The Walking Dead: a Cautionary Tale of the Dangers of Unchecked Power
Everyone usually thinks that the worst thing about surviving a zombie apocalypse is the zombies. Yet The Walking Dead gives an alternative pitfall to when the deceased come back to life, and it's most certainly the other survivors you have to worry about the most.
Throughout the show, we are introduced to countless hostile communities and individuals who present a threat to Rick Grimes' featured group of survivors. However, the once noble deputy sees his morality pushed to the limits as the struggle to survive becomes increasingly difficult.
At some points throughout the series, we see Rick can be as brutal as any of the show's other villains. This possibly points to one of TWD's most prominent underlying themes of how power ultimately corrupts.
A recent Reddit thread in the r/thewalkingdead community discussed fans' opinions of how Rick's ego distorted his sense of justice and ultimately went to his head.
Rick becoming the leader of the Alexandria safe zone did him no favors. As one Redditor explains, the number of times people kept telling him how right he was as the leader, only boosted his ego further.
This probably wasn't too different for some of the show's antagonists, such as the Governor, Negan, or the Saviors. What's more, Rick is often willing to do whatever it takes so that those he cares about survive; not overly dissimilar to the villains of the show.
One clear example of Rick's corrupted character is his treatment of Shane in season two.
Although they had been close friends before the walker outbreak, their relationship fell apart after Rick woke up from his coma. Shane evolved quickly to the crumbling world around them and is aware of the tough decisions that are needed for survival.
Shane's actions, which are depicted as unnecessary and cruel early in the series, eventually are traits adopted by most of the other survivors, including Rick, in the later seasons. Over time, the qualities Rick requires to survive and keep the group together make him increasingly more ruthless and hardened to the world around them.
Shane simply adapted to the walker apocalypse much faster.
Some fans argue that Rick's ego and actions were necessary for the group's survival. And although he may have developed an inflated sense of self-importance, he never reached the hostility as some of the others.
However, one thing the fans do agree on is Rick's saving grace, unlike some of the leaders of the other communities, he never gave up completely on his people and the ones he loved. Whereas Shane and Negan broke almost immediately after they lost all of their control.
Fortunately for Rick, he also had a few people to keep him grounded. Without Michonne there teasing him as "the famous Rick Grimes", who knows what he might have become. Maybe that is a fundamental lesson for surviving the walker apocalypse, always have someone to keep you in check.