Tag: Norman Reedus

English: Community Boat, Seagull Trust, Scotland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The latest episodes of Walking Dead have involved trust or a lack thereof. Some of the members of Rick’s group can’t bring themselves to trust the new community of people they are trying to assimilate in. Rick, of course, is leading the distrust. Carol is right there, too. Most everyone else has in one way or another “given in” to the charms of the community and its people, including Daryl. They are trying their best to fit in, forget their savage pasts and place their seemingly unexplained lack of trust for the newcomers on the backburner in favor of their last, best chance at a return to normalcy.
I wonder if there is a poll (who am I kidding, polls are like studies which are like busses: another one comes along every ten minutes) that has asked fans of the show if they trust the new group? I’ll bet there are some that want to (just like Rick’s group) because they feel Rick and his band need things like regular, warm showers to be part of their daily lives again.

I for one think this smells of hogwash.



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Ever since running into the pair of community recruiters who came seeking them, the newcomers have told Rick and his people to trust them. I don’t trust people who say things like, “trust me.” Trust has to be earned in order to be given. So, I don’t blame Rick for not trusting the new people one bit. The new people have gotten people killed due to their inability to live, fight and survive among walkers—things that have historically built trust among members of Rick’s tribe.



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The post-apocalyptic world is a scary place and living behind walls too long does not make the reality of what’s beyond them ever go away. I suppose they and we (the audience) can forget temporarily. But, we’re never too far from being on the edge of our seats, thinking things like, “Don’t trust them, man! They’re not on your side! They are out to get over on you and take everything from you!”

English: Toronto: TD Canada Trust Tower (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If it was the certain utopic civilization that the fortressed, new community’s middle aged, red-headed female leader would have you believe, the show would effectively be over this season and everyone would live happily ever after.
But we know the writers have bigger plans for the cast after the 90-minute season finale. So, we quietly root for Rick and company to do what they have to in order to come out on top; even if it means giving up the chance to make the community work for them and having as normal a life as possible in the process.
All is never as it appears. To blindly trust is to be taking chances whether flesh-eating zombies are involved or not. Those that trust without reason to do so have failed Rick and others of his kind. He appears to be vulnerable, falling out of favor with his original group, but now is not the time to abandon him—when he needs them (and you) most. The writers have done a commendable job of dividing and conquering to this point.
But now it’s time for the group to unite in the face of the newcomers and do what they do best: survive. Can their trust and faith in one another resurface in time to save the day? Or will there be more bloodshed, new characters introduced, dangled before us like carrots and diluting the silent, aggressive forces at the outer recesses of our minds compelling us to watch?