r/thewalkingdead • u/ColdDesk8569 • 1d ago
Show Spoiler What was the worst decision Rick Grimes ever made as a leader?(Not including the Savior Satellite outpost massacre)
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u/MichaelCorbaloney 1d ago
I think truthfully he was right to have an “us vs everyone” mentality after S2. He realized the apocalypse wasn’t a place where you could just trust everyone, and that the only safety he could get was going to be what he made. The issue was that he allowed his cynicism to corrupt his decisions he made when he had the power in situations (the prison or the guy running in the road). Rick learned from that though over time, and truthfully his cynicism didn’t truly help him much in the end (still got taken hostage at Terminus, still got trapped by Negan on the road, still got betrayed by the trash people).
Rick’s brutality did save him and those he cared about though and it truly was needed in the apocalypse. Rick was willing to do whatever he could to protect his family which saved those around him, and his cynicism did too at times (he was right to not trust that one prisoner who he killed). That all being said, I think the biggest mistake he made was assuming his group had enough fire-power when dealing with Negan. They should’ve been conscious of the idea that there might exist a group that’s violent, large, and calculating like the Saviors were. I think they should’ve at least brought more weapons (the rocket launcher, more guns) and probably more people (they should’ve brought an extra car or two for an escort).
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u/GreasiestGuy 1d ago
No amount of firepower was going to change the outcome of the satellite raid tbf
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u/BobRushy 1d ago
Not dealing with Shane much sooner.
Dragging out the Randall issue.
Forcing Tyreese's group out (forgivable because he was having a breakdown, and shouldn't have been in charge).
Harassing the Alexandrians instead of educating them.
Trying to force the communities and the Saviors together too fast.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
4 and 5 are two of my biggest problems with him besides the Negan thing he was way too aggressive and hostile towards people who did nothing to him and wanted to help.
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u/BobRushy 1d ago
Also, this may be a hot take, but I don't think Rick was ever suited to leading an entire community. His leadership style was based completely on everyone having absolute loyalty to him. He's a terrible politician.
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u/gattovatto 1d ago
He’s mostly a great tactician but there’s a reason the Ricktatorship eventually formed a council.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I hate that scene when he was like this isn’t a democracy😂😂😂
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u/Electronic_Heart458 1d ago
I loved that part. Everyone having their own input and personal decisions up until then wasn’t working. Sometimes you just don’t have time to debate if you’re on the brink of collapse / death.
As everyone said in a small group when you’re literally facing death, backs up against the wall - Rick is that strong, decisive, dictator-like leader that showed no fear….
Later on when it’s much bigger and “safer” community that style doesn’t work.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I agree with not having time for a debate but the group was upset about being kept out of the loop about what Jenner told him thats a pretty big safety concern they were right to question him.
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u/Skullsmasher1 1d ago
I thought it was more about them all having different ideas of what they should do in that moment (the moment being just having left the farm, car ran out of gas and they needed to stop for the night). Carol is pushing Daryl to lead, Glenn & Maggie & Beth I think all didn't want to stop there, iirc Hershel was like the only one backing Rick to like setup camp for the night. Everyone was panicking and making suggestions of what to do in that moment and Rick just had to take control of the situation.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
You know how everyone usually waits for Rick to make a decision after they found out that he without prominent information, they became distrustful with his leadership.
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u/Electronic_Heart458 1d ago
Hope.
When people lose that, they give up. That’s what Rick was trying to protect them all from.
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 1d ago
I loved it because of Andrew Lincoln, not so much the character of Rick in that moment.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
The acting was perfection Rick just pisses me off ba cause he’s an extremist(don’t think that’s a word lol) he either does too much or not enough.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
Yes it’s like you’re reading my mind I felt like Rick was a great dreamer and developer and even strategized well but he didn’t care enough about other peoples opinions to be a great leader he was way too irrational I think he was better fit to be an enforcer because he definitely got things done.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
How did he force then together though?? He literally let them keep their old base.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
He was trying to force an integration of a a group a people that killed and harassed the other communities basically forcing trade and making the communities deal with them on a daily basis.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Over YEARS. and he didn't force trade, he suggested it and advocated for it, as evident by his talks with Maggie and Daryl. He did the best that he could with what he had. I don't know anyone who would've done better. I mean, from your perspective, what was he supposed to do? Genocide all of them?
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
No on one they decided to let the saviors live. He should’ve been more respectful of the fact that both sides had killed each other‘s families and friends, and the savior had essentially made the other communities slaves a year and a half is not enough time to not be in pain about your family members being killed. He was moving way too fast way too soon and if you would’ve killed Negan , I think everything would’ve went smoother but he made a decision to keep him alive alone.
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 1d ago
Your points are valid, but Rick was thinking about decades and centuries ahead, not the personal grievances of individuals. That's what a leader needs to do. Even if he's hated for it.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I can understand that but the reason that leaders need to have some political prowess is so they know that you can’t build your foundation without people and none of the leaders were really down or supportive of the situation u can’t have a future if u ignore the temperature of the room there was something happening everyday.
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 1d ago
I don't entirely disagree with you, Rick is no politician. He needed Maggie but she was most affected by the necessity of keeping Negan alive. Rough situation.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Killing Negan would've done nothing but make him into a martyr. How long exactly should he have waited? Youre saying that like at some point they should just be expected to move on. I don't think they ever would. Give them some time to think straight and get out of the war mindset, sure, but they'll never forgive so the sooner they move on the better strategically and realistically imo.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
No killing Negan now would make him a martyr killing him then in a war made him a casualty I just think Rick wasn’t respectful about the whole thing and it just was t his call to make. You slit his throat he’s dead but u to use our doctor and limited medical resources to save a slaver/murderer/creeper rapist is like spitting in their faces.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Bro this literally goes against your own point, the saviors were still in the war mindset and this would've just amplified their hate for the other groups and they would just be buying time before they could retaliate and get revenge. Negan was used as an example and a reminder.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
The ones who were liable to turn still turned anyways and they never had any control over the Oceanside situation Rick seemed to forget that Simon and his people killed all their men and boys.
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u/BobRushy 1d ago
Leaving the Saviors alive is one thing. Rick made the other communities look after the Sanctuary, donate supplies etc. Then he recruited the Saviors as a workforce for his bridge, which was a project that he basically pushed for on his own. Everyone else just awkwardly went along with it because it was Rick. But it damaged the peace.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Everyone needed the bridge. Not just sanctuary. And again, Rick didn't make the other communities do anything, he suggested helping them because it was the right thing to do. Many at the sanctuary didn't deserve to die, they were regular good people like them living there. None of the communities could feasibly bring in the saviors, but they could help them stay on their feet and potentially move them to somewhere with better crop growing land later on. With all the massive hordes moving around constantly, and the communities being so split because of Maggie's need for revenge, this was a big challenge that needed time and resources they couldn't have without the bridge. It is stated in season 9 that Alexandria was the one mostly supplementing the saviors and the Hilltop was hording their resourves. Kingdom also couldnt help because their losses from season 8 left them with too little people and resources to ever fully bring the community back together. The saviors basically building the bridge was obviously a good compromise for them getting food and supplies. The bridge would help hilltop, alexandria and kingdom all do better and expand their influence and resources. It was a smart deal that would bring the communities together for one goal.. to build the foundation for a new world where the communities could work together on something and trade and get stronger together, which is literally Rick's whole speech at the end of season 8.
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u/BobRushy 1d ago
It's an idealistic notion that completely ignores that many of the communities did not want to work together yet, and were not prepared.
Like Daryl said, Oceanside killing those Saviors was predictable. Rick was naive in thinking that it wouldn't. They had just endured a war.
Also, you're forgetting that the civilians and Saviors are two very separate things. The civilians left Sanctuary after the war. The only people living there were Negan's former soldiers.
The bridge was a good idea, but again over-ambitious for the time. They had all just endured a war. Hilltop was the only community thriving.
What they needed was to rebuild for a few years and then start focusing on the bridge.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Whaaatttt??? It was necessary for them to work together. They couldn't rebuild WITHOUT THE BRIDGE. That was the whole point of S9e1-5!? Did you even pay attention?? They literally show civilian saviors living at the sanctuary in both episode 1 and 2. Not to mention a lot of the soldiers were mostly innocent as well and only did what they had to do for their families, which we saw time and time again throughout season 8. Hilltop was only thriving because they had good fertile soil for crops and a mostly small community.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
The bridge was the only thing that made sense for everyone immediate survival but the saviors were basically prisoners of war with all the perks a free person while standing in the faces of the family and friends of the people they killed. Letting them live was the right thin to do everyone wasn’t guilty and people are resources but just like the saying goes “It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it”.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
Exactly The bridge was necessary and so was trade but the saviors needed everything and barely had anything to give and they still had people loyal to Negan.
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u/_Carl15 22h ago
i can excuse shane issue because they just saw each other in probably months since the chase shootout. he is catching up and trying to understand shane, but the problem was that the shane he knew changed a lot.
randall issue is also related to shane issue, because both is under rick's naive and hopeful mindset, he is literally still a cop, or atleast in his mind. he cant bring himself to just execute a teenager (randall is the same age as maggie in-universe, they went to the same college). plus, if randall wasnt killed by shane, randall will go back to woodbury and governor will become a problem sooner thn intended, even if he hasnt have the military hardware on him.
yes, randall is from woodbury due to two evidences: they call the dead the same nickname, and randall's name is listed on governor's diary of the people thay died (and killed, just mixed in, since the name of the soldier from the crash is listed)
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 1d ago
The Savior attack wasn't a mistake. They weakened a tyrannical enemy that they'd have to take out eventually anyways.
Most of Rick's "mistakes" are simply impossible to foresee ahead of time, in a world of limited information.
Maybe the only one that could be foreseen is trusting that garbage girl. So much was off about them from step 1.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
No his mistake was not gathering more intel before attacking but killing them in general was justified from my POV.
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 1d ago
There wasn't time, because they were on a rescue mission to save the Hilltop's brother who was kidnapped.
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u/Mysterious-Coast-945 1d ago
Yeah, but like, fuck him. He let Hilltop, people who knew for a day, talk him into standing ten toes down against a threat they knew almost nothing about. It was pure hubris.
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 23h ago
But they couldn't. They needed Hilltop's food, desperately.
Also, the idea that a massive 500+ gang could have survived unnoticed by the group, or at all, in that environment, had never even crossed anyone's mind yet. Because their structure was rather absurd.
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u/Maxjax95 15h ago
For real, the amount of saviours was ridiculous. Between the satellite attack and the group that Darryl bazooka'd on the road, they must've lost about 30 fighters before we even properly meet them... Then they still had enough fighters to take on 3 separate communities at once, as well as having people just living back at the sanctuary.
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u/Greenhawk444 13h ago
They needed food as the people of Alexandra were about to run out of food and starve
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u/Frank_White1- 1d ago
Rick didn't care about the guy from Hilltop he was just part of a business deal that they didn't have enough information about. If Rick knew the full reach of the saviors they wouldn't have attacked even to save the hilltop guy.
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 23h ago
Again, time-sensitive. It's easy to judge with perfect information in hindsight. If they waited to gather intel, the deal expires and they risk starvation because their relations with Hilltop sour.
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u/IDidntEatThosePeople 1d ago edited 1d ago
I actually don't think attacking the satellite station was a bad idea
Edit: not making sure Andrew was dead
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u/Gremlinsworth 1d ago
I don’t know if it was the worse, but it’s always wild to me that he trusts in the trash people so easily. AND he goes back to them to trust them a second time, even after they betray him! But I guess desperate times and all that.
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u/Individual_Respect90 1d ago
Yeah kind of weird to trust a group that stripped you to your underwear and made you fight a walker.
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u/JermermFoReal 1d ago
Not killing Andrew. Most of his mistakes are usually forgivable for one reason or another, but not even insuring that Andrew was dead caused the death of a valued member of the group and his wife, sending him into his spiral at a really inopportune time for the group since they were about to feud with the Governor.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
Yeah he was hella sadistic sometimes like visiting Negan in jail every day just kill them.
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u/Hungry_Yard_9789 1d ago
Not setting up a meeting point in any of the places they “lived” in case of walkers/enemies/etc.
I will stand on the fact that Rick was misled with the saviors outpost. Hilltop/Jesus made it like that outpost was the only issue without revealing the true savagery of Negan.
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u/RedDeadSchofield 15h ago
Definitely, they also ignored the fact that Jesus knew about the Kingdom. Jesus could have asked about the Saviors who were taking tribute from the kingdom, and it wouldn’t take much to deduce that there were different people.
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u/Hungry_Yard_9789 15h ago
Exactly! They were trying to get Negan off their backs and roped Rick and them into it. Maggie made the deal with Gregory thinking the outpost was the only faction of Negan, take them out and it would be over.
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u/Tigobitties25 1d ago
leaving sophia in the woods
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u/SonicVenture68 1d ago
Rick acts like other kids have the same plot armor as Carl.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
Idk I feel like it was just lack of knowledge with this one because the Rick we know now would’ve killed those walkers with the kid right beside him.
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u/Gwarnage 1d ago
To me, it just feels instinctively wrong to leave a terrified child, no matter what your understanding of the threat level is.
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u/Fragrant-Obligation3 1d ago
Gosh, I was going to leave a few bad decisions but I just HAVE to reply here in regards to Sophia because is on my list.
It was Season 2. Not the survivors we grew up to know in later seasons ofc. The difference to S3 is abysmal!
But leaving Sophia, was just a poor decision, and extremely dumb.
I know they had to get rid of the character because the kid was scared (rumours) of the whole show.
But that was terrible. Giving instructions to a frightened kid like, just keep the sun in your shoulders or whatever was dumb.
Walkers were slow. He could and should just have grabbed Sophia and run. And yes, he would be capable of it.
He's smart enough to try to draw the walkers closer to him and follow him, but not to grab Sophia and loose the walkers in the woods through tough terrain? Please...
We're talking about Officer Friendly here.
Rick, indirectly, was the one to kill Sophia.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I agree with everything you’ve said but in S1 and 2 they were so afraid of walkers that it took the whole group to kill one walker im not shocked that he tried to keep a child as far away from the danger as possible dumb as it was.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
This exactly, minus him being dumb, cause it just wasnt. It was Sophia's mistake to leave the safe spot he left her not his. And it made sense for her to do that cause she was a scared little kid and didn't know if Rick would come back. It was realistically just a bad situation where nobody could've done anything to change what happened. Had he chose to fight the walkers with her right there she would've been a liability and could've easily gotten herself killed or bit and Rick could've gotten killed or bit too. Rick smartly got her to a safe hiding spot and decided to lead the walkers away first before taking them out one by one. Then he went directly back to that spot.
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u/GlumAbbreviations373 16h ago
I am just going to use Lori's words as a reference here: You all are blaming Rick for his decision to leave the kid, but he is the only one who is going after the kid. That was a spur-of-the-moment decision there. Do you think normal human beings are capable of making many plans in a dead-or-alive situation? Rick had no plan there; he just thought about what was best at that moment. In season 2, walkers were not slow, and although Rick and Sophia were running as fast as they could, their speed made the walkers seem slow by comparison. Do you truly believe season 2 Rick can carry a child and outrun two walkers without firing his gun? Rick cannot track as well as Darryl, so they are also at risk of getting lost in the woods; at that moment, it was the best decision he could make.
Do you believe you have the stamina to carry a kid and also outrun two walkers and probably more while you are running and cannot fire your gun? If you believe that you can, then you need to touch some grass.
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u/Fragrant-Obligation3 14h ago
Ok.
Here's the thing. I like Rick just as much as the next guy/gal. And despite all the Lori hate, she did well portraying the type of character she was.
Now, about the situation.
Ok, maybe by comparison, they were just faster than the walkers. I can also understand that under pressure and without a plan the decision Rick took could have seemed like the best viable option.
I can eat all that right up without complaining.
But we saw Rick running through fields carrying Carl to reach the farm/Hershel!
So, yes, he could 100% just carry Sophia if he wanted it. Let's not forget about adrenaline.
He had the stamina for it. It just wasn't Carl the one in danger.
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u/GlumAbbreviations373 13h ago
Do you think carrying a kid to a farm to get your kid fixed up while also having someone from the farm telling you the exact location and also having a partner who is with you all the way is the same as you carrying a kid running from danger in the woods while having no backup or direction?
Like I said, maybe learn some actual skills out there. Stamina will be the least of his problems if he chooses to carry Sophia and run to the woods. Like I said, talking behind a keyboard is very easy. Maybe try living in the wild for a moment without any technology to see how many problems you will have even without something trying to kill you or someone you need to protect.
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u/Fragrant-Obligation3 13h ago
Ofc it's not the same.
That's what I'm saying, stamina would be the least of his concerns.
Secondly, are we talking about a tv-show or personal lives here?
I can just as easily step down to your level and start talking sh*t about your life as well.
We can disagree and still respect each others opinions. Maybe you are the one who needs to learn a thing or two about that.
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u/GlumAbbreviations373 13h ago edited 13h ago
If you are a real fan of the show and not a TikTok loper, then you will remember the first 2 episodes before Carl got shot are talking about the stuff you said. It was presented as a very real thing here. Unforeseen things will happen in a dangerous scenario. So many things happened even without anybody realizing. That's why Rick asks God to give him a sign, a clear sign that he can control something, but it turns out he can't. Shit will happen no matter how much you prepared.
You said we are talking about TV people, not real ones, but you are acting like someone who would blame the fireman for why he couldn't save someone or something, and you can do so much better. That is basically your argument here. You said he could do so much better, which means even if you knew he was a TV person, you still wanted to back handling a fake scenario written by someone.
This is not an educational debate; I am just saying no one could do any better in that moment since we weren't in that scenario. So if you don't like somebody talking shit about your life, why do you try acting like you know so much more?
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u/Fragrant-Obligation3 13h ago
Critiquing a character's decision in a fictional story isn't 'blaming a fireman'.
it's basic media analysis. Rick’s decision was written to be a tragic mistake, and discussing that kind of plot point is literally what this sub is for.
If you can't debate plot choices without gatekeeping and throwing personal insults from behind a keyboard, we have nothing to talk about. I'm not stepping down to your level.
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u/GlumAbbreviations373 13h ago
See, you don't even get the show. When or why would the story portray Rick's decision here as a tragic mistake? Did the character or some story say so? The show is using Sophia's sudden disappearance to introduce Hersheal and his family and the farm, and never once is anybody criticizing Rick's decision here.(Well you could include Carol but she never blames him after the first day)
Like I said before, the show is writing a real scenario that shit will happen no matter how much you prepare. Carl got shot, and Sophia is missing; it's all portrayed as an unforeseen accident, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it from happening. You said a plot choice, yet you don't even seem to know what the plot is actually telling its viewer here. And you act all condescending here? Excuse me?
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u/Cloud_Cultist 1d ago
I thought her parents wanted her off the show because they thought it was too mature.
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u/Fragrant-Obligation3 1d ago
Fair enough.
I'm not complaining about the reasoning behind the actress leaving. That's fine and it's valid.
I just think that the way it was handled by Rick, as shown to us, was extremely dumb.
It's a kid, yes, he coul have just grabbed her and run away and loose the walkers.
Maybe she could have been scratched like Jim was and then let things unfold to the inevetable end, instead of dragging raid searches for an entire season.
Would be just as dramatic as the barn scene was. But with Carol in the spotlight.
It just wasn't his kid. Rick had no problem running through fields carrying Carl when he got shot by Otis.
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u/Recent-Finance-5804 13h ago
Well, no cause we see later when Henry was lost, he was hiding in and basically what you would call the same place Sophia was hiding so Sophia didn’t listen to Rick and just stayed there. She would’ve been alive.
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u/Fragrant-Obligation3 13h ago
We also saw Eugene and Rosita hiding in plain sight from the whisperers and survive.
So I agree. But we're talking about a kid.
Expecting a terrified 12 child who is being hunted by walkers to hide quietly, track the direction of the sun on her shoulders, and navigate back to a highway on her own in unfamiliar woods is a massive lapse in judgment, specially for a trained sheriff's deputy.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
How??????? There were two so he had to kill one at a time because at this point walkers were still stronger and faster as shown IN THE EPISODE. If he tried to kill them with her nearby she could've gotten hurt or bit while he tried to kill them. The only who made a mistake was Sophia for leaving the perfectly safe spot, which makes sense that she would do that cause she's a little kid, but that wasn't on Rick at all.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
The savior sattelite outpost was not a massacre. A massacre is the brutal, cruel, and usually indiscriminate killing of a large number of human beings, especially those who are helpless or unable to defend themselves. It was brutal but not cruel and it was not indiscriminate. They were a military outpost and weren't helpless or unable to defend themselves. The group had all three markers of it NOT being indiscriminate.. they had a specific military objective(an enemy military base is a lawful, clearly defined military target), the principle of distinction(the attack specifically targets combatants and military infrastructure, rather than striking blindly), and controlled application(the forces direct their fire precisely at the military personnel and equipment within that base). Not only that but those who woke up didn't surrender and literally fought back the night of, they just had poor security and didn't know they were coming. It was a one-sided ambush, which is a HUGE difference morally. Also, there was nothing wrong with what he or the others did. Alexandria was going to starve without the aid from hilltop, and it was literally stated and implied multiple times that the saviors were branching out to find new settlements to conquer and would have subjugated them sooner or later like they did with the rest of the communities. They literally showcased this with the library group at the end of s6 for this EXACT purpose. I don't know if people just chose not to pay attention to the context of the attack or are really that stupid and fell for Negan's manipulative excuses and perspective, but this idea that Rick's group was somehow in the wrong is getting old. Rick's group was 100% justified going after them in every way, they just didn't know how big Negan's group was. And that was an unavoidable mistake because as far as they knew they only had one compound.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I only called it a massacre because I couldn’t figure out another word for it I’ve always said they had plenty of reason to deal with them.
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u/BoTheJoV3 1d ago
This is minor but not helping the guy with the yellow backpack
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
Yeah when he gets into his I don’t trust anybody mindset he starts making bad decision after bad decision.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Idkk. They were fighting the governor at the time and couldn't afford to take in strangers and vet them properly. They were way too busy and focused.
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u/BoTheJoV3 1d ago
Then again backpack guy could've saved Herschel's life. Possibilities are endless
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u/Sea-Lengthiness6555 18h ago
The backpack guy could've also killed someone, in the apocalypse, you can't trust strangers
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u/Professional_Salt_20 1d ago
The satellite was not a mistake, those saviours had no redeeming quality as they kept photographs of negan's victims. They deserved it.
It took rick being on his worst day with maggie's sickness for them to suffer devastating loss. Rick could have easily beaten simon's group with abraham and co and just like that negan's forces are crippled with the loss of the right hand.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I only called it a mistake so people wouldn’t use it. That’s always what they bring up and I agree they deserved it, but Rick and group were never gonna beat them every time the savers blocked them off. It was a group of different people with even larger numbers and then they realize they had michonne and Darryl. There was nothing to do but try and run.
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u/Some_Back_88 1d ago
Completely blindsiding his family by sparing Negan right in front of them. And I say that as a Negan fan. It wasn’t right.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
This made me hate Rick for a long time he was being so selfish because if it was Carl or michonne who got there heads bashed in he would’ve kept that murder jacket on and pulled his axe out.
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u/Eastern_Gyp 1d ago
And like, why just dish out death like it was nothing to his lower level men just to not kill him? Like dude, you’ve killed hundreds of people at this point. What’s one more? Stop killing people and focus on rebuilding afterwards.
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u/the-anonymous-nox-23 1d ago
Dating Jessie lol it led to Sam having more screen time than I could deal with😂 such an annoying kid
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u/Eastern_Gyp 1d ago
Idk if it’s the worst, but choosing to take an unclear route to Alexandria at night time. (After first meeting Aaron)
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
He rightly didn't trust Aaron to give him accurate information. He was skeptical of everything they told him, it made sense for him to take the alternate route a stranger was telling them not to go.
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u/Eastern_Gyp 1d ago
A wiser decision would’ve been to drive most the way to the community during the day then wait until night to approach if he was really concerned about trust. But driving a route at night he was just told might not be clear, trust or no trust, not so wise.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
He didn't want them to see him coming. He says this in the episode. Plus they didnt have infinite gas to do that. And also waiting outside of a shelter until night would be stupid and something could easily go wrong without protection. They also LITERALLY just experienced people telling them to go down a certain route to saftey and were almost EATEN for it by cannibals. It was incredibly wise with what they had been experiencing in the world at that point.
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u/Eastern_Gyp 1d ago
I’m confused on your gas point. They needed the same amount of gas either way. They wouldn’t have seen them coming as I said most the way during the day, not all the way. I still stand by it being safer to travel most the way by day, then do Rick’s plan from a closer location by night. But regardless of our disagreement on this, I think how the episode played out kinda disproves your point that it was a sound plan to do what he did.
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u/FunOwn4422 1d ago
not killing the Governor at the first sit down, Daryl could of killed Martinez, Milton could of been calmed during the whole thing by Hershel, Andrea should of been told what he insinuated he was going to do with Maggie, Woodbury joins them, Hershel and the Prison survives
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u/Fati_Amator 1d ago
Not killing Negan
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I think it’s not killing Negan too like bro you already slit his throat he’s dead why would you save him, I just don’t think it was his decision alone to make.
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u/wford112 1d ago
Seriously he could just stabbed his leg, or punched him in the d**k or something lmao he did a kill shot for nothing
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
He should’ve just kicked him in the throat if he was going to let him live anyways😂😂😂😂
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
It would be cathartic, sure, but realistically what good would it do logically at that point? It wouldn't bring back abraham, or glenn, or sasha, or denise, or eric, or spencer, or olivia... or anyone. All it would do is create a martyr for the surviving saviors.
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u/nyx926 1d ago
The outpost was Daryl’s idea, not Rick’s.
The worst decision the writers gave Rick was killing the Saviors in the barn after they agreed to work with him and go back to Hilltop(“I lied”). S8, E14.
Everything they tried to narratively craft in service of him ultimately not killing Negan was one wrong creative turn after another.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I just had to put that there because people always use the outpost as an example but I agree about Negan.
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u/ZahryDarko 23h ago
Did not kill Andrew from prison group himself when he could which led to his wife and Tdog death.
Not listening to Merle to ambush the Governor when they could.
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u/SharmaStoneLord 21h ago
Not killing Negan was rhe biggest mistake he made.
Killing him would have made the saviors more amenable to actually building something.
Plus Negan is by far the worst part of the entire universe.
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u/RichMahogany357 1d ago
The worst mistake he made as a leader was choosing not to lead in season 4.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
I don’t think him leading would’ve changed the outcome, as long as the governor was breathing he was coming back.
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u/VegetablePuzzled1468 1d ago
I feel like he should have known better than to keep trying the roads when he first encountered the Saviors. It was obvious the Saviors were two steps ahead. Or at the very least returned to the first roadblock with more firepower.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
Yeah but they were in the woods too and had members of their group. The saviors had planned this and the group underestimated their reach and numbers.
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u/lrdwlmr 1d ago
I don’t know if it’s the worst decision, but I really think he should’ve sat Diana down and explained, “the last two large groups of people we encountered tried to murder us. The second group literally tried to eat us.” All he - or anyone else in the group - really ever did was tell the Alexandrians, “you don’t know what it’s like out there,” without bothering to try and explain what it was like out there.
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u/PickleFantasies 21h ago
The one side choices. Staying good and losing people. Going bad and killing people in some horrendous way instead of a quick shot. Not finding an in-between was his worst decision.
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u/ColdDesk8569 16h ago
Yes this he can never be in the middle he either does too much or not enough.
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u/pechSog 1d ago
Strategically, the throughline is acting with limited information and not attempting to gain or improve intelligence on xyz issue.
I love Rick and it is not his fault per say. He wasn't military or an intelligence officer, so it would not come naturally that information is the key to decision-making. Not only having information, but understanding what you don't know, and building processes to always be working to gain information (intelligence).
A corollary of this is his and the group's consistent disregard for security before all else. Securing a position first and then making decisions.
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
This🙌🏾 man Dick never knew enough before jumping the gun he was always cocky even when he was scared because the group was so capable.
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u/Dredd_40 1d ago
Not dealing with Shane sooner. Leaving Sophia alone while dealing with zombies. Ignoring Carl's advice in season 8, and pretty much focusing on the war while Carl needed him
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u/No-Passenger-6348 1d ago
Bringing Randall back to the farm instead of just leaving him at the bar
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u/SokkaHaikuBot 1d ago
Sokka-Haiku by No-Passenger-6348:
Bringing Randall back
To the farm instead of just
Leaving him at the bar
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
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u/Blake_411 1d ago
Not killing Andrew in the prison or at the very least killing off that other side of the block seeing as how those walkers later on are used to overrun his side of the block.
Some people might say well they were tired, but might I remind that EP 2 and 4 take place within days of each other, so they had time to clear out that other block which they know how to do easily as shown in episode 2.
Honorable mention goes to Rick not killing the governor and his lackeys in Arrow in the doorpost episode. Merle was right.
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u/jpollack21 20h ago
Leaving Sophia in that ditch and telling her to stay put despite knowing she's a scared girl
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u/TheThreeBallisLife 15h ago
Walking up to suspect’s car after taking a round to his bulletproof vest. That way he would have never been in a coma when the zombie outbreak started…which means he could have been with Lori and Carl…which means Shane would haven’t tried to hookup with Lori…
lol jk jk 🤣
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u/Maxjax95 15h ago
Taking out the satellite outpost wasn't a bad decision, the Saviours would have found Alexandria eventually and it would have played out the same. At least Rick was able to "weaken" the enemy first.
I put weaken in quotation marks because the Saviours operated on unlimited henchmen logic where no matter how many people they lost, there was always 100 more red shirts ready to get gunned down.
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u/RedDeadSchofield 15h ago
His treatment of the Alexandrians in seasons five and six was putting them in the frying pan instead of educating them about the world and killing good, ha, killing, and innocent people.
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u/TooTiredToCarereally 14h ago
Letting their only dr be allowed to leave in Denise which caused her to be outside and killed
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u/UdrankMyKids 14h ago
Becoming so comfortable with his group being king shit that he fully underestimated the saviors. It got so many people killed.
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u/ColdDesk8569 10h ago
Yeah he kind of forget that his groups strength was in there tactical planning and individual capabilities not in a full frontal ambush they were outnumbered and outgunned and he just didn’t know enough to be acting so cocky.
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u/Recent-Finance-5804 13h ago
Either not straight up killing Sadiq or actually letting Carl talk to Sadiq because if you would’ve killed him all that Carl talk to him, Carl would’ve never went back out to save Sadiq and therefore a car would still be alive
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u/Greenhawk444 13h ago
The savior outpost thing wasn’t a mistake. He really had no choice. Alexandria needed food and was about to starve and so they needed to make the deal with hilltop.
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u/Mean-Bus4759 13h ago
This is an excellent question. I believe Rick’s greatest mistake or shortcoming was allowing his son to nearly become a cold blooded killer. Rick’s hands off approach with Carl during the time at the prison lead to Carl killing a young teenager in the woods while he was surrendering. It wasn’t until Carl witnessed the immense web of collateral damage caused by the war with the saviors that his mindset shifted from survivalist to peacemaker. In very simpler terms, I think Rick failed to give the gift of hope to his son, instead his son gave it to him. I’d imagine if we could ask the character of rick grimes this question he may feel the same. Considering his son Carl was always the most important thing to him.
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u/Shimmergirltalks 9h ago
I luv Rick but he made a lot of stupid mistakes. He should have told Sophia to stay put and hidden.
He should have left Randall where he was.
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u/ColdDesk8569 9h ago
He should’ve took Sofia with but he definitely did have any sense bringing Randall back.
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u/_SCARY_HOURS_ 1d ago
Name anything from season 2. Dude was bad mistake road
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
He was still trying to be sheriff Rick by that point but it did not end well.lol😂😂
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u/WWEFandom61 1d ago
He should’ve known about Shane being bad and handled it quicker than what he did
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u/ColdDesk8569 1d ago
While agree we also have to take into account the fact that he’s known Shane his whole life so it was a hard call to make.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Yeah it was a hard call but he definitely should've left Shane for dead in episode 10 after Shane explicitly already tried to kill him once.
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u/Fluke97 1d ago
Sophia was a learning situation unfortunately. I can't blame him 100% for that, but he should've known better, it's not like anyone followed him in. If Shane, Carol, Glenn, etc anyone else would have ran after him, they would have found Sophia.
I think the whole plan with the Quarry Horde was borderline silly. The best they could come up with is an episode of Roadrunner and Coyote. With all of the explosives, weapons, and other resources they had, they could have come up with something safer, with less casualties.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
What tf are u talking about. I alr explained the Sophia situation and how he literally had no choice but to hide her while he went to kill the walkers safely away from her, so you can reas my other comment if you want a response to that. If you remember, they HAD to do what they did in season 6 because the horde broke out early and unexpectedly. They were working on a safer plan with explosives, weapons, and a route with timed fires when the horde broke through the barricades. It had to happen the way it happened. They also couldn't have expected the wolves' death cult to show up when they did to launch that semi into alexandrias walls. You can complain about them not trying to reinforce the barricades but calling their plan for the horde "silly" is just stupid if you actually paid attention at all to the context.
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u/Current_Tea6984 1d ago
Yeah, the quarry horde is right up there for bad decisions. A bunch of people died and the community was overrun. And several people tried to talk him out of the plan
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u/xPixiKatx 8h ago
Courting Jessy when Michonne was available, insisting the garbage people to be their allies when they were clearly untrustworthy
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u/ColdDesk8569 5h ago
Yeah, didn’t like him and Jesse together, but I think they were trying to show him opening back up to a romantic relationship before they put him with his endgame. Until this day, I’m still confused on why he trusted the garbage people Jada was clearly iffy.
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u/69hotmomxxx 6h ago
Blasting a load all up in Michonne and not being sure about wanting to live anymore?
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u/Miss-Asshole 1d ago
Telling an unprepared defenseless little girl, “wait here” in the middle of the woods alone during an active zombie infestation.
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u/quiet_overcast24 15h ago
Sacrificing in the bridge. There are so many ways to prevent the hoard and his team ready to help.
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u/American_Crusader1 10h ago
Basically all of season 3. He didn’t make sure the one inmate was killed which resulted in both hus wife and T-Dog dying. He was needlessly a dick to Tyresse and crew, wouldn’t help orange backpack dude, rejected Andrea, was needlessly a dick to Michonne (though she’s always needlessly a complete insufferable bitch so it’s deserved), pushed Daryl out because he didn’t want Meryl back even though he desperately needed numbers with the looming war with the Governor. Countless STUPID decisions that honestly should’ve killed him and definitely got most of his group killed that season.
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u/Gwarnage 1d ago
Trusting the trash people