‘The Walking Dead’s Four Major Communities, In Brief
With Sunday's episode, TWD introduced viewers to the last of the four major survivor camps, and with that, it seems an appropriate time to compile a quick and dirty guide to each of the communities, including leaders, important characters currently in residence, and community strengths and weaknesses
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Alexandria
Current Leader: Rick
Key Characters: Rick, Carl, Michonne, Eugene, Rosita, Aaron, Spencer, Gabriel, Heath (?), Enid (?)
Alexandria has been the main hub for The Walking Dead’s lead characters for a while now. Rick’s group has settled in and taken charge while the zombie herds have taken care of thinning out a few of the less essential characters in the community. Any resistance to Negan’s reign of terror will likely begin with the experienced fighters who have made Alexandria’s reinforced walls their home.
Hilltop
Current Leader: GregoryKey Characters: Maggie, Sasha, Jesus
The Hilltop, introduced in Season 6 as Jesus’s home, was the first of the current Walking Dead communities, outside of Alexandria, to appear on the show. It was Hilltop’s leader, Gregory, who got Rick and his gang involved with the villainous Saviors in the first place, offering a trade deal in exchange for help defeating Negan.
Gregory is far from the strongest or most inspiring leader, but he’s managed to keep the peace in Hilltop for the most part, aside from an attempt on his life last season. The Hilltop’s strengths include organized trade and an experienced doctor, who will be invaluable to pregnant and ailing Maggie and likely many others now that Denise is dead, but the community lacks experienced fighters, aside from Jesus.
The Kingdom
Current Leader: EzekielKey Characters: Morgan, Carol, Benjamin, Richard, Shiva
The Kingdom, as Carol is quick to note, seems too good to be true. Led by intentionally over-the-top community theater actor Ezekiel, The Kingdom, on the surface, seems to be an idyllic community with a flourishing agricultural scene where kind and caring people work together to “replenish the well.”
But it’s not long before the threat of the Saviors rears its ugly head. Richard, who in the comics held the title of head of security in The Kingdom, seems eager to fight, but Ezekiel and the other members of the community seem content to give Negan his due. The Kingdom is a welcome beam of optimistic sunshine in what has so far been a grim season, and characters like Ezekiel and Benjamin could be exactly what Carol and Morgan need to pull out of the funk they’ve been in, but it’s unrealistic to believe that the good times can continue for long.
Savior Compound (The Sanctuary)
Current Leader: Negan
Key Characters: Daryl, Dwight, Sherry
Negan’s iron-fisted rule over his group of heavily armed Saviors is his greatest strength, but also, as viewers began to see in episode 3 of Season 7, potentially his greatest weakness. In the points-based compound (referred to as The Sanctuary in the comics) guarded by a ring of walkers on stakes, the seeds of dissent have been sown. Dwight and Sherry’s stories show that the Saviors aren’t all completely evil, and some, like the guy Dwight tracked down, have had all they can stand of Negan’s authoritarianism.
Despite a less-than-friendly atmosphere, however, the Saviors are the largest and best armed of the survivor groups, which has allowed Negan to subjugate all three of the other communities. Also, with Daryl in custody, it will be difficult for the other groups to mount any sort of resistance to the Saviors without endangering his life.
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