If you've been here since I started this blog or go back and look, you'll see that I have ranted about this before (maybe several times, back when it was airing) but as I've just finished rewatching TWD through season 8 for the first time in 10 or so years I find that I am STILL PISSED ABOUT THIS!!! And yknow anger aside I think it's an interesting discussion to have about main characters that are largely encased in plot armor both against potential death and scrutiny towards their actions.
But yeah, let's talk about Eugene's 'stint' with the Saviors and how Rick and the main group 'dealt' with that (or the lack thereof). Just to review how this happened - because it certainly wasn't Eugene running off to Sanctuary unprompted to suck Negan's dick and throw his 'friends' under the bus for his own safety- Rosita pretty much forced him via guilt and verbal abuse to make a bullet for her to take out Negan. He points out to her that this is a flawed and potentially dangerous plan because, as they've seen demonstrated, Rosita's not necessarily putting herself in the line of fire by taking this chance; she's risking the lives of whoever Negan decides to kill as her 'punishment'. And this other point wasn't mentioned but we know it to be true, even if she had killed Negan at that point, Simon would've just taken over and massacred the entirety of Alexandria, probably. Now, this isn't to say Rosita is the worst or something, I understand that she's dealing with a ton of grief and trauma from what she witnessed in the woods and I think she deserves at least a little bit of grace because of that for not thinking clearly and acting on impulse BUT the fact remains that Eugene wouldn't have been kidnapped and put in a position to 'side' with Negan if she had listened to him in the first place. Olivia and Sasha probably wouldn't have been killed either- and for as much as I'm willing to offer understanding towards her flawed decision-making under the circumstances, it still lowkey frustrates me that she never really shows any kind of remorse about that or acceptance of the fact that she fucked up (at least not that I can remember, I would LOVE to be corrected about that if there's a scene I've forgotten) but we'll get back to that.
SO Eugene gets kidnapped (which, BTW, also happened because he fessed up in the hopes of saving EVERYONE ELSE, he could've easily just kept silent) and at that point he's facing MAYBE three options; 1) Agree to join Negan as offered and take advantage of that position behind enemy lines to help his friends/mitigate harm to them as he can etc, which actually makes a lot sense for him as he's very smart/clever and good at thinking outside the box as Abraham said 2) Like Daryl, be tortured and/or possibly killed for refusing, 3) MAAAYBe try to escape even though unlike Daryl he doesn't have preexisting acquaintances at the Sanctuary that could help him do that, plus again, that would be putting yet another target on his and everyone's backs- one of the reasons, I believe, that he doesn't go with Rosita and Sasha when they execute the OTHER cockamamie scheme. Ofc we know what he picks.
And we find out how his former 'friends' respond to this when he goes back to Alexandria with the Saviors. Pretty much the MOMENT Eugene says "I am Negan" (mind you, he's out there talking to them in the hope he can spare them of something worse, even put his neck out there with Negan to do it and Negan and the other Saviors are RIGHT THERE, so how much is him saying that out of genuine loyalty and how much is saving-face/preservation of the ruse??? Doesn't seem hard to suss out to me personally) Rosita and Rick decide this is a betrayal that makes him completely expendable and agree to blow him up with the rest of the Saviors. Ofc thanks to the Garbage People's deception it doesn't work, but the fact remains that those two characters, both of whom preach about the importance of the main group, how they're all family, how no one gets left behind etc etc etc, decide there is indeed acceptable circumstances to kill someone from their 'family'. Even after Rosita surmises Eugene might be working an angle, even though his placement with the Saviors is entirely the fault OF ONE OF THEM.
So what this basically comes across as to me is that if you're in Rick's group, you either die FOR them or you die BY them, no matter the circumstances. Even if you get kidnapped and pressganged into work by the villain because of poor choices someone else in the group made, you HAVE to let yourself get killed and/or tortured by said villain or you're a betrayer and your life is forfeit. You HAVE to die either way, unless you're a feral survivalist with thick af plot armor like Daryl and can come up with an option C to just get out of there (which, despite putting the group in danger, was not perceived as a betrayal or act of cowardice on HIS part at all, isn't that interesting). So like, this thing, plus the whole 'taking Oceanside's guns by force, blowing up their settlement bc they refuse to join the fight against the Saviors' makes me wonder; how different, really, is Rick and his group from Negan and the Saviors after all? That COULD have been an interesting thing to explore in the writing further, but it's The Walking Dead so you just have to accept that Rick and his group are the 'good ones' and therefore ANYTHING they do is 'good' and 'justified' and above any questioning....even if it's pretty much exactly what Negan or the Governor before him would have done lol.
And tbh, to me, that's quite a huge expectation to put on people just because they've been surviving with you for awhile and everyone's bonded in the same trauma. Knowing this, I think I'd rather take my chances on my own with the walkers than let Rick Grimes save me and take me in with his toxic ass 'family', because that basically means my life belongs to them now. If circumstances demand, I will HAVE to sacrifice myself, not out of love and protectiveness over my found family, but because it's what I 'owe' them, apparently.
And yet. And YET! Eugene still basically wins the war for them by taking a huge chance on fucked up bullets. Tbh if I were him I probably still would've done that too, just to end the fighting and dying for everyone's sake, but after that, I don't think I would've kept living with Rick's group, at least not after a long discussion about what happened, what they attempted to do to me, how little faith they had in me, how quickly they gave up on me, AND the fact that because we're friends they apparently own my life now. I think I would've gone and taken my chances in the Kingdom tbh, at least Ezekiel's upfront about the monarchy thing lol.
Like...what DO these characters owe each other, at the end of the day? Is it really fair to expect someone who was put in a dangerous position BY THE SAME GROUP/FAMILY to just die and/or get tortured lest they be considered a betrayer that deserves death from the group? And what about what THEY owe HIM? Does Eugene not deserve any benefit of the doubt? Any faith at all? CLEARLY HE DID SO...OOOPS. I guess all that surviving together credit only applies to Rick and the other main (non disabled) characters.
Anyway, the whole double-standard thing with Rick and a few of the main characters is something that happens pretty much throughout the entire run of the show and it's lowkey irritating every time, but to me this was especially evident and heinous. It really feels sometimes like we're just supposed to accept everything the main characters do as good/justified with no question, which I think is really condescending to the audience's intelligence. It's no wonder the discourse in the fandom was so busted back in the day lmao.
