The Walking Dead, Survival Rule of the Week: The worst of times

The Walking Dead season 11 episode 23

Hope for the best, expect the worst. 

One of the moments that really stuck out for me in this week’s episode of The Walking Dead was Mercer’s arrest. The general, who was trying to aid the group in overthrowing Pamela’s corrupt regime while also trying to lead his troops against the incoming horde marching on their gates (More on that in the next entry…), was confronted by one of his subordinates, Colonel Vickers, who arrested him just before the Commonwealth army confronted the walkers. As he was arrested, he warned her that, regardless of what happened to him, she needed to confront the walkers and either disperse or defeat them. He was putting the fate of the entire community in her hands and hoping that she was up to the task.

Now, I don’t want to black pill anyone about the zombie apocalypse anymore than the very premise of one already might, but if you’re surviving in it, while you always hope for the best, you should always expect the worst.

Why? Because, in general terms, the mere fact you would be in a zombie apocalypse already means that the worst-case scenario is on the table, to rule out things getting worse as a possibility is being naive because, at that point, just about anything is possible. With this being the case, expecting anything less is, frankly, setting yourself up for bigger problems further down the line. If you go into situations in the apocalypse expecting the worst things imaginable, it means that hypothetically at least, you’re more prepared should those circumstances play out, furthermore, if they do arise, then you’re not also dealing with the massive psychological blow of having expected a better outcome, and getting a much worse one instead.

If you’re already expecting the worst in a zombie apocalypse, then nothing it throws at you can surprise you.