There are countless unexplained questions going into the season five finale of "The Walking Dead." Based on the end of the most recent episode though, the biggest one is whether or not Rick will be welcomed in the "safe-zone" going forward.
The conflict between him and Pete finally came to a head, and in a very public way. After beating up Pete in the center of the village where all can see, Rick wielded his gun and started preaching that things need to change if the community wants to continue to survive. Michonne then knocked him out, presumably to protect the group. Rick is their leader, so it would be natural for the others in Alexandria to believe that his opinion is shared by everyone else.
Deanna is now faced with a tough choice. Does she exile Rick and risk him returning with a vengeance? Or does she let him stay and have a say in how the community handles survival? Logically, one would think he gets to stay. Not only is his experience living outside the walls vital, but he has two children. Would Deanna throw out Carl and Judith too?
However, according to the promo trailer for the finale, it looks like she makes the tougher decision.
Deanna chooses to have a public meeting regarding Rick's future and afterwards he is seen taking a walk of shame out of the Alexandria gates. Even more telling is that Glenn asks him "Did you want this?" Rick responds by telling him "No. I hit my limit."
It's true. Even Michonne, who in the past has had a harder time adjusting to change, seems to be comfortable at Alexandria. For some reason, Rick has never felt fully safe there.
The other elephant in the room is the meaning of the "W" engravings. Twice in the last episode it was brought to the forefront. Daryl and Aaron came across a tied, tortured corpse on a tree in the woods, which was so grotesque it could've been a scene from "True Detective." Sure enough, before Daryl puts it out of its misery the camera zoomed in on the letter engraved on its forehead.
Then, when Carl follows Enid into the wilderness and sparks begin to fly, she marks one of the trees. Perhaps it was a "W," which would only add to the mystery surrounding her. It's known that something bad happened to her before she reached Alexandria, but she hasn't told anyone from the group.
If Enid did carve a "W," it's possible that there is a connection between her and whoever tied the person to a tree that Daryl and Aaron discovered. Is there a third group of survivors just waiting to attack and take Alexandria for their own?
AMC's official synopsis of the upcoming episode is "Daryl finds trouble while on a run; Rick and the group feel like outsiders in Alexandria, where trouble approaches the gates."
The trouble approaching the gates is almost surely something from the outside. Will it unite the two groups that are growing further apart within the walls?
