Realistically, they should all be going completely crazy by now. They have lost the lives they once had and are in a hopeless, nihilistic world.

Except maybe Daryl, who is sort of feral and is thriving in this new world in a way he didn't in the old world.

I also think the Jessie/Pete situation is pushing Rick to the limit, as he's infatuated with a woman he can't have. It's driving him a bit nuts, even if he isn't necessarily wrong about certain things.

Check.

Check.

Check.

Who?

Check.

It is very interesting just how divisive of a character Rick has become. Honestly, I am glad there are a few people here who agree with me. Not as a matter of right or wrong, but because I read some of the posts here and wonder if I am watching the same show as others!

Rick has, through action or deliberate inaction, allowed or caused scores of people to be hurt and killed for the sole purpose of "protecting his group." (I'm not even convinced he is protecting the group, rather he is only protecting his children.)

Again, not trying to demean domestic violence by any means, but looking the other way while Pete beats Jesse is far less egregious. Hell, even if Pete beats her and the kids to death, Rick will still be far ahead in the tally column, and Alexandria will have done what Rick has done for 5 seasons now. I am not saying either is justified ... I am saying you cannot defend one at the expense of the other.

So if Rick so despises the "cowardly and incompetent" Alexandrians, why the hell is he still lugging Father Gabriel around? He locked the doors and allowed his whole congregation to be eaten alive just so he could get his beauty sleep.

I don't usually do this, but I have to ask this: (COMIC SPOILER, no detail included to actually be a spoiler, but I'd rather not invoke the wrath of the spoiler gods)

For a group that's all about the betterment of the community, I fail to see why they stand around and knowingly let the Doc continue to beat the wife and kids since it's obviously not a secret. But let's toss out the guy who calls it for what it is and tries to do something about it. I guess it is like the normal world afterward. I feel the show is on the verge of jumping the shark. But maybe it'll go down differently next episode and not how it appears in the preview.

Because he's their only surgeon, and kicking him out puts them in a worse situation if any one in their community gets hurt. At least that's what Deanna's reasoning seems to be. I'm not sure Rick's solution of executing him is exactly the best course of action either or indicative of the normal world.

I'm surprised this of all things is close to a jump the shark moment for you. These type of moments with a bit of moral ambiguity and differing opinions on the right course of action actually feel like the best parts of the show to me.

Let's not forget Pete smacks his wife in the face right in front of the whole town and everybody still sides against Rick.

In fairness, this character was in the comics - only it was Douglas Monroe, a man. But otherwise, mostly the same.

I have to respectfully disagree. Deanna and Dawn are 2 different leaders, along with Alexandria and Atlanta/Hospital are 2 different stories.

Deanna is a politican compared to Dawn who ruled by fear. Deanna is not a bad person, she is not forcing them to do anything in their community against their will, where you were essentially enslaved to Dawn when they saved you at the hospital. Deanna is no different then Herschel as she has her way of doing things, and if this were old Rick, he would have handled the Pete incident differently. Instead he went all Shane on him and now ends up looking like the bad guy, just like Shane did going into the Barn and killing all the zombies. The hospital offered no hope other then a safe haven, whereas Alexandria offers them a possible normal livelihood so there is something to build on.

I have to say I was skeptical about this Alexandria plot point a few weeks ago, but it is really a change of the pace the show needed. The analogy I give this new setting is our group is like people who retire at 65 years old and think that life will be great cause they never have to work again, and they are BORED and don't know what to do with themselves. That is essentially what is happening to many people in this group as they can't adapt and they NEED to be hunting zombies everyday.

Like Andrea said though, Shane was right about that particular call, even if the way he made his point was decidedly not.

They're all shell-shocked from their years out in the brutal wilderness. I kind of see Rick's point. If those walls came down, he and his crew are survivors, the Alexandrians would be dead in five minutes. They live in Spielbergland and go outside sporadically. They haven't seen towns full of cannibals, gangs of murdering rapists, their friends and family literally torn to pieces, or people being tortured. Like Sasha said, outside people are in unimaginable conditions and their idea of a problem is rationing chocolate.

I think the only reason why they dont mind Pete is because he is a doctor. So maybe they feel they need him.

God i hope a certain someone shows up...i mean this show cant go on forever... or it can with the ratings they get..

The town is fucked up not only because of the wife beating. They seem to have no problem losing people on runs. And seeing how that one guy acted with Glenn, and he was one that usually went on runs, abandoning them and running was a normal thing. I don't think the town is doing very well at all which is why they are looking for recruits. They are starting to unravel and Deanne knows it. Just because he is a doctor what would he do if they separated him from his family? Leave? Refuse to doctor? I doubt it. They just don't have the guts to do what is needed.

Rick did go nuts but I think Michonne bopped him to try and save his ass and stop him from going to far. I don't think she wants to lose him.

I still don't understand why people don't find the issue with the doctor interesting and exactly the kind of thing the show should be exploring. Now, if a doctor does something like that in our world, you can arrest him because there are plenty of other doctors. But when there is only one doctor (or one soldier, or one engineer, or one person who knows how to do something important for a community), they you are faced with a completely different problem. It's good stuff to see them try to work through it.

They can always go back and get the other doctor from the hospital.

One of the reasons why I like the change from the comic in regards to Pete starting the altercation is that Rick, for a brief moment, tried to deal with the situation in a way that he felt Deanna would approve of. He's held back from outright killing more than a few times in the last few episodes. When it almost got him killed, he went nuts and told it like it is.

I don't really understand your argument about how Rick and the Alexandrians are the same. Dealing with a problem that may involve the death of some people is the exact opposite of looking the other way while someone is getting hurt or may be killed. That is why Rick is a good leader. He's willing to make hard decisions. Deanna doesn't make any of these types of decisions. She uses the threat of exile but knows that there is a huge risk of exiled people coming back for revenge. She's a poor leader because she doesn't protect her people.

No doubt that Shane was right about alot of things, but you have to be political in instances like this and Herschel's farm.

Rick was very political a few seasons ago, and he understood that you can't just take over someone's property and expect to stay. There is no doubt the way beater has to be dealt with, but once Rick did a 'Shane' on him, he lost Deanna as his ally. If he kept his cool, I'm sure he eventually could have coerced her to atleast get him in exile or get him out period.

I will say it again, but this week's episode is when the show is at its best because we are all debating 'what's right' and 'what's wrong' in that society, and its a really interesting debate.

Just a 1,200 mile round trip through territory infested by zombies and possible cannibal and rape gangs to retrieve a guy who is hopefully still alive.

Plus, that's assuming he would be willing to go and the armed members of his community would be willing to let him go.

Don't underestimate the appeal of Carol's cookies.

For people familiar with the comics...does anyone think that one of the people Deanna exiled will wind up being ?

The use of Nine Inch Nails at the beginning was so strange. I love that album (The Fragile. Go listen to it. Now.), but, it just seemed so out of place in that scene. Plus, I mean, that's a great song, but it's kind of terrible for the dude's RUNMIX or whatever it was.

My take

Yeah, ain't nobody running to that song unless they have a limp or something.

Nope.