Clear, by Travis Fishburn

It seems that as the quality of the The Walking Dead increases week-by-week, the moral convictions of its protagonists decrease. On Sunday night’s episode, entitled Clear, we discovered the fate of Rick’s friend, Morgan, whom we last saw back in the first season. As powerful as the scenes featuring the interaction between Rick and Morgan were, the scenes which left a lasting impression on me are the bookends of this episode.

The episode begins with Rick, Michonne, and Carl traveling in a car on a mission to find weapons and ammunition. Along the road, they pass a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker takes notice of them and pleads for their help. Rick and Michonne both intentionally ignore him as they pass by. He catches up as they find themselves stuck on the roadside. Rick hurriedly helps get the car out of the mud and back onto the road before the man can get to them.

Rick, whom in previous seasons would likely stop by to lend a helping hand, now has no intention of letting another unpredictable stranger be a part of his circle. Rick’s apprehensive approach to trusting others has now devolved into an outright refusal to even interact with anyone unassociated with him. What is familiar is safe in his eyes. Every new face he encounters is an intrusion upon the barriers he has set up. He actively alienates others, and his mentality towards life and survival is “us vs. them”, with “them” being anyone who is not “us”. The fact that Rick’s group is currently a prison, intended to barricade them in and away from the outside, is a physical representation of his psychological and emotional state.

If it had not been that he had previously befriended Morgan, we can assume that Rick would probably have raided his stockpile of supplies and left him for dead (or possibly even finishing him off, himself). Morgan’s violent acts of alienation and isolation, as well as his perpetual state of anguish, provides Rick with a mirror image of how he could possibly end up if he continues on this path. While we don’t know for sure what effect this has played on Rick, I can only hope that the encounter helped steer him “clear” of the path he has been on since the Lori’s death.

Carl, the only person in the car whom we see visibly take notice of the hitchhiker, makes progress in his journey toward opening up to others. While they are stopped along the side of the road, he questions Rick as to why Michonne is with them. Carl thinks she’s dangerous, sharing his father’s “us vs. them” attitude.

While Carl attempts to embark on a solo mission to retrieve an old family picture, Michonne insistently tags along. Carl isn’t happy with it, but Michonne refuses to leave him alone, and at one point puts herself in danger to get the picture in his place. When Carl and Rick reunite at the end of the episode, Rick inquires about Michonne. Carl replies “I think she might be one of us”. He might still be thinking in terms of “us vs. them”, but unlike his Rick, Carl is open to let the idea of allowing “them” to become “us”.

The episode ends with the group heading back to the prison, taking the same route. They pass the remains of the hitchhiker, who it appears was attacked and eaten. This time they stop, but only so that Rick can take his backpack before they move along. There’s no visible hint of remorse from Rick for abandoning the traveler to this fate. The run-in with Morgan hasn’t instantly changed Rick, and we shouldn’t expect it to. People rarely go through instantaneous lifestyle changes. It’s been a long road that Rick has taken that’s led him to become the man he currently is. If he’s going to continue to grow (whether negatively or positively), the show is going to give him time to do so. I can only imagine that if the hitchhiker had still been alive on their return trip, “post-Morgan” Rick would have at least considered the Good Samaritan option.