Issue 167 of The Walking Dead is the beginning of a new era for The Walking Dead. As Andrea was bitten, infected, and put down by Rick in the comfort of her own home. In her final hours we see the safe zone come together to say their final goodbyes to their friend. With her passing, we see the Safezone form several hand to shoulder chains with Rick at the center of it. This shows, despite his loss, he is still the center of the community, as much work needs to be done.
The Future of Rick Grimes:
It is clear that at the end of The Walking Dead, issue 167, Rick’s policies as a leader is going to change. His policies have led his community to go through two vicious fights that have caused many causalities including a personal one for himself; Andrea his lover. Rick will be focusing on heightening security within his community in strengthening his walls and gate. Along with increasing and developing new and more effective techniques to deal with large herds to take them away from the Safezone. If these were in place the causalities and Andrea would still be alive for him. Rick will also be helping to restore the infrastructure that was damaged during the Whisperer war along with the Hilltop that was destroyed. In many ways Rick’s policies will shift from being offensive to becoming defensive and preventive as a means to avoid an event like this from happening again. If it does his community will be ready to deal with it and address it with minimal causalities. It is clear that this is a turning point in The Walking Dead as Rick’s strategy has changed from being an offensive one to being more defensive as he once was.
The Walking Dead has undergone many changes as characters are brought in and killed off. Andrea’s death has ushered in a significant change as it has forced Rick to analyze his decisions and strategies for the Safezone moving forward. With her death he has realized that he needs to take a more preventative and defensive approach to dealing with the herds rather than an offensive approach. By doing this he will not only minimalize risk, but he will also reduce causalities and resources used. This will be the core of how the 4 communities evolve in dealing with larger herds and new groups that come into their territory. Andrea’s death, while sad, is as Kirkman said it, necessary for the story to evolve and will become a key component of how Rick evolves as a leader.
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