Oceanside on The Walking Dead: From darkness to hope for the future

There was no sign of life from Oceanside at first during the second half of the season, but that changed during the season 9 episode 15 episode “The Calm Before” of The Walking Dead which showed a more grown up and mature Rachel representing Oceanside.

All the major communities were planning the defense against a potential attack from the Whisperers. Rachel showed a willingness to do whatever it takes for her own people and for the safety of the other communities. Her change is the greatest and most shocking to happen this past season on The Walking Dead.

Rachel represents the change and evolving when it seemed like Oceanside was heading down a dark path first half of season 9, which showed Oceanside as potentially untrustworthy as they took out the Saviors.

Rachel in the first half of season 9 was seen as untrustworthy as she showed herself to be cold and unwilling to listen to anyone besides her own people. After the execution of Arat, it was clear that anyone who crossed Oceanside could have found themselves potentially at risk.

During the season 9 episode 15 “The Calm Before”, Rachel showed a willingness to help. Rachel even had a final discussion with her former rival Tara.  Rachel’s calm demeanor shows that there was a lot of soul searching done by herself and Oceanside during the time jump.

Other communities were going to find out that Oceanside was the cause of the deaths of some of the Saviors and with surviving members of the Saviors like Laura and D.J, Oceanside decided that fighting wasn’t worth it. The vision of a new world was directly threatened by Oceanside due to them simply not being willing to let it go for the sake of unity and moving forward from the past.

Around the time of Rick’s disappearance and Maggie leaving the area could have rattled the young survivor. The whereabouts of Cyndie are unknown, but if she left after being seen as unfit to lead due to her methods when dealing with conflict or dead, it was enough for Rachel to lead with an open mind towards other communities.

There has been a lot of heartbreak with young survivors that were potential leaders. This includes Carl and Henry who were both respectively seen as future leaders. Rachel was one young survivor completely overlooked. With the way things were going, it seemed like Rachel would be a threat due to her willingness to kill with no hesitation.

The young leader of Oceanside represents a reoccurring theme in The Walking Dead about not being “too far gone”. When it seemed like Oceanside was set to burn bridges due to their divisive actions, suddenly Rachel and Oceanside have found peace as survivors.

There is more to learn about Rachel’s leadership style and how Oceanside got to this point from stubborn and isolated to open and cooperative. Stay tuned when The Walking Dead season ten premieres October, as all of us will hopefully learn more and get a first-hand look at the growth of Oceanside.