1. Left Behind
Carol also showed her decisiveness as a potential leader when she made the call to move on after Rick wanted to wait or go back for an injured couple they had met. It's once again a moment where Rick's idealism and perhaps misplaced hope put people in potentially easily avoidable danger, and it's this moment where Carol herself makes the call that it's time to move on. While it may seem cold on the surface, it shows Carol is at all times thinking of the safety of her tribe, and while she offers the newfound couple in despair a spot on their neighborhood watch assignment perhaps out-of-turn as the offer catches Rick by surprise she won't let herself or anyone in the group get held back trying to lend a helping hand. She's too forward-thinking for this Carol has lent one hand too many to know the consequences of Rick's ill-conceived idealistic heroism, and has paid in spadefuls for it. Carol has lost husbands and daughters, friends and lovers, yet has taken it in stride, each a lesson in making her a stronger woman, a fiercer provider and a more attentive caregiver. Rick has dealt with the loss of his wife and best friend, battled with internal and external crises, and each battle has been a personal and emotional struggle, bringing him to his knees, wracking his psyche, and more than once nearly tearing the group apart. The episode concluded with Rick making the ultimate leadership call by dismissing the rogue Carol, leaving her behind in his shamelessly product-placed Hyundai dust. Rick seemed to even struggle with this ending decision, looking back both literally in the rearview mirror and figuratively into the past, yet again questioning his own decision to toss Carol, and calling into account his own ability to lead. Is Rick's form of starry-eyed leadership set to spell the end for the group, or is Carol and/or her protect-at-all cost den mentality the only path to salvation for the crew of Walking Dead? With this in mind, wouldn't they all be much safer under Carol's watch? What do you think? Feel free to comment?