SPOILER ALERT

In episode 14 of The Walking Dead, Carol must make the difficult decision to eliminate Lizzie after Lizzie made the easy decision to eliminate Mika.

The Details

• Lizzie believes the walkers are innocent, because they don’t know any better than to kill people.
• Mika is also reluctant to kill the walkers, because they were once people, and murder, traditionally speaking, is immoral.
• Carol decides, at least for now, not to tell Tyreese that she killed Karen before she could turn into a walker and kill people.
• Lizzie kills Mika for what she believes is a good reason.
• Carol kills Lizzie for what she believes is a good reason.

The Big Q

These details together raise the question of whether only the guilty should survive. According to the compass of Lizzie, Mika, and Tyreese, Carol is guilty of wrongdoing. Honestly, Carol considers herself guilty too–of not protecting Mika, for one thing. She’s under no illusion that she’s spotless, and we might assume that in an apocalypse it would be difficult to keep your nose clean. But that’s not the same as stating the guilty deserve to survive and the innocent do not.

The Impact

If The Walking Dead world prefers the guilty, then this spells danger for some of our favorites: Beth, Maggie, and Glenn, especially. It could also indicate a new height of marshal law. As Carol continues to make the tough calls (and certainly we can empathize with someone who’s got to be the “bad guy”), the question becomes, will any of the innocent oppose her sense of justice enough to stop her? Will Tyreese find out about Karen? How long can Carol survive without wanting to stop herself?

What do you think? What big Q’s did you see in this episode?

What Others Thought

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