The Walking Dead: Our panel discusses who should lead the Hilltop

The Hilltop is short an elected leader now. Who among the remaining survivors would be the best leader? Our panel looks at the possibilities for the Hilltop’s future.

The devastating midseason finale of The Walking Dead cost Jesus his life when he mistook a Whisperer for a walker. Jesus was the elected leader at the Hilltop, even though he preferred to be outside the gate and not dealing with the day to day running of the community. That means that someone else is going to have to take his place.

The Hilltop has struggled to find reliable leadership. Gregory was a terrible leader who was selfish and opportunistic. Maggie was a good leader, but during the war with Negan and the Saviors she was motivated mostly by the desire for revenge against Negan. After Negan was captured she still had her own agenda for the Hilltop and ultimately left the community to go learn what Georgie could teach her.

The most likely candidate is Tara, because she was very actively involved in helping Jesus run the community before. Taking Jesus’ frequent absences into account it can even be said that Tara was already running Hilltop. But is Tara the best candidate? Can she win the hearts and minds of the Hilltop? Or should another native Hilltopper take control of the community? Maybe Jesus’ death will make Maggie and baby Hershel return from Georgie’s because the community needs her. But maybe the Hilltop residents would prefer to have a different leader.  Our panel takes a deeper look at the politics of the Hilltop and what might happen now that Jesus is gone.

What The Panel Thinks

Now that Jesus is dead will the Hilltop descend into chaos? Would Tara make a good leader?

Sonya says:

"Tara is obviously very capable but I’m not convinced she’s going to be a strong enough leader to make sure that the Hilltop continues to thrive. There is a lot of skill that goes into managing a big community like that as well as managing the output of their crops, planning for the future and so on. I think that Hilltop would actually be better off with a council ruling the community, similar to the council at Alexandria."

Sara says:

"I don’t think the Hilltop will descend into chaos, but I do think they are going to need to mobilize quickly since there is a new threat amongst them. I’m not really sure if Tara would make a good leader or not since I’m not sure if she has had a lot of experience in that area but maybe if she had someone to help her out, that might be better."

Jeffrey says:

"I think there may be a bit of a leadership struggle when news hits of Jesus’ death. It might be best for the Hilltop to hold an emergency election to decide on their new leader. That being said, I have full faith in Tara’s capabilities to not only lead the Hilltop through the crisis with the Whisperers, but also just in general. When Jesus was alive as leader, Tara did amazing work as his assistant. She’s a people person who has been through so much. She’s got this!"

Sarabeth says:

"I think Tara was already leading Hilltop so after the initial shock wears off she will be able to seamlessly transition. The community has food and supplies so they should be able to see that her help has kept them safe and want her to continue."

What do you think TWDFamily? When The Walking Dead returns do you think Tara will become the defacto leader at the Hilltop? Tweet us @SonyaIryna, @WrittenBySara, @TWalkingDWorld, @SarabethPollock, and @UndeadWalkingFS to join the conversation.