The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: The Seen And UNseen

The Walking Dead

People are more than what they seem.

One of the more interesting aspects of this week’s episode of The Walking Dead was Aaron’s boss, a rather (overly) enthusiastic gentleman by the name of Toby Carlson.

Toby was, by all appearances, an okay, if rather overconfident fellow who was head of the Commonwealth’s diplomatic corps. He seemed more than happy to walk into the Riverbend apartment complex to talk with its leader. He seemed to ignore the obvious inhospitable nature of its occupants, and the even more inhospitable nature of the building they were entering.

When meeting with the leader of the Riverbend community, a volatile, and slightly paranoid man named Ian, Toby seemed arrogant, and kind of cowardly.

That was until he turned around, suddenly grabbed Ian’s gun, shot him in the shoulder, then immediately spun around and effortlessly gunned down his two bodyguards!

It turned out that, before the outbreak, Toby worked for the CIA. He must have been in charge of a lot of infiltrations into hostile places and learned how to deal with being behind enemy lines and amongst less than friendly company.

On the other side of the coin, there was Ian, the leader and spiritual guide of the Riverbend community. At first glance, with his rows of skulls on shelves, and assuming that, even though Aaron offered him a sealed MRE, the diplomatic team were cannibals, he seemed very much like The Governor. But, after talking with Aaron, and listening to reason he actually seemed pretty normal.

He wasn’t completely paranoid, realizing that, with Aaron offering real food, and the team offering to leave his home, they posed no threat. In fact, the longer he went, the more he just seemed like an exasperated leader, constantly worrying about the safety of the people in his charge. He seemed no crazier than Rick had been at times. He actually cared about his people, didn’t go attacking outsiders, and seemed open to reason.

My point is, people in a zombie apocalypse can surprise you. There will be some people who will hide how capable they are behind a veneer of cowardice or incompetence or inconspicuousness, only to reveal it when you least expect it. Conversely, you may discover that, behind a facade of hostility, volatility, and even criminality, lies a person who is, at their core, still good, and who, when put in a survival situation, will go above and beyond the call to protect the people they care about. Don’t be so quick to judge people, because, there may be more to them than meets the eye.