| “ | Perlie, I don't know if you'll even read this. I feel dumb it took me so long to realize you all changed your numbers. I wonder what those other people thought when they heard my messages. I've been trying so damn hard, but it's too much for me. I'm too weak, and I can't do it by myself. I need help. Please help me. Please come find me. I don't like it where I am, and I just want to come home --.
―Joel's letter to his brother.[src]
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Joel Armstrong is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead: Dead City. He is the brother of Perlie Armstrong.
Overview
According to Perlie, Joel was funny and had charisma. Despite Perlie greatly annoying his older brother, they were close to each other. However, Joel was also restless and had problems that his family just couldn't see, which led to Joel getting into fights that had him in and out of jail and becoming a drug addict. As a result of his addiction, Joel tried to steal from his own parents and assaulted his mother, although Joel was so high at the time that he didn't know what he was doing. Joel's behavior frightened his parents too much to do anything about it, forcing Perlie to kick him out and send Joel away, leading to a permanent rift between the brothers.
Joel would later regret his actions to the point that he reached out to his family and friends for help with getting his life back on track, but they had cut him off so completely that everyone had changed their phone numbers on him. Joel went so far as to desperately send a letter to Perlie begging for his help and to come home, but his brother was too angry to even open Joel's letter. By the time of Joel's death by suicide, at least three years after reaching out to his brother, he had apparently either relapsed on drugs or had never gotten off of them successfully, as he still had drug paraphernalia in his kitchen. Perlie would later fondly remember Joel and express regret for not helping his brother when he could've, for only remembering the bad parts of Joel's life for so long, and for holding onto his anger towards his brother for as long as he did.
Pre-Apocalypse
New York City, New York, United States
Joel grew up in the Bronx, where he was extremely close to his younger brother Perlie, despite Perlie driving him crazy. The brothers were so close that when Joel got a job as a dock worker keeping the rivers clean of debris, Perlie got one too. However, Joel was restless and had several problems that led to him getting into fights and going in and out of jail. He eventually became addicted to drugs, and while so high that he didn't know what he was doing, he tried to rob his parents. When Joel was caught, he attacked his mother. With their parents too afraid to do anything, a furious Perlie kicked Joel out of their lives, and Joel became estranged from all of his family and friends who changed their phone numbers on him. Joel subsequently moved to an apartment in Manhattan.
Three years before the outbreak, Joel sent his brother a letter begging him to come home and for Perlie's help with getting his life back together. However, because Perlie was still too angry, he didn't even open the letter, although he never threw it out either.
Post-Apocalypse
Manhattan, New York, United States
When the outbreak hit, Joel's family was able to escape from New York City just in time, but Joel was left trapped in Manhattan. After eventually running out of food, Joel committed suicide in order to avoid dying of starvation.
Season 1
"Old Acquaintances"
While across the river from Manhattan, Perlie looks at an old envelope with Joel's address on it.
"Who's There?"
Perlie makes his way to Joel's Apartment and breaks through the locked door, blocking the hole with a dresser after hearing the growls of walkers nearby. In the kitchen, Perlie finds a lot of empty food cans scattered around, suggesting that Joel had run out of food at some point, and drug paraphernalia on the stove. In the dust-covered living room, Perlie finds a picture of himself and Joel, who is revealed to be his brother, and an empty gun case. Looking at a picture of himself and Joel with their parents, Perlie spots a body in the bedroom behind him in the mirror. Perlie finds Joel dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, having presumably committed suicide after running out of supplies and being left to face starvation. Perlie sadly covers his brother's body with a sheet and lays Joel's rosary beads on top of it. Taking Joel's loaded gun, Perlie goes to leave, but finds walkers trying to get through the door. Perlie climbs out of the window and down a ladder, but he gets caught in a net.
"People Are a Resource"
The Croat finds Joel's letter in Perlie's left boot, and he reads it aloud as Joel's brother breaks down in tears upon hearing his words begging for Perlie's help.
"Stories We Tell Ourselves"
After finding a survivor who had committed suicide, Perlie has a flashback to finding Joel's corpse.
Later, Perlie takes out Joel's letter and opens up to Negan, telling him that "my brother. His name was Joel. We were close. Even though I annoyed the ever-living Hell out of him. Would've followed Joel anywhere. So, when he got that job on the docks, I got one too. He was funny. Had this, uh, charisma. But he was restless, too. Got into fights, in and out of jail, had problems we just couldn't see. One night my folks caught him breaking in, lookin' to steal from them. He attacked my mother. So high he didn't know what he was doing. They were too scared to do anything about it. Maybe they hoped it would go away. So, it fell on me, which left me... angry. He was my big brother. He let me down, abandoned me. So, I guess I wanted to abandon him right back. This was the last time I ever heard from Joel. Couldn't bring myself to open it. Three years later the city fell apart. Mom and Dad and I got out just in time, but... it happened so fast, I didn't think... He was left to die all alone, in the worst possible place on the planet. Is that what he deserved? Is it really so black and white? You'd asked me back then, I would've said yes. But now? I don't know. Is it gray? Is it something else? Tranquilitas Ordinis. What if it's just stories we tell ourselves to sleep easier?"
Death
- Killed By
- Himself (Suicide)
In order to avoid starvation after running out of food, Joel shoots himself in the head.
Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Joel has killed:
- Himself (Suicide)
- Possibly numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people
Appearances
Dead City
Season 1
- "Who's There?" (Corpse)
- "Stories We Tell Ourselves" (Flashback, Corpse)
Trivia
- In Joel's Apartment is drug paraphernalia, suggesting that Joel was a drug addict.
- This is later confirmed in "Stories We Tell Ourselves".
- Joel's corpse was mummified and not completely decomposed during the many years of the post-apocalypse, most likely because his corpse was lying in a closed environment.
Dead City Characters
| |
|---|---|
| The Bricks | Maggie • Hershel • Nina • Mr. Aizawa • Wesley • Tim • Victoria • Gretchen |
| New Babylon Federation | Negan • Perlie • Benjamin • Ginny • Lucia • Larry • Yadi • Houseman • Charlie • Jason • Jano • Jones • Gritz |
| Manhattan Tribespeople | Tommaso • Amaia • Rizza • Luther • Esther |
| The Burazi | Dama • Croat • Cole • Waylen • Victor |
| Manhattan | Dan • Joel |
| The Scragglers | Dre |
| Silk Stockings | Bruegel • Tony |
| Blood Shirts | Mila • Christos |
| The Foragers | Roksana • Joan |
| Miscellaneous Survivors | Annie • Joshua • Renata • Dillard • Luis • Simon • Beth • Hershel • Patricia • Annette • Shawn • Otis • Josephine • Kata • Lucille |
| Animals | Bobbie |
| Alive characters appear in green. Dead characters appear in red and italics. Unknown characters appear in blue. Undead characters appear in gray and italics. | |