The Walking Dead, Survival Rule of the Week: People can surprise you

The Walking dead final season

One person can make a difference in a zombie apocalypse. 

Just before judgment was rendered against him in his murder trial, Eugene spoke up in his own defense. He recounted how he would have, nay, should have, died the moment the outbreak hit, but that he was saved by a good man and was protected by good people in spite of being a liar. He also recounted that there had been a time when he was not a good person, turning a blind eye to Negan’s behavior and method of leadership because he “valued order and safety above all other things”. But, he also spoke of how he learned (And confirmed through his own efforts to stop the Saviors) that one person could change the world if they had the courage to do what was right.

We saw this reaffirmed once more when Negan was put in front of the firing squad. As he faced his executioners, he appealed to one of the troopers, who, dealing with his own issues thanks to the Commonwealth’s way of doing things (And the warden just generally being a douche), chose to stand down, inspiring his comrades to follow suite, and saving the lives of Negan, Annie, Ezekiel, Kelly, Magna, Nabila, and Tyler Davis, among others.

People can be good, even in the zombie apocalypse, if you can reach them. If you come across a group that is collectively hostile, while the group as a whole might be, that doesn’t mean that every individual in it is. Should you find yourself in a confrontation with them, and find a member who does not seem too enthusiastic about being violent or authoritarian, try to appeal to their basic humanity to get them to understand that the two of you aren’t as different as they might believe, and maybe, just maybe, you can get them to pull back, and spare you from a grisly fate. Furthermore, such appeals may also convince people within an ostensibly hostile group that their group’s method of doing things, or maybe even their group’s entire outlook, may not be as righteous as they once thought and may cause them to stop their group from doing something truly heinous.

Never underestimate the potential of a single person in the apocalypse because that one person could make all the difference.