What do you do when you’ve been fighting for survival so long that you don’t know how to stop, even when circumstances allow for it?  Conversely, is there ever a time when fighting for survival isn’t the constant, and the only change is the form that fight takes?  Team Grimes is tackling that very issue, and it doesn’t help that Alexandria is yet another location that seems too good to be true.

Of course, it’s not Alexandria itself that is the problem.  As Eugene surmised, there were areas close to Washington that were better equipped for the apocalypse; Alexandria is about as close to the old world as it gets.  Close enough that Rick, Carl, and the rest are struggling to reconcile what the world was like just 24 hours earlier: getting a haircut, playing video games, treating supply runs like a walk in the park.  It’s more than a little unnerving, especially when Deanna is doing everything possible to make them feel at home.



It’s a good thing Aidan came along to be a jerk with Glenn, because it was starting to look way too good to be true.  Readers of the source material can already see the DNA of the current situation shining through, despite minor variations on who is dealing with whom and the name/gender of various characters.  There is a rationale behind this push for the community to embrace Rick and his team, all of which will come to light soon enough.  But Aidan’s attitude is definitely a clue: Alexandria may not be soft, but they have lost a sense of the true terror that surrounds them, and Rick and his people may be the best chance to revive a sense of urgency.

So it’s no shock that Rick comes to the conclusion that Alexandria isn’t the issue, but maybe the people currently living in Alexandria are.  And that’s not something likely to go away in short order.  It also takes the usual dynamic of Team Grimes coming under threat by those living in the security of a stronghold and greater numbers and turns it on its head.  In a very real sense, Rick’s gang isn’t in danger from The Community; The Community is in danger from Rick.



Is that who Rick, or any of his people, would want to be?  Sharing that sentiment with Carol and Daryl is perfect, because they share his distrust.  I love the idea that Carol was seemingly able to fool Deanna, though it’s unclear if that was actually the case; one could argue that letting Carol work with the elderly could be a tactic to get Carol to see a side of Alexandria that might be compelling to her over time.  Daryl is the wild card, and it’s worth considering that he’s the most obvious example of a character that wasn’t around in the source material.  It’s hard to imagine they would kill him off, given his popularity, though.





Some viewers are going to balk at the idea that the story is turning in a direction that focuses almost entirely on human conflict, and that’s somewhat understandable.  This period of the source material was very human-centric, and with good reason.  As disappointing as “Them” was, it accurately paints the picture that the Walkers are once again taking up the role as metaphor for the uncaring hostility of a natural force for destruction.  And as the last several years in the real world has underscored, sooner or later, the natural world will test the endurance of even the best prepared communities.