When we last left the survivors they had discovered how the Alpha of the Whispers decided to mark the boundary. Not so long ago, an over confidant and certainly younger Rick would have seen this as a call for war and ridden out for battle, no matter who tried to talk sense to him. Rick's impulsiveness is in part how he ended up in so much trouble with Negan, because he didn't know the size of the force he was facing. Rick isn't that person anymore but that doesn't mean that people who are reeling with grief won't demand their pound of flesh.
When we last left Rick et al, they were learning exactly what the Alpha meant when she warned them that she had set up a boundary between their lands. Michonne is beside herself and immediately attacks Lydia who pulls a knife. Carl's response is to pull his gun and aim it at Michonne. Look, I know that Lydia is Carl's first but it seems to me that he is willing to risk a lot in order to be with her. How long as he known her again? Yeah, that's right, a New York minute. Michonne regains control and releases Lydia.
Off to the side, Rick confers with Andrea. His first thoughts are about the possibility that he will lose his leadership position. What?! The one thing Rick has always been sure about is his position in the pecking order. It's telling that even as he is facing the heads of so many of his people, his first concern is power and not revenge or justice.
Once Rick tells the residents of Alexandria and all of those who gathered for the fair about the deaths, the rage quickly boils over. Eugene in particular wants vengeance and points out that they have power because they have Lydia. Rick is adamant that Lydia cannot be used as a tool vengeance because she's just a child and not responsible for the actions of adults. Eugene is not trying to hear this at all. Rick is forced to send away Andrea, Carl and Lydia in order to protect Lydia. The old Rick would have been suspicious of Lydia, but he doesn't bother to even question her and instead claims that he is putting his trust in Carl. Rick just assumes that because the Alpha handed her over because the Alpha couldn't protect her and that Lydia wasn't in on this. I'm not saying that Rick has to torture Lydia but he could at least have gone through the motions of questioning her.
After not getting an immediate response from Rick, the people turn to Maggie. Maggie showed her grit when she chose to execute Gregory, unlike Rick, who still has the Negan imprisoned. People feel that Maggie will handle things. Rick of course has to call Maggie out for her decision. How dare she decide to make a decision counter to his beliefs in the community she runs. Maggie gives Rick an old fashioned ass kicking and it is a thrill to see. Maggie is not about to answer for her decision to Rick the almighty saviour. Jesus has to separate Rick and Maggie and they end up making peace. What irks me is that Maggie then falls right back into her subservient roll of supporting Rick and assuring everyone that Rick will come up with the right answer. It seems that Maggie is only allowed to be a little bit rebellious.
When Michonne comes for Lydia, she and Rick have a nice long talk. I think that this is important because in recent issues, we haven't seen a lot of Rick and Michonne together. Rick admits that he's happier with Andrea than he ever was with Lori and this is a tough thing to admit because to get to this point, both Lori and his infant daughter had to die. Rick tells Michonne that the pain, loss and guilt that she feels will always be with her but she consider herself even for giving her daughters to her ex because she paid for that with the loss of Ezekiel. How does that even make sense? How the hell is that supposed to be comforting? How does that teach Michonne a lesson about walking away from people for fear of loss and guilt? I think Michonne needs to find someone else to talk to about this.
With his back up against a wall, and Andrea, his closet confidant gone, Rick actually turns to Negan for advice. At this point, I think that Negan is a far more interesting character than Rick. Negan suggests that the best thing for Rick to do is to make his people feel safe. This doesn't necessarily mean entering into a war that he's unprepared for but it can mean lying to his people to keep the peace.
On his way home, Rick is attacked by two residents of Alexandria. The plan it seems is to scare Rick enough into taking action because they are tired of his platitudes. Rick pulls his signature move and bites one of his assailants neck, thus killing him while the other runs off in a panic. What does Rick do, well he sends his weapon Michonne off to gather up the offending party. Rick decides to address the people and gets to show how magnanimous he is by forgiving the person who tried to kill him.
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