The Walking Dead: Can Rick Trust [Spoiler]?

Major spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 15 follow.

The closing moments of The Walking Dead Season 7’s penultimate episode left fans and characters wondering what the right move is for Rick’s group.

Locked away in Alexandria’s jail cell, that one Morgan spontaneously built in Season 6, was Negan’s go to guy. Dwight offered himself up to Rosita, accepted being a prisoner, and claims to want “to help” Rick. This all comes from Rosita who filled Rick in with just a few words as Daryl pounced toward the man who was an advocate for his torture at Negan’s Sanctuary.

Quickly and cautiously, Rick asked if Dwight really did want to help. In response to Dwight’s affirmation, Rick drew his gun and told Dwight to drop to his knees.

The big question of the night, and now week, is: Can Rick trust Dwight?

On the following slides, we run through spoilers for Robert Kirkman‘s The Walking Dead comics and bring out the cast’s perspective on the matter. Potential spoilers for the AMC series follow!

Dwight’s A Traitor

In The Walking Dead comics, Dwight outs himself as a traitor against Negan through King Ezekiel. 

It was issue #108, the first appearance of Ezekiel, which saw Dwight pleading his case to Jesus, Rick, and the King. While Ezekiel trusted Dwight quite quickly, Rick immediately thought that Negan’s man was here to get inside information about Rick’s plans for war. Rick was reluctant to trust Dwight but came to understand that Dwight had little choice but to obey the leader of the Saviors as he had his wife captive. 

Later on, Dwight serves as a valuable tool for Alexandria and its army of surrounding communities. When Negan begins covering his weapons with zombie guts to ensure death of anyone struck by them, he orders Dwight to take a shot at Rick with his crossbow. Listening to the man who still trusted him at the time, Dwight puts an arrow through Rick’s side but saved his life by switching it for a clean arrow, free of the zombie virus.

If the show is to follow the comics, Dwight will be a trustworthy and valuable ally to Rick. However, given the show’s history of changing things up, it’s possible he follows an entirely new and more treacherous storyline.

Kirkman & Amelio’s Comments

During The Walking Dead‘s PaleyFest panel, Dwight actor Austin Amelio was asked by a fan if he sees any redemption for the character. The actor said the script which saw Dwight’s emotional side was “Refreshing” because he wasn’t popping out from behind a tree but, more importantly, “People are gonna get to see what he truly cares about and what he’s fighting for.”

As for the redemption itself, Amelio simply said, “I hope so.”

However, it’s Kirkman’s response which will gets fan stirred up. The writer and creator of the zombie drama quickly quipped, “Read the comic!” As noted on the previous slide, the comic sees Dwight become an ally.

Season 7 has followed its comic book source material more closely than most seasons before it. Several character deaths and lines of dialogue have been accurately adapted, especially those which involve Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s portrayal of Negan. For Dwight, the turning point might have been launched at the end of Episode 7×15.

“He’s a lone soldier at this point,” Amelio told ComicBook.com. “I think he’s just making smart chess moves in order to fulfill the bigger picture of what he wants to do.”

Tom Payne

In the background of Something They Need’s closing moments for Paul “Jesus” Rovia. When Daryl pounced, Jesus stood by. 

Luckily for Dwight, Jesus is one of the more level-headed characters on the show and has the ability to influence others with his cautious, wise, think-first attitude. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Jesus actor Tom Payne shared the inside info of how Alexandria is going to approach their new resident.

“What I think is interesting now is you’ve got Dwight coming to us saying he wants to help, he’s appeared in Alexandria,” Payne said. “And you’ve got Eugene at the Sanctuary. So, these two people have seemingly swapped which is kind of an interesting situation. Who knows which one of those people will stay where. I think Rick’s group are pretty, not desperate, but they need all the help they can get. They need to entertain the possibility that Dwight will help them but I don’t think they’re gonna make it easy him.”

At this point, keep Eugene. Dwight is much more valuable to Alexandria than Eugene is to the Saviors! 

With only one episode left in Season 7, Dwight’s true colors and the first act of war can’t be too far off.