The Walking Dead survival rule of the week: Appearances are deceiving

The Walking Dead may be dangerous, but you should never underestimate people

This week’s episode began with Connie and Virgil running from something, but we didn’t know what. We would later learn, this was a group of cannibals referred to as “the ferals.” The name comes from the very primate-like way they move and their communication being relegated to primarily grunts. However, when you look at it, it’s very much a misnomer because “the ferals” are anything but.

Yes, they walk like apes, they’re cannibals, and yes, they mostly communicate through grunts. The key word there, though, is “mostly.”

While attacking Virgil and Connie, one of the ferals clearly shouts “Hungry!”, meaning they haven’t lost their ability to talk, just choose not to use it.

Furthermore, if we look back at this week’s episode of The Walking Dead in its entirety, we realize that the ferals orchestrated everything that happened to Connie and Virgil in this episode. Whatever it was that started chasing Connie and Virgil? That was the ferals. The house? I won’t go into detail here, but that wasn’t just some house Connie and Virgil went to: That was the ferals house. All the “features” of that house were intentional; it was designed to corral people so that the ferals could eat them. These aren’t the actions of wild animals; these are the actions of calculated hunters.

As dangerous as the dead can be in a zombie apocalypse, never underestimate how dangerous people can be. Even the most unassuming of people, even people who look no more muscular than a half-rotten zombie, can be extremely dangerous given the right motivation and means, both of which will be in high supply in the apocalypse. Underestimating people is a quick way to wind up dead.