A Better World

"I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin." — The Operative

"So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?" — Capt. Malcolm Reynolds

"I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there... any more than there is for you. Malcolm... I'm a monster.What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done." — The Operative, "Serenity"

Last night the fourth season of "The Walking Dead" came to a close. It wasn't an earth-shattering finale, but it did continue the trend of the back half of the season, a quiet reflection on the world that remains and the people left living there.

Some tune into the show for the zombie kills. Some tune in for the action sequences. It's not that I don't appreciate that, it's just that I look for something else. The part that fascinates me most is the exploration of this post apocalyptic world, and how it impacts the people living in it.

Of course that's what has made the back half of this season so fascinating. Divested of their prison home, the people of "The Walking Dead" have had to, once again, face the harsh reality of the world that is. And it's been a fascinating, dark, and painful journey. The finale continued that.

Through flashbacks, Rick remembered the near utopia he'd begun to build in the prison, thanks in large part to the now-dead Herschel. Herschel was the voice of hope; the voice that there was still goodness possible in the world. When he died, all the characters had to reconcile that idea with the harsh reality they faced.

The other part of last night's finale was the idea that there is darkness in all of us. That's the tension. We have darkness in us, but we yearn to live in the light. That's when I thought about the exchange I used to start this post, which was one of my favorite exchanges from the movie "Serenity." I thought that summed up perfectly the internal struggle for Rick.

Rick has been a focal point for the show since it premiered. His struggle has been the struggle for us all as we've tried to wrap our minds around these characters, this world, what we'd like to believe about humanity, and what humanity is probably really like.

"The Walking Dead" is hardly the first show to grapple with the idea of our real human nature. "Lord of the Flies" depicts the downfall of a society when conventional rules and structures are taken away. Though it's just two episodes in, and on the CW, "The 100" is beginning to examine those ideas, too.

But "The Walking Dead" has a more fully formed world, and it has spent much more time building into this. Rick has been conflicted. He wants to preserve goodness, he wants to preserve elements of life before the zombie apocalypse — but the world has changed and he has to do tough things to protect his family and the group. Last night, we saw Rick snap. And we saw the aftermath of his snapping.

Like The Operative he dreams of a better world — perhaps one he can provide for Carl. But to get there, he has to become a monster. Throughout the hour, for the first time in a couple seasons, Rick manifested himself into the leader the group needed. Despite the dire circumstance of the end of the episode, you feel hopeful they can survive.

But can Rick get that better world? Perhaps the most heart-breaking scene was between Carl and Michone, when he admitted that he, too, has a monster within, one he might not be able to shake.

But maybe that's the point. We all dream of a better world, but given the nature of man you have to wonder if such a world could really exist.