"The Walking Dead" Breakdown: "All Life is Precious"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

If there is anything I have learned about The Walking Dead during the Scott M. Gimple era of writing, is that everything that happens on screen has a purpose or it has a message. We have seen this countless times in his tenure as showrunner since either poor decisions come back to haunt our favorite characters, or an off the cuff comment we thought meant nothing comes back to be extremely important.

I make mention of that, because I think last night's episode and all the wonder and beauty was far more significant than we are giving it credit. It was more than an episode merely designed to break up the terrible moments happening in Alexandria, I honestly think this episode managed to reveal where the show is headed philosophically after all the nightmares come to an end and it has all come about since the end of last season when Morgan first uttered the words "all life is precious."

Obviously we uncovered exactly who taught Morgan those words and why he believes it so, but there were plenty of other things that Eastman said last night that resonated with me and continue to do so a day after watching the show. After all his character was full of fascinating tidbits about his views on people and the things they do, but in the process of learning all these things from Eastman, the show and its total scope finally came into focus...Alexandria, and Rick and all the things that happen down the road are all designed to show us not only the end of mankind and how they deal with it...but how they rebuild their world and how they make it a better place. 

Look at the simple acts of kindness Eastman visited upon Morgan. He gave him implicit trust, he fed him, gave him shelter, knowing full well Morgan was shattered beyond belief and ready to harm or kill him and never once judged, never once batted an eye and held in his wavering belief that Morgan was worth salvation and that he deserved better than sheer madness or anger. It's a theme the show has always held strong to, that you get to come back from all the things you've done but Eastman demonstrated there has to be a healing process to it as well, you can't just push forward and expect everything to be okay.

All of this suddenly gives Alexandria new weight as to what it stands for, it has now become a symbol for rebirth, a chance to start again and when the madness clears as it always does at some point, no doubt Morgan will try and teach Rick some of what he knows, specifically the part about needing to heal. This is the place where people will come to grieve, unload their burdens and begin again and while that process will never be easy...at least we know now that the show is doing its damndest to give us hope, to show that there is more to the end than just sorrow and that when the dust settles and the living have outlasted the dead they will have a new lease on life with a new philosophy...that all life is precious.

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