The good and bad from issue 185 of The Walking Dead comics

What were the best, worst, and most interesting things from issue 185 of The Walking comics titled “On Guard” released in November of 2018?

Recently, The Walking Dead has been doing a great job of introducing a new group of survivors calling themselves The Commonwealth and having them interact with the survivors from every familiar settlement to readers.

While the two communities are very different, there have been some great interactions between them already. That trend continued in issue 185 of the comics titled “On Guard” when it was released on Nov. 7, 2018.

During this installment of the story, there were good, bad, and interesting things. Let’s discuss them all!

The Good Stuff

1. Opening up. Rick crying in public about Andrea may not have been manly, but it was necessary. He still is grieving very hard and sharing that with Michonne, Elodie, and even Pamela can go a long way in getting things right.
2. Not going anywhere. Magna and Yumiko don’t trust The Commonwealth at all, but that doesn’t mean they’re willing to pack up and run at the first sign of conflict. These are great characters and it’s good to know their intentions.
3. Accountability at The Commonwealth. Lance keeps apologizing for what happened when he was in control but his constant reminder of failure isn’t a great thing and shows more about the structure of this community than it does the individuals who run it.

The Bad Things

1. The relationship between Dwight and Rick. As if there needed to be any more conflict between those two, this episode brought it out more and resulted in Rick just booting him out of the room.
2. Time to questions things. Rick’s stance against Dwight is now being questioned since Mercer backed up Dwight. Maybe his stance on The Commonwealth isn’t as set in stone as he thought it was.
3. How easily they get riled up. Dwight’s “experiment” with the people from The Hilltop is pretty terrifying. The fact that a mob can rally against the guards so quickly shows just how close that community is to falling apart.

The Interesting Stuff

1. Is this love? Stephanie has been trying to get Eugene’s attention for a while now and she finally took the opportunity to plant a big kiss on his lips. With him kissing her back, it looks like they might have some future potential!
2. Sophia wants the D. The relationship between Carl and Lydia is one of my favorites in the comics and watching Sophia pretty much throwing herself at Carl was both difficult to see. Hopefully, he can resist the temptation and stay faithful.
3. A train! The idea of a train going back and forth between the communities is a fantastic idea. Not only that, but it can be used to explore so much more than what they already know. Fingers crossed this works out and can be something fans see develop of over the months.

Overall Impression

For those of you who read my predictions for this issue, you’ll see that I couldn’t have been much worse in anticipating what would happen. Instead, this installment of the story focused more on the harsh reality of The Commonwealth crumbling.

The interactions between Rick and Dwight now have Mercer in on it as well. He can give a true insight into what the inner workings for the community are and what the major issues are with how it operates.

But, the thing that I love and hated the most was the interaction between Sophia and Carl. The question of whether or not Carl will bite on deflowering her is something that will have to be seen, but considering how fragile Lydia can be, the fact this is even being discussed isn’t good for the relationship.

But the real takeaway from this issue is the internal conflict for Rick. He knows The Commonwealth needs to change in order to succeed, but how long can he slow play until he needs to do something? Hopefully not too many more months, right?

ISSUE GRADE: 7.9/10

What did you think of issue 185 of The Walking Dead? What storylines did you like to see moving forward and which ones have you the most concerned? Let us know your opinions in the comments section!