The Walking Dead: My favorite quotes from episode 713

“To injure an opponent is to injure oneself. Get injured no matter what.” ~Benjamin

This is one of my very favorite lines. I read in another article that it was a shame that one of Benjamin’s last lines was spouting such BS. (I’m paraphrasing). But I don’t think it’s BS. And I don’t think it means what they think it means. Just because you get injured no matter what doesn’t mean that you choose not to do it. I think that’s what Morgan has been struggling with for a long time.

In most cases, in normal circumstances, you would choose not to injure your opponent so you don’t injure yourself as part of the Aikido teaching. But this is a different world. Part of what Morgan did after all this time was make a decision that would injure himself as a choice. He knows he will suffer for his decision. But he chose to do it anyway.

The result and the stakes are too important to do nothing. He will be injured if he does nothing, too. He has suffered plenty from doing nothing. He has suffered from waiting. Richard reminded him of that. Ironically, Richard was his healer and his opponent. They both suffered.

Richard suffered the consequences of that line as well. He injured his opponent and he injured himself. He took that chance as well.