One of the repeated themes on The Walking Dead season 5 is that there is no sanctuary. No where is safe and no one is safe. Safety is an illusion.
On The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 3, Bob is returned to his people after revealing a nasty walker bite on his shoulder which occurred during their raid of the food pantry. When the Termites realize he’s going to die, they set out to finish the job on those who remain at the church.
The confrontation which results will go down as one of the most brutal we’ve seen thus far.
Ever since shooting his best friend Shane, Rick Grimes has proven that he’s a man who will do what it takes to keep his people safe, whether his people are his children, Judith and Carl, or the extended family of survivors he’s accumulated along the way.
If you watch The Walking Dead online you know this to be true. Last night was no exception, though the battle seemed to garner quite the conflicted feelings among members of the group.
Rick set a trap for the Terminus people, leaving the church and then doubling back once Gareth and his men were safely inside. While Gareth said there was no point in begging for his life, that’s what he eventually ended up doing.
Where it seems Glenn, Maggie, or Tyreese might have let him go, Rick wasn’t content to do that, having learned his lesson with the Governor. He, Abraham, Sasha, Rosita, and that girl they picked up whose name I can’t remember who was living with the Governor, slaughtered the remaining members of Terminus in a altar-side massacre.
Glenn and Maggie watched in horror from the church while Tyreese witnessed the deaths from the doorway of Pastor Gabriel’s office.
It’s odd how all three of them would fight to save their own lives, and have, but seemed horrified by Rick’s actions. In Rick’s mind, this deadly thing had to be done, no matter how gruesome. It was the Termites or them.
(For the record, I’m Team Rick on this one.)
The question the scene raises is about humanity. Throughout the past two episodes, we’ve had Carl and Tyreese, and Bob, even, before his death, talking about hope and not giving up on people.
Has Rick given up on others or is he just more keenly aware of the bad in others because he’s aware of the bad within himself? It’s an interesting question to discuss and one without a clear answer.
Some will say Rick is slowly losing his humanity. Others will say he’s protecting his humanity, and that of his companions, by taking out those who have lost theirs. He’s protecting them, but at what cost to himself?
Right now the group is split, again, as Glenn and Maggie rode off with Abraham and Eugene on their path to DC with Beth (hopefully) set to return next week. At the end of the episode, Daryl emerged from the woods and told someone to come out.
Who was he talking to? We’ll find out next week.