4. Not Teaching Carl To Use Weaponry Earlier
If the zombie sub-genre has taught us anything, it's that co-operation is vital. Everyone has to pull their own weight, regardless of who they are. A loose end, un-tuned into the demands of the situation can be a liability to everyone, so training and purpose is a must. So really, it's astounding that Rick leaves Carl to try and enjoy his childhood after all, all possibility of a regular existence went out the window when people started devouring each other. Look, I get the point he doesn't want his kid to lose his innocence, he just wants him to be a kid. Yet that was a wholly unrealistic aim in this brave new, blood-filled world. Carl needed to learn how to murder zombies, so he didn't end up the child-equivalent of a damsel in distress. Comic book Rick bit the bullet (pardon the pun) far earlier than TV Rick, realising that if he wants his kid to enjoy his childhood, he needs to make sure he has to be alive for it. Frankly, it would've been one of the first thing's I'd have done leaving your kid untrained means you can't fully focus on the task in hand, which is kind of a must when you're leading a band survivors. Hell, if he'd have given him the psychological training early enough, they could've possibly saved Dale.