The Walking Dead Series Blog – Indifference

This week’s action takes place outside the prison, with Rick and Carol going on yet another supply run, whilst Daryl, Michonne, Bob and Tyreese continue theirs in a veterinary school.

Again, in an episode light on action, we are forced to deal with the character’s conflicts with one another.

Rick and Carol meet a strangely content young couple on their venture, and we hear Rick’s famous three questions regarding their acceptance into the prison. Carol dismisses Rick’s attempts and sends them to find supplies. Clearly unequipped to survive alone, the girl is killed and the man never returns. Carol doesn’t seem overly upset about this, which coincides with her decision to kill the infected residents.

Then comes the big kicker. In a heart-stopping scene, Rick decides that Carol has to leave the group and refuses to let her take the two girls she has been looking after with her. Like most people think, this decision is not a fair one – especially coming from Rick.

As someone who has killed non-walkers in the past and has shown everyone that his questionable leadership can really take over him, Rick is by no means in a position to force Carol’s departure. Sure, you may say, what Carol did was wrong, but if she was just protecting the prison, how is that any worse than what all the residents do?

Rick has two more hard decisions to make before the episode finishes – whether or not to tell Tyreese it was Carol and whether or not to tell the group he made Carol leave. Whilst he gives her supplies and a car, believing meanwhile that he is protecting her from Tyreese, he could have gone about the situation in a number of different ways.

I am certain that Daryl won’t be impressed, and neither will the audience – Carol was one of the most interesting and developed characters on the show.