The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: Crossing Lines

When Joining Another Group In A World Full Of The Walking Dead, You Must…Follow The Rules.

If that sounds like a shameless plug, I apologize (Though, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do it). I honestly couldn’t find a better way to describe what Eugene did in this week’s episode of The Walking Dead. I mean he joined the Commonwealth, and then went on to violate several of their laws, and he, Princess, and Ezekiel all wound up in trouble.

Now, I think he was justified in trying to call out to Alexandria, but that doesn’t change the fact that he still broke several of their laws.

The problem is, in a zombie apocalypse, as groups of people coalesce, they will, whether formally or informally, set down their own set of rules, and, if you’re joining a group (Even if only temporarily), you kind of need to adhere to those rules.

I’m not saying you should just do what they tell you, for example if they tell you to slaughter a group you don’t know. But, I am saying if there is a rule about how they want people to behave, how they want them to treat each other and the group at-large, maybe you should follow it.

I say that because, first of all, you’re joining their group, they’re doing you a solid, the least you could is adhere to their rules. Secondly, you don’t know how they’ll react to you violating their rules. Sure, they could just tell you that you shouldn’t do that, and send you on your way, but, for all you know, they could just as quickly exile you (Which, if you’re joining them, it means you probably need their help in some way), or worse, go in the opposite direction and imprison you. If you think that is the worst they could do, boy, would you be in for a nasty surprise.

Groups of survivors in a zombie apocalypse develop rules for a reason: To hold themselves together and be a refuge against the chaos that the apocalypse creates by ensuring that everyone in their midst understands what they should and should not do. If you go around flouting these rules, they will make you pay consequences, because, if people can just do whatever they want…why can’t do they very same awful things people did to each other when the outbreak hit?