The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: NOT Amongst Friends
By Liam O'Leary
The Walking Dead – final season
Knowledge is power, but it’s more powerful the more people have it.
Did anyone notice the subtle little trick Yumiko pulled during her speech in this week’s episode of The Walking Dead? No, I’m not talking about her decision to defend Eugene instead of prosecuting him, I’m talking about when she thanked Tomichi.
You see, while thanking Tomi, Yumiko had him stand up, named him, made clear what he meant to her, and more importantly, what he meant to the Commonwealth.
Why? Well, knowing that the press conference was being broadcast across the Commonwealth, Yumiko knew everyone, even the people dissatisfied with Pamela Milton’s performance in running the Commonwealth would hear it, especially the part about her brother being a thoracic surgeon (The way she spoke about him suggested he was the only thoracic surgeon in the Commonwealth, which, if true, would make him even more important). With everyone now knowing this and that he was the brother of the woman defending Eugene, if he were to disappear or “have an accident”, it would almost certainly enrage a citizenry that Pamela was already on thin ice with. At that moment, Yumiko had turned the tables on the governor, removing (Or at least weakening) her best trump card to try to force Yumiko to comply.
In a zombie apocalypse, should you find that the larger group you are now amongst has become hostile towards you, you have to use knowledge however you can to keep them from crushing you. If you’re in a situation where you’ve become adopted by a larger group or community, that group is probably rather stable and relies on its reputation to maintain that stability and cohesion, but if their own people realize that their leadership is doing sketchy things, it might just be enough to form cracks in their control, and thus, they’re able to cause you problems.