Themes: Leadership

Leadership or Power is a recurring theme in The Walking Dead. It involves an individual or a group of individuals being given the responsibility of making decisions for the group they're a part of. Leadership can come about naturally (people simply start following the person they see as having the highest authority), through an election, or through a bloody power struggle and repression.

Occurrences

Comic Series

• Shane Walsh leads the Atlanta Survivor Camp until Rick Grimes arrives. _{(Issue 2)}
• Rick Grimes gradually supplants Shane as group leader. _{(Days Gone Bye)}
• Dexter leads a rebellion against the other prison survivors. _{(Issue 18)}
• Brian Blake is the leader of Woodbury, Georgia. _{(Issue 27)}
• Lilly Caul leads the remaining Woodbury soldiers into the prison after The Governor's death. _{(Issue 48)}
• Craig is the leader of the Marauders. _{(Issue 57)}
• Chris is the leader of the Hunters. _{(Issue 63)}
• Douglas Monroe is the leader Alexandria Safe-Zone after Alexander Davidson died. _{(Issue 70)}
• Derek is the leader of the Scavengers. _{(Issue 75)}
• Douglas hands the leadership of the Alexandria Safe-Zone over to Rick Grimes. _{(Issue 78)}
• Nicholas leads a rebellion against Rick. _{(Issue 89)}
• Gregory is introduced as the leader of the Hilltop Colony. _{(Issue 94)}
• Negan is the leader of the Saviors until he is incarcerated. _{(Issue 100)}
• Ezekiel is the leader of the Kingdom until his death. _{(Issue 108)}
• Maggie Greene becomes the de-facto leader of the Hilltop Colony after she overthrows Gregory. _{(Issue 118)}
• Dwight becomes leader of the Saviors after Negan is incarcerated. _{(Issue 126)}
• Magna leads a group from Richmond. _{(Issue 127)}
• Alpha is the leader of the Whisperers. _{(Issue 132)}
• Rick wants Michonne to become the leader the of Kingdom after the death of Ezekiel. The Kingdom elects William as their new leader, however, partially due to their distrust of Rick. _{(Issue 151, Issue 157)}
• Beta becomes the de-facto leader of the Whisperers after the death of Alpha. _{(Issue 157)}
• Sherry becomes the de-facto leader of the Saviors following Dwight's departure from the Sanctuary with Laura. _{(Issue 161)}
• John becomes the leader of the Saviors following Sherry's death. _{(Issue 168)}
• Eugene leads the expedition to the Commonwealth. _{(Issue 170)}
• Pamela Milton is the governor of the Commonwealth while Lance Hornsby is the deputy governor. _{(Issue 176)}
• Mercer is in charge of the Commonwealth Military. _{(Issue 177)}
• Cloris is the leader of Greenville. _{(Issue 183)}
• Laura and Mercer are the leaders of the Commonwealth Resistance. _{(Issue 187)}

TV Series

• Shane Walsh leads the Atlanta Survivor Camp until Rick Grimes arrives. _{(Season 1)}
• Morales appears to lead the scavenging trip to Atlanta, until Rick arrives. _{(Days Gone Bye)}
• Merle Dixon tries to take over leadership of the scavenging group from unassumingly Morales. _(Guts)
• Glenn Rhee demonstrates leadership when going into the sewers by assigning all of the members of the scavenging group jobs until he returns (Rick and Andrea guards, Morales his "wingman", and Jacqui alerting them of any dangers). _(Guts)
• Guillermo leads a gang of survivors taking care of elderly people in Atlanta. _(Vatos)
• Hershel Greene leads a group of survivors on his farm. _{(Season 2)}
• Shane struggles over leadership with Rick and Hershel several times. _{(Season 2)}
• Dave and Tony lead a group of survivors. _(Nebraska)
• Rick rules over the survivors with an iron fist. _{(Season 3)}
• Tomas leads the prison survivors. _{(Season 3)}
• Philip Blake leads Woodbury. _{(Season 3)}
• Corporal Brady leads the small group of National Guardsmen. _{(Walk With Me)}
• Merle leads scouting runs for Woodbury. _{(Season 3)}
• Tyreese Williams leads his group. _{(Made To Suffer)}
• Glenn mentions that with Daryl Dixon gone and Rick having hallucinations, he is next in charge. _(Home)
• The prison community is led by a council of people encompassing Hershel, Glenn, Daryl, Carol Peletier and Sasha Williams. _{(Season 4)}
• Caesar Martinez abandons Philip and goes on to lead a different group of survivors. _{(Season 4)}
• Pete Dolgen assumes leadership of Martinez's group after his death at the hands of Philip. _{(Dead Weight)}
• Philip takes charge of the group and takes on Pete's brother Mitch as his second-in-command after killing Pete. _{(Dead Weight)}
• Joe is the alpha leader of the Claimers and makes their rules. _{(Season 4)}
• Gareth is the leader of Terminus and later the Hunters. _(A)
• Upon reuniting with his group, Rick regains his leadership, this time with a more calm and measured command style.
• Gareth is the leader of a group of fellow Terminus members who survived the shootout during the rescue mission led by Carol. _(Strangers)
• Dawn Lerner is the leader of a group of survivors who reside at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. _{(Season 5)}
• Deanna Monroe is the leader of the Alexandria Safe Zone. _{(Season 5)}
• Owen is the leader of The Wolves. _{(Season 6)}
• After Deanna Monroe's death, Rick Grimes becomes the leader of the Alexandria Safe Zone. _{(Season 6)}
• Gregory is the leader of the Hilltop Colony. _{(Season 6)}
• Negan Smith is the unnerving leader of the Saviors. _{(Season 6, Season 7, Season 8)}
• Ezekiel is the leader of the Kingdom. _{(Season 7, Season 8, Season 9)}
• Natania is the leader of Oceanside. _{(Season 7, Season 8)}
• Anne is the leader of the Scavengers. _{(Season 7, Season 8)}
• During the war, Rick, Maggie, Ezekiel and Cyndie lead a resistance group against the Saviors. _{(Season 8)}
• During the war, Maggie takes on the role as the leader of the Hilltop Colony soldiers. _{(Season 7)}
• After Natania died, Cyndie becomes the de-facto leader of Oceanside. _{(The Lost and the Plunderers)}
• Georgie is the leader of an unnamed group. _{(The Key)}
• After the war, Maggie Rhee is elected as the leader of the Hilltop Colony. _{(Season 9)}
• Following Negan's defeat, Daryl becomes the new leader of the Sanctuary. _{(Season 9)}
• Carol takes over as the leader of the Sanctuary when Daryl doesn't want to lead anymore. _{(A New Beginning)}
• Jed is the leader of the Savior rebels and later becomes the leader of the Savior marauders. _{(Season 9)}
• Magna is the leader of her group. _{(Season 9, Season 10, Season 11)}
• After Rick's supposed death, Alexandria is lead by a council. Gabriel is the leader of the council, while Michonne, as head of security, has full veto power over any decisions made by the council. _{(Season 9)}
• After Maggie's departure, Jesus is elected leader of the Hilltop Colony. _{(Stradivarius)}
• After Jesus' death, Tara becomes the de-facto leader of the Hilltop Colony. _(Adaptation)
• Alpha is the leader of the Whisperers. _{(Season 9, Season 10)}
• Ozzy is the leader of the Highwaymen. _{(Season 9)}
• Jocelyn is the leader of her own group. _(Scars)
• After Tara's death, Hilltop is lead by a council made of a couple members of the Colony.
• After Alpha's death, Beta becomes the de-facto leader of the Whisperers. _{(Look at the Flowers)}
• Craven is the leader of the Valak's Vipers. _{(Here's Negan)}
• Franklin is the leader if his own group. _{(Here's Negan)}
• Maggie is the leader of the Wardens. _{(Season 10, Season 11)}
• Pamela Milton is the leader of the Commonwealth and it's army. _{(Season 10, Season 11)}
• Pope is the leader of the Reapers. _{(Season 11)}
• Keith becomes the de-facto leader of the remaining Whisperers. _{(Out of the Ashes)}
• After Pope's death, Leah Shaw becomes the leader of the Reapers. _{(For Blood)}
• With the arrest of Pamela Milton, Ezekiel Sutton is elected the Commonwealth's governor and Michael Mercer is elected the lieutenant governor.

Webisodes

• Andrew was the unofficial leader of Billy and Jamie until Hannah showed up. _{(Torn Apart)}

Fear the Walking Dead

• Madison and Travis are the leaders of their respective families. _(Pilot)
• Daniel is the leader of his family. _{(So Close, Yet So Far)}
• Lieutenant Moyers is the leader of the military unit that guards the Safe Zone India. _{(Not Fade Away)}
• Bethany Exner is the leader of a small group of doctors at The Compound. _{(The Good Man)}
• Alejandro Nunez is the leader of La Colonia. _{(Season 2)}
• Elena Reyes is the leader of Rosarito Beach Hotel. _{(Season 2)}
• Jeremiah Otto was the leader of Broke Jaw Ranch until his death. _{(Season 3)}
• Jake assumes leadership of Broke Jaw Ranch after his father's death. _{(Season 3)}
• Dante Esquivel was the leader of the Gonzalez Dam community until his death. _{(Season 3)}
• Qaletaqa Walker is the leader of the Black Hat Reservation. _{(Season 3)}
• Lola Guerrero becomes the leader of the Gonzalez Dam after Dante's death. _{(Season 3)}
• Madison was the leader of the Dell Diamond Baseball Stadium until her death. _{(Season 4)}
• Althea leads her group through Texas. _{(Season 4)}
• Melvin was the leader of the Vultures. _{(Season 4)}
• Morgan takes over leadership of the group after Althea. _{(Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7)}
• Logan is the leader of his own group. _{(Season 5)}
• Annie is the leader of her own group. _{(Season 5)}
• Virginia is the leader of the Pioneers. _{(Season 5, Season 6)}
• After Virginia's death, Victor Strand becomes the leader of the Pioneers. _{(Things Left to Do)}
• Theodore Maddox is the leader of the Doomsday cult. _{(Season 6)}
• Cole is the leader of his own group. _(Mother)
• Alicia Clark is the leader of the Franklin hotel survivors. _{(The Beacon)}
• Victor Strand is the leader of the Tower. _{(Season 7)}

World Beyond

• Iris Bennett becomes the leader of the Endlings.
• Indira is the leader of the Perimeter.

Dead City

• Maggie Rhee is the leader of the Bricks.
• The Croat is the leader of the Burazi.
• Amaia and Tommaso are the leaders of the Manhattan Tribespeople. _{(Who's There?)}
• The Prefect is the leader of the New Babylon Federation. _{(Doma Smo)}

Daryl Dixon

• Daryl Dixon is the leader of a group working to deliver Laurent to the Union of Hope.
• As the Mother Superior, Véronique is the leader of the Abbey of Saint Bernadette. _{(L'âme Perdue)}
• Isabelle mentions that Lama Rinpoche is the leader of the Union of Hope. _{(L'âme Perdue)}
• Madame Dubois is the leader of the children living at École Maternelle Simone Veil until she becomes sick and dies at which point Lou takes over. _(Alouette)
• Marion Genet is the leader of the Power of the Living. _{(L'âme Perdue, Paris Sera Toujours Paris)}
• Fallou Boukar is the leader of his own community. _{(Paris Sera Toujours Paris)}

Telltale Series

• Kenny and Lilly struggle with the position of leadership. _{(Starved For Help)}
• Lee Everett is forced to try the position of the leader. _{(Starved For Help)}
• Carley wants Lee to take charge more of the group. _{(Starved For Help)}
• Lee becomes the sole leader permanently after Lilly is banished/leaves the group and Kenny faces depression from his family dying. _{(Long Road Ahead)}
• Jake is the leader of the Save-Lots Bandits. _{(Starved For Help, Long Road Ahead)}
• Kenny later becomes co-leader of the group due to his determination to find a boat. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• Vernon leads a cancer recovery group of survivors that escaped from Crawford. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• Crawford Oberson leads the survivors of Crawford in Savannah. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• Lee leaves Clementine in charge of the classroom if she comes with Lee. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• Roman is the leader of his group. _{(Shel's Story, All That Remains)}
• Vince seems to take a leadership role in his group. _(Epilogue)
• Peter is the leader of the cabin group. _{(All That Remains)}
• After Peter's death, Luke becomes the de-facto leader of the cabin group. _{(Season 2)}
• William Carver leads his group in the Howe's Hardware. _{(Season 2)}
• Kenny is the leader of the Moonstar Lodge group. _{(A House Divided)}
• Luke and Kenny struggle for leadership over the cabin group. _{(Amid The Ruins)}
• Buricko is the leader of his group. _{(Amid The Ruins)}
• Kenny makes himself the leader when he gets the truck started. _{(No Going Back)}
• Pete is the leader of the sailing ship known as "The Companion". _{(The Walking Dead: Michonne)}
• Norma is the leader of a floating survivors colony named Monroe. _{(The Walking Dead: Michonne)}
• Tripp is the leader of the town known as Prescott. _{(Ties That Bind - Part 1-Ties That Bind - Part 2)}
• David García, Joan, Clinton Barnes, and Paul Lingard are the leaders of the New Frontier. _{(Season 3)}
• Javier can become leader of the New Frontier after the survival of Richmond (Determinant). _{(From The Gallows)}
• Marlon is the leader of the boarding school. _{(Done Running)}
• After Marlon's death, Violet becomes the de-facto leader of the boarding school. _{(Suffer The Children)}
• Due to her better leadership and survival skills, Clementine takes the Boarding School's leadership from Violet. _{(Suffer The Children)}
• Lilly is the leader of the Delta raiders who travel aboard the S.S. Stewarts Fitzgerald. _{(Season 4)}

Dead Reckoning

• Shane Walsh leads the survivors out of harms way when the apocalypse begins to break out. _{(Dead Reckoning)}

Survival Instinct

• Daryl Dixon becomes the leader of his own group following the deaths of his father Will Dixon, and Uncle, Jess Collins.

Social Game

• Shane runs the group as they wait for the military to arrive. _{(Social Game)}
• The player can lead a scouting party. _{(Social Game)}
• After Jackson goes missing, the protagonist will take over leadership of the camp. _{(Social Game)}
• Max, after being saved by the group, soon takes over the leadership role of the group, while the hero acts as a co-leader. _{(Social Game)}
• After the death of Dave and the disappearance of Randall, Harlan becomes the new leader of their group. _{(Social Game)}

Overkill

• Bob is the leader of an unnamed group. _{(Heather Trailer)}
• Anderson Banks is the leader of his own group and later becomes the leader of Eckington Camp.
• Reina Torres is the leader of the Family.
• Sarah Bridger was the leader of her own camp, before giving up the leadership to Anderson Banks.
• Patterson is the leader of an hostile group called "The Brigade".

Novel Series

• Philip Blake leads a small group at the beginning of the apocalypse. _{(Rise of the Governor)}
• Tommy is in charge of the home invaders. _{(Rise of the Governor)}
• Major Gene Gavin is the unofficial leader of Woodbury. _{(Rise of the Governor)}
• Brian Blake becomes leader of Woodbury after killing Major Gene Gavin. _{(Rise of the Governor)}
• Chad Bingham and Joshua Hamilton are the leaders of the group located in the Georgia Fields. _{(The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury)}
• Joshua Hamilton is the leader of Fort Noise. _{(The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury)}
• Lilly Caul leads the kidnapping of The Governor. _{(The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury)}
• Lilly Caul temporarily leads Woodbury whilst The Governor is recovering from Michonne's attack. _{(The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor)}
• Lilly Caul assumes the role of leader of Woodbury after the Governor's death. _{(The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor)}
• Jeremiah Garlitz leads the Pentecostal People of God. _{(The Walking Dead: Descent)}
• Jeremiah Garlitz temporarily leads Woodbury. _{(The Walking Dead: Descent)}
• Lilly Caul re-leads Woodbury after Jeremiah's attack. _{(The Walking Dead: Descent)}
• Patrick Murphy is the leader of the Most Holy Redeemer Parish. _{(The Walking Dead: Invasion)}
• Jeremiah Garlitz leads the Most Holy Redeemer Parish after Patrick's death. _{(The Walking Dead: Invasion)}
• Ashley Duart is the leader of the Haralson survivors. _{(The Walking Dead: Search and Destroy)}
• Mike Bell was the leader of a small group in Gordonburg before joining the Moreland survivors. _{(The Walking Dead: Search and Destroy)}
• Theodore Bryce leads the assault on Woodbury and other settlements. _{(The Walking Dead: Search and Destroy)}
• Raymond Nalls is the leader of the Atlanta Medical Center survivors. _{(The Walking Dead: Search and Destroy)}
• Lilly Caul leads the Sixteenth Street survivors back to Woodbury. _{(The Walking Dead: Return to Woodbury)}
• Spencer-Lee Dryden is the leader of a camp for families. _{(The Walking Dead: Return to Woodbury)}
• Ashley Lynn Duart leads the families away from Dryden's camp.