The Walking Dead: Richard keeps poking at the Saviors

Richard seems to be willing to do anything to get the Kingdom involved in a war with the Saviors on The Walking Dead. Is it working?

Love him or hate him, there’s no question that The Walking Dead’s Richard has his heart in the right place. He knows the Kingdom’s deal with the Saviors will never last, and if Ezekiel doesn’t wake up and smell the coffee, the Saviors will continue to push the boundaries until something disastrous happens. Richard’s last visit with the Saviors at the exchange reached a fever pitch–is he trying to provoke them?

Clearly, yes.

In season 7, the communities within The Walking Dead universe operate a lot like two siblings who need a nap. Anyone with a sibling might recall holding a finger too close to the little brother until he screams, but then you innocently tell your parents you weren’t actually touching him. That’s Richard with the Saviors. He’s poking and prodding the Saviors, and he hopes that when the Saviors snap, Ezekiel will have a chance to see their true colors.

Richard has been pleading his case against the Saviors to anyone who will listen, but the problem is that the people in his circles aren’t hearing him. When he went to Carol and Morgan, they both sent him away without offering any support. He saw an ally in Rick but wasn’t able to convince Ezekiel to see the truth in Rick’s message, so Richard turned to Daryl. But Daryl wasn’t willing to help Richard ambush the Saviors on the road. Not only did Daryl realize that Carol was Richard’s intended sacrificial lamb, but Daryl also knew that triggering the Saviors without being prepared for the consequences is a bad idea. (Daryl learned that the hard way)

The biggest indicator that things are changing was during the heated confrontation between Richard and Gavin at the last drop. Richard was full-on antagonizing the Saviors, trying to get them to react. He was so aggressive that Gavin said Richard should not have a gun on his person, ever. Morgan’s stick was also confiscated. Ezekiel watched the whole interaction, but what Richard didn’t think about was that Ezekiel will likely place at least some blame on Richard for his attitude.

There are a couple of things to consider here. Richard is correct in his assessment of the Saviors and the fact that they can’t be trusted. Morgan still thinks they can be reasoned with, but you can bet that if Carol knew what really happened to Glenn and Abraham she’d be saying the same thing that Richard is saying. Anyone with a solid read on the situation will see that the it’s only a matter of time before the Saviors break the agreement.

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The other thing to consider is that even though Richard is right about the Saviors, he’s not thinking clearly. You antagonize the Saviors and start a skirmish. Then what? No one is ready for a battle yet and this is one fight where preparation is essential. You want to fight to win.  

Richard isn’t wrong about the Saviors, but he needs to be smart about antagonizing them. You don’t want to trigger the avalanche while standing in its path.