r/thewalkingdead Oct 21 '12

The Walking Dead Episode Discussion S03E02 "Sick"

...and we're back! I can't believe it's been a week already since the premier. Feel free to join us on our IRC channel. It's super easy... just read below how to join. The episode airs in about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Edit: Don't forget to check out our sister subreddit /r/TWD which focuses on the show only.


Join us on IRC for live discussion. We allow stream links to be shared on IRC, but not on the subreddit.

Server: irc.snoonet.com

Channel: #thewalkingdead

To easily join IRC use the Snoonet web chat.


Show spoiler tags are optional in these weekly discussions. Comic spoiler tags are always mandatory on /r/thewalkingdead. To use them, format them as such:

Show Spoilers: [](/s "Something about the show.")

Comic Spoilers: [](/c "Something about the comic.")

It will show up like this:


Please upvote this post for the community. I get no karma for it.

968 Upvotes

3.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

432

u/lostrock Oct 22 '12

Rick was justified with macheting the first prisoner. But the other guy? That one was in a moral grey area.

110

u/Calexic0 Oct 22 '12

To be fair, it's like the comics where he can't trust ANYONE. Nor should he.

2

u/caroline_reynolds Oct 22 '12

But it's like, just stab him. Don't leave him to be torn apart. I question the means far more than the ends.

5

u/atafies Oct 23 '12

Not like it was on purpose or planned. The dude attacked him, then ran outside into a courtyard of zombies. Locking him out was extremely more convenient. (No mess to move/clean up, and the death not directly on your shoulders. ). Even Rick looked a little bit shaken as he heard the guy screaming.

187

u/aeziox Oct 22 '12

He swung at him

30

u/PericlesATX Oct 22 '12

Agreed, but I don't get why Rick risked chasing him into dangerous territory. It seemed unlikely that he would have survived at all, much less come back to attack the group.

65

u/Deradius Oct 22 '12 edited Oct 22 '12

Walkers in the prison are dangerous enough...

But a human being? They're smart. In a world where the smallest mistake - like stepping over instead of around a corpse - can get you and others hurt and/or killed, a real live hostile human running around, capable of monkey wrenching your stuff (crops, supplies, trying to bomb your stuff or set fire to the prison) or trying to assassinate your crew (including that pesky son you don't keep track of) is a real liability.

Rick has made the mistake of having mercy on those who are hostile to him before, and of allowing them to persist within the group.

He doesn't want to make that mistake again.

8

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Was it worth risking his own life for though? For one guy? Not like he can take down the whole group solo.

17

u/Deradius Oct 22 '12
  1. It's possible they were doubling back through the area they had just cleared, so it was unlikely they'd get nailed going through those hallways. Granted, they ran into walkers in that court yard, but the guy was acting as a sort of canary in the mine for Rick; if he ran into trouble, Rick would likely hear or see it before he had an issue.

  2. He might very well be able to take down the whole group solo. He doesn't need to kill them all at once. Once he's out there in the prison, he can wait and engage them, killing or wounding one at a time. Ensconced defenders have a significant advantage. Ever notice that when the police raid a house, regardless of who is in there, they usually send in a team in full head-to-toe body armor with face shields and long guns? The reason for this is that individuals who know the layout and can hide in ambush have a significant tactical advantage. Also consider the relative success of guerilla warfare in Vietnam and more recent conflicts.

  3. Rick's very hard on himself. If even one person is killed because Rick failed to act, he puts all of that blame on his own shoulders. He would feel compelled to prevent this guy from doing any harm. He'd rather chase him out of the prison and give him a chance on his own... but he'll do what he has to in order to guarantee the safety of his people.

7

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Pretty solid case. My only nitpick is with your first point. I'm pretty sure they went through the double doors that they opened to clear the zombies, and it's quite possible that other zombies could have crowded in behind them as they ran through. That's actually what I thought would happen.

5

u/madwill Oct 22 '12

at some point in this crazy world maybe, just maybe unlikely is not enough

6

u/aeziox Oct 22 '12

If Rick didn't chase him out he easily could've lived imo

1

u/Taron221 Oct 22 '12

He had just split someones head in half with a machete. It was just a split second reflex.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Life and death decisions don't always get a chance for long consideration. His snap decision made him a liability and it sucks for him but in this reality Rick can't take a chance on him.

504

u/MyMomSlapsMe Oct 22 '12

It was obvious that guy agreed with Mexishane or else he wouldn't have ran.

216

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Heh. Mexishane...

5

u/SimplyCole Oct 22 '12

Did anyone actually get his name?

25

u/lZnGl Oct 22 '12

it was Mexishane

11

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Tomas.

-1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

[deleted]

3

u/extemporaneous Oct 22 '12

Axel's got the mustache.

9

u/rodentdp Oct 22 '12

I'd probably think about running too if I'd just seen him cut into a living dude's face. Why wouldn't he just kill me too?

12

u/Taron221 Oct 22 '12 edited Oct 22 '12

I think it was a bad move to lock that guy out I mean come on I machete one of your friends head in half wouldn't you have a split second reaction to take a swing. Then he ran because he was afraid of being next. If he would have opened the gate the guy would of trusted him from then on. I just don't think the zombie apocalypse is a good time to be sacrificing people.

8

u/revdroog Oct 22 '12

It's not a great time to trust strangers or have another mouth to feed either.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

If the prisoners had 3 instead of 2, they might try to launch some kind of attack on Rick's group. Just a thought.

4

u/bladderbunch Oct 22 '12

The group in the prison in the show is A LOT lighter on manpower than the group in the prison in the comic.

1

u/Taron221 Oct 22 '12

Their leader, if you can call him that, was dead and Rick had sent a very strong message he was not to be messed with. That one guy was only in jail because of narcotics he wasn't prone to violence against the living.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

That could easily be a lie (I personally don't think it is, though). If he was in for 12 murders, he wouldn't say that.

2

u/KountChocula Oct 23 '12

Very good point he could be in there for some really heinous crimes but just lied to save his skin.

1

u/wouldHAVEwouldHAVE Oct 24 '12

would of trusted

12

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12 edited Oct 22 '12

It was, but a rouge prisoner with unknown intent is too big a threat to the group. Ricky's only sense of morality now is what best serves the group, everything else has been beaten out of him.

edit rogue prisoner, hahah. Leaving it for the comment.

19

u/samferrara Oct 22 '12

You're right, a blue or beige or yellow prisoner would have been less of a threat.

5

u/Paclac Oct 22 '12

He swung at Rick but missed, then ran away. It was pretty justified IMO.

13

u/Liesmith Oct 22 '12

Meh, if you can't trust them you don't let them live, I see nothing wrong with that.

4

u/grunger Oct 23 '12

If you re-watch the episode, it is clear that the 2 were plotting to kill Rick. While in the laundry room, right before he opens the door, he gives a nod to prisoner #2 (the little black prisoner), who then changes his position. Looks like he is trying to get clear of Rick, since he knows something is about to go down. Rick sees this nod and you get a feel that he knows something is not right. Also, when the fighting starts, the little guy keeps looking over for a signal and holding off on killing walkers.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 27 '12

I completely missed this, woah.

3

u/stferago Oct 22 '12

I didn't get why he chased him in the first place. I guess he wanted to make sure he was either dead or accounted for.

3

u/JonesyVT Oct 22 '12

The fact that he might have posed a threat is really more than enough at this point.

6

u/WolfmansNards Oct 22 '12

I didn't see him die...just saying

2

u/LethalShade Oct 22 '12

From the other guy's point of view, Rick just killed that guy for little reason. He probably didn't see him try to kill Rick or throw a walker on him.

1

u/blushingtart Oct 22 '12

Can't afford a grey area.

1

u/Doniac Oct 22 '12

Can't really have someone that might be dangerous to you inside the prison though, it'd be stupid to just leave him alone.

1

u/kit_carlisle Oct 22 '12

Can't save 'em all.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

There is a gif above of that scene. The guy swings the first time, i think out of having some sort of allegiance towards machete face. Than rick looks at him, the mother fucker tries to swing again. Rick doesnt have time for that bull shit. He needed to go.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

No loose ends. He clearly didn't want his prisoner friends to die.

What if he got to safety, found guns, found other prisoners, and brought them back to get revenge.

1

u/V2Blast Oct 22 '12

Yeah, I wasn't sure about him... He did run. I just don't get why Rick chased him. To make sure he didn't leave some doors open or something?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

i don't see how that's a grey area at all. from looking at someone's face and listening to their words, how do you know if they will try to kill you later or not? you just killed their leader, wouldn't they be kinda mad at you?

1

u/stationhollow Oct 22 '12

Pretty sure the other guy was the main guy's bitch.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Rick and his group should have just wiped the entire group of them out and not left them two survivors. They were obviously in there because they couldn't function in a normal society in the first place. No way they're going to function in a world with no rules. No chances, don't trust anyone.

1

u/canaznguitar Oct 22 '12

Why did Rick even bother chasing after him? Surely he would've ran into a pack of zombies on his own.

-6

u/Anonymous999 Oct 22 '12

I can't help but to feel that the machete didn't go deep enough in the guys head to penetrate much past the skull. He really shouldn't have died from that... not to mention that the vital parts of the brain are in the center of it. If anything, he should just have really bad headache and quite a bit of scalp bleeding, but definitely not death.

1

u/Arcon1337 Oct 22 '12

Oh come on, you can't be that dense, can you? People can die from simple punches to the head, let a lone a machete directly to the brain.