The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: You gotta do what you gotta do

One thing was clear in the newest episode of The Walking Dead: You gotta do what you gotta do to survive, even if that means doing things you don’t WANT to do.

If there’s one thing about surviving a zombie apocalypse, it’s that it forces you to play by its rules, whether you want to or not. In fact, I think the brand-new episode of The Walking Dead showed that pretty damn well…I mean, the whole episode seemed to be about the group (And individuals within it) doing things they didn’t want to, but, ones they needed to do.

Let’s look at how the episode started, for example, shall we?

We started the episode with Aaron leading a combined battalion of citizens from Alexandria, The Hilltop, and Oceanside going through battle practice, looking like something out of the Middle Ages.

Why? Well, they certainly weren’t doing it for a Renaissance Fair! They were doing it to prepare themselves for a potential battle with The Whisperers, not because they wanted to fight them, but, because they feared they’d have to.

And, this is how things would be in a zombie apocalypse: You would be forced to do things you’d rather not do because you wouldn’t have any other choice, not if you wanted to survive, anyway.

Some of the things you may not want to do in the apocalypse you don’t want to do because they’re gross, disgusting, or violent. Sadly…they’re things you’re going to have to get used to doing.

Eating food that you might not like the taste of, or that might be past the “sell by…” date will just become normal because it’s either that or nothing. Don’t want to deal with gross-ass zombies, with their guts hanging out? Too bad. If that zombie (Or any other, for that matter) is coming to eat your face, you need to kill it before it does just that. All of this and more will become par for the course. In the apocalypse, you can’t be squeamish.

Something else we saw on Sunday’s episode of Walking Dead was Carol repeatedly telling Daryl that she just wanted to forget what happened back in the Winter with The Whisperers (You know, Henry, Tara, Enid, and so many others being decapitated) and just get back on her boat and go back out to sea. Until she had a staredown with Alpha as the episode came to a close, it seemed like Carol didn’t want to deal with The Whisperers, as much she didn’t want to respect their border.

You see, the problem is: You can’t run from your problems in a zombie apocalypse. Oh, sure, you can leave an area to avoid a herd or hostiles, but, the fact is that zombies and hostiles are going to be everywhere. Even if you arrive in an area without one or the other, there’s almost no chance you’ll avoid them forever. Sooner or later, your problems will find you, and…you just have to deal with them.

Speaking of which, it was pretty clear (If Negan’s assessment of the situation was anything to go by) that the communities were afraid of The Whisperers, not that I blame them. That said, being afraid of The Whisperers (Or just about any hostile group, for that matter) only makes them stronger. It allows them to force compliance out of you without having to take any risk. If you’re afraid to fight hostiles, you’ve done half the work for them.

The only way to conquer your fears, whether in a zombie apocalypse or not, is to face them. You need to be ready, willing, and able to stand up to hostiles if you ever want to be rid of them, the same goes for zombies: If you’re too afraid to fight them, how do you expect to survive?

Now, facing up to your fears, be they hostiles or zombies, doesn’t mean just charging headlong into an overwhelming force half-cocked. That’s just stupid. Often, to do it right, you need to prepare, physically, mentally, every way imaginable.

Of course, doing so takes time. You can’t just snap your fingers and have an army of heavily armed, highly trained soldiers backing you up to rid yourself of whatever hostiles or zombies are plaguing you. You may need months, maybe even years, to prepare for that (Assuming you have that kind of time), and you may need to do it while constantly chafing under the rule of a hostile you desperately want to relieve yourself of, and that can be supremely frustrating.

You see, one of the toughest things you may have to do, one of the things you may hate doing the most, is nothing, waiting for the right time so that you can get rid of your foes, instead of the other way around; Rage-inducing though it would be, that’s the point: It keeps you from making a stupid mistake that could get you and your entire group slaughtered.

Lastly, the second half of Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead focused on the communities, despite their fear over what doing so could mean for them, cross into Whisperer territory in order to put out the fire caused by a falling satellite.

They didn’t want to do it, but, they knew that, if they didn’t, the fire might consume the entire forest, and take Oceanside with it. They did what they had to do.

And, that’s what survival is all about in a zombie apocalypse: Doing what you gotta do to stay alive.

In a zombie apocalypse, survival is the name of the game, and, while it isn’t always a game that people want to play, it is, however, a game people need to play.

You will have to do a lot of things you don’t want to do, and face a lot of things you don’t want to face, but, if you plan on surviving, they’re things you’re gonna have to do.

This is why you follow…The Rules.

And that’s our Survival Rule Of The Week! Hopefully, you’ve gained a little insight into all the various things you’ll need to look out for and do. If you like this and want to find out more rules to survive the zombie apocalypse, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can also get it at Amazon here, on iTunes here!