The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: It’s Always People
By Liam O'Leary
Tales of the Walking Dead episode 4
Whenever you have people, problems inevitably follow.
I will go on record as saying that I fully believe a zombie apocalypse does, indeed, get easier if you are part of a group, even if your group consists of little more than a mutual defense pact between you and a stranger, to watch each other’s back while you try to get some sleep. However, I also ended the last entry by saying that being in a group makes things easier, not easy.
As I’m sure anyone can tell you, the moment you have more than one person in the same place, inevitably, there will be problems. Even twins, two people who are as close as you can get short of being a clone, sometimes have conflicts with one another, so having them between people who might be total strangers should come as no surprise.
Even with people who aren’t strangers, conflicts can still arise. Sure, some people who know each other well might be able to get through the apocalypse with their relationship largely intact, but it’s also equally possible that the stresses of a life-or-death situation, limited resources, etc. could cause any underlying issues that may exist (Even ones predating the apocalypse) to come bubbling to the surface and threaten to destroy your partnership.
When you have a group, it pays to make the effort to sniff out and try to address potential issues between members before they’re allowed to fester and evolve into full-blown resentment, which could emerge at the worst possible times and put the safety of the group in danger. Any old issues, jealousies, arguments, or disagreements should promptly be aired out and dealt with to ensure that, when you really need everyone to come together, you don’t have members of your group waiting to use that as the perfect moment to get back at someone else.
Having people does make things easier in a zombie apocalypse, but whenever there are people, problems will follow.