The Worst Decisions from AMC’s The Walking Dead – Part I

Season 3: Rick lets Andrew live.

I usually appreciate when characters in The Walking Dead give hostiles (Or, at least, people who’ve made serious mistakes) a chance at redemption. There are however, a few exceptions to that…this is one of them.

In case you’ve forgotten: In the second episode of season 3 titled “Sick”, Rick, after killing the murderous convict Tomas (For trying to kill him during a skirmish with walkers), chases Tomas’s cohort, Andrew, to a courtyard of the West Georgia Correctional Facility filled with walkers. When Andrew realizes the company he’s keeping, he pleads with Rick to let him back inside the prison, but, Rick refuses, and simply walks away, leaving him to his fate. Andrew manages to escape the courtyard and, using his knowledge of the prison, lures a small herd inside which results in T-Dog and Lori dying.

Now, I get why Rick wouldn’t let Andrew back inside: The dude tried to smash Rick’s head in after Rick killed Tomas; Makes trust a little difficult. I also, kind of, understand why Rick didn’t just kill him: After losing Dale because he was distraught that the group was going to execute Randall, Rick may not have wanted to do the very thing he fought Shane for wanting to do.

All of that said…he (And frankly, everyone else) would have been better off if he’d just bit the bullet and got rid of Andrew when he had the chance.

Think about how many people died because of Rick’s failure to kill Andrew, and the aftermath of that decision: T-Dog, Lori, Ben, and Allen. If Rick had killed Andrew, T-Dog and Lori would not have died, because Andrew wouldn’t have been there to open the gates and let a gang of walkers in. And, if Lori hadn’t died, Rick wouldn’t have gone into Crazytown, and would have taken in Allen and Ben (Along with Tyreese and Sasha) immediately, meaning they wouldn’t have joined up with The Governor and, all other things being equal, would have been helping the group fight The Governor, instead of fighting for The Governor. And, if Ben wasn’t one of The Governor’s soldiers, he wouldn’t have been there to take a bullet for The Governor, who might have instead been killed by Merle, who may have survived without The Governor to track him down and kill him, so, I guess we can say Rick’s dumb decision got Merle killed, too.

So many lives could have been saved (And Rick could have avoided Crazytown) if he’d only killed one dude (Who tried to kill him). Sometimes, maybe nice guys do finish last.