The Walking Dead: Were Cyndie’s actions ethical?

In The Walking Dead world no one’s hands are clean. Allowing revenge killing could start the survivors down a very slippery slope.

When it was revealed on The Walking Dead that Cyndie and the Oceanside women were killing The Saviors who had been involved in the slaughter of the Oceanside men and boys Maggie and Daryl allowed Cyndie to finish the killing spree by killing Arat, the last member of The Saviors left alive who was involved in the original killing.

An emotional Cyndie described her brother’s murder for Maggie and Daryl and forced Arat to tell them what she had said before shooting the boy, “No exceptions.” If that sounds familiar that’s because it’s what Negan said just before he killed Glenn.

It’s easy to get caught up in the emotion of that moment and say that Arat had it coming.  She killed Olivia. She cut Rosita. It’s safe to assume she’s killed others. Probably a lot of them. It’s easy to think that Maggie and Daryl did the right thing by walking away and letting Cyndie get revenge by stabbing Arat in the head.

She got revenge, but was it justice? Aren’t there circumstances that can mitigate the criminality of killing? And since there is currently no code of law or justice among the communities did Cyndie and Oceanside have the right to start killing The Saviors that they held responsible for the deaths of their loved ones?

Cyndie said that she got the idea to take revenge after Maggie killed Gregory and Cyndie realized that they don’t have to follow Rick’s rules. That’s a really bad precedent to set in a group of communities that has a long history of mutual killings.

No One’s Hands Are Clean

Maggie was justified in killing Gregory because he had acted in ways that hurt the community, like going to Simon to warn Simon that The Hilltop was going to fight back against The Saviors. Time and time again he worked against the community and in his own self-interest. And trying to murder the leader of a community should certainly be punishable by death.

In that world keeping someone alive but locked up isn’t feasible considering they don’t have the resources to waste on someone that isn’t contributing to the community. Earl was left alive partly because he has a valuable skill that the community needs. Gregory had no skills and nothing to contribute. His killing was just. But it’s easy to see how some people could view Maggie’s killing of Gregory as revenge or a type of justice.

However, no one in that world has not killed to survive. Back when Tara first washed up at Oceanside they wanted to kill her. Their usual protocol was to kill anyone who got too close. Murder. Should the friends and relatives of the people they killed be allowed to kill them in the name of justice?

Let’s not forget that Rick and the others attacked Oceanside and took their guns. And Enid killed Natania. Should Cyndie be allowed to kill Enid next?

Rick sanctioned and carried out the slaughter of an entire outpost of Saviors. Should their family and friends be allowed to kill everyone from Alexandria and The Hilltop that took part in that?

After Maggie and Carol were taken prisoner by Paula and the other small group of Saviors Maggie and Carol killed them all. One of the women holding them prisoner was the girlfriend of one of The Saviors that Daryl, Sasha, and Abe blew up on the road. Should that woman have been allowed to kill Daryl, Sasha, and Abe because of that?

The list of murders and killings in this world is a mile long but the point is that everyone has killed to survive. Killing for revenge just keeps the cycle of killing going indefinitely.

Arat Was An Asset

Right now tensions between The Saviors and the other communities are very high and the spirit of cooperation is hanging by a thread. Arat and Laura are both high ranking Saviors that the others listen to and both of them were actively trying to cooperate with Rick’s group and keep peace between the Saviors and others. Allowing Cyndie to kill Arat was tactically a mistake as well as ethically.

Aside from her position within The Saviors Arat was also a good worker and a good fighter, two things that all the communities need very badly. She could have become a great liaison between The Sanctuary and the other communities. Killing her may have been satisfying for Cyndie but it was unethical and not a very smart  move.

Rick wants to focus on building the future. And in order to do that all of the remaining survivors have to let go of the hatreds and bad blood of the past and accept that now they all need to each other to survive.

And you won’t have to wait long to see the actress who brought Arat to life back on your screen. Elizabeth Faith Ludlow will join Battlestar Galactica and Longmire actress Katee Sackhoff in a new Netflix science fiction series called Another Life. Ludlow will play the second in command to Sackhoff who is the leader of a team of astronauts searching for alien intelligence.

What do you think TWDFamily? Was killing Arat justifiable? Tweet us at @sonyairyna and @UndeadWalkingFS to share your thoughts.