As The Walking Dead moves toward rebuilding society, the characters face ethical issues they never saw coming.
In last week’s episode, a man attempted to murder Maggie (Lauren Cohan), resulting in her throwing him in jail and having Gregory (Xander Berkeley) hanged. In this episode, Maggie needed the man to help plow the field, but refused to budge when Michonne (Danai Gurira) suggested they give him a second chance. Similarly, a fight broke out between a man and Daryl (Norman Reedus). Rick (Andrew Lincoln) suggested they give him a second chance because they needed him to build the bridge they were working on, but Daryl thought he deserved to go to prison.
After internal struggles and endless ethical questions, Maggie decided to free the man who attempted to murder her. She related to his story of addiction and remembered how her father got a second chance after recovering from his own addiction. Rick also decided to let the man stay free but it resulted in a disastrous walker attack, which left Aaron (Ross Marquand) with an amputated arm.
Both Maggie and Rick realized the consequences their actions could have, especially as they rebuild society and are forced to institute new laws. Their choices will likely weigh heavy on all of their decisions for the rest of the season.
Rick also confronted Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in his jail cell and told him how their day had gone badly, but how resilient the people are and how bright their future was without Negan in it. Negan only laughed, saying the society would fall eventually.
Negan left Rick with these words: “You’re not saving the world, Rick, you’re just getting it ready for me.” Foreboding words for a society that is only beginning.
Here’s how fans reacted to the episode:
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
