle learns of T-Dog's death, he only shows his hatred for T-Dog, hoping that his death was slow, stating this with a grin.

Killed By

 * Andrew (Caused)
 * Walkers

Andrew lured walkers into the prison, causing them to attack Rick and his group. T-Dog attempted to close the gate, but as he did so he was bitten, so he then ran off to safety with Carol. While wandering through the prison they ran into two walkers, and knowing his time was up, he used his last moments to save Carol's life. He charged himself at the Walkers, holding them both back, giving her time before his throat and part of his arm was ripped off, and was disabled. T-Dog was later seen by Rick, devoured and still being eaten when encountered. Rick killed the walkers eating T-Dog, and couldn't bear to look.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims T-Dog has killed:
 * Wayne Dunlap (Zombified)
 * Greene Farm Inhabitants (Zombified)
 * Numerous counts of zombies.

Jacqui
During Season 1, T-Dog seems to care deeply for Jacqui and may have had a crush on her. Throughout the season, the two are often seen talking to each other. When Jacqui refuses to leave with the group, T-Dog begs Jacqui to join them either due to the crush or being left as the only African-American left in the group. She declines and T-Dog is slightly upset.

Rick Grimes
T-Dog and Rick have not interacted much, but the two seem to get along fairly well. Throughout Season 1, T-Dog accompanies Rick on most trips and is helpful to the group. In Season 3, T-Dog was like a right-hand man to Rick.

Lori Grimes
T-Dog and Lori have not spoken much to one another, but during Season 2's episode, "Beside the Dying Fire", T-Dog insists to Lori and Beth Greene to head for the coast. Lori refuses and was mad at T-Dog and forced him to turn around to the highway. This did indicate how much T-Dog cared about their safety.

Merle Dixon
Merle and T-Dog started off on the wrong foot since Merle is racist. On the Atlanta rooftop, Merle beats up T-Dog for no reason and insults him. As a result, Rick cuffed Merle to a pipe and T-Dog is given the keys. When walkers take over the store, Merle holds a grudge against T-Dog. He trips and drops the key in a vent while going to free Merle, and locks the door so walkers cannot kill Merle. When Merle found out he didn't make it, he smirked and said "I hope he died slow" showing his racism and hatred for T-Dog.

Daryl Dixon
At first, T-Dog and Daryl do not get along well due to the Merle incident. Daryl threatens to kill him numerous times until Rick threatens to kill Daryl. At some point, Daryl forgave T-Dog and eventually saved his life after he cut his arm on a windshield.

Carol Peletier
T-Dog sacrificed himself because he was already bitten in order to save Carol. His selflessness may weigh heavily on Carol in future episodes.

Glenn
Glenn and T-Dog were close friends during the apocalypse, As seen in the episode TS-19 the two have a good friendship and were seen racing each other to the showers when Jenner tells them about having warm water laughing all the way, Glenn referred to him as "family" to Axel and Oscar. Glenn was deeply saddened by his death having to leave the sight of T-Dogs corpse as it was too much for him. He also said T-Dog saved his life multiple times.Glenn has stated T-Dog is a hero and that he would trade any number of people for one of theirs.

Beth Greene
After T-Dog saved Beth and Lori from the farm, he suggested they should head for the coast. But after Lori said she would get out of the car if he didn't turn around, he gave into her. Indicating he cared about their safety. He is later seen genuinely concerned over her reaction to Hershel being bitten.

Appearances
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Season 3

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Trivia

 * Theodore is one of the few characters with a continuing nickname.
 * T-Dog apparently had concerns over being the only African-American left in his group, as seen in season 2's "Bloodletting". Even though he expresses these concerns to Dale while in a fever-induced delirium, it's a legitimate concern that may be the reason he had chosen to remain in the background.
 * It is shown in the episode "TS-19" that T-Dog may have had a close relationship with Jacqui. This level of care for her is evident by the look of concern on his face when Jacqui refuses to leave with the other survivors and opts to stay and die with Jenner.
 * In "Killer Within", he makes comments on how his death is "God's plan", showing for the first time that he is a religious man.
 * T-Dog is one of the many religious characters in The Walking Dead.
 * T-Dog was originally planned to only appear in two or three episodes but he ended up appearing in 3 seasons.
 * Glenn says he considered T-Dog a hero as he saved him multiple times and that he drove to all of the senior citizens he knew and offered a ride. He also considered him "the best".
 * In Talking Dead, Gregory Nicotero revealed that at least part of T-Dog's death scene was filmed with a realistic replica that was actually cast from IroneE Singleton's face/head and shoulders. The replica has a large portion of the front of its neck ripped out.