Another not so subtle nod is Rick standing directly in front of the stained glass cross in the Alexandria church. He's preaching to his congregation about the choice between killing or negotiating with the new threat, and The Walking Dead is happy to suggest that the sheriff is the man to lead them. The Alexandrians were all set to fight the Saviours, but with the cross behind him, you could argue Rick IS the saviour for his group. There are so many different ideas you could peel from that one scene, but the fact remains that without Rick, they'd all be dead in a heartbeat.