'The Walking Dead': Will Infighting Tear Apart Rick's Army In Season 8?

On the latest episode of The Walking Dead, as the ongoing war with Negan intensified, seeds of a potentially dangerous problem for the three allied communities began to crop up. While they have united under Rick's leadership, the soldiers under his command are showing difficulty working with one another. Only minor disagreements have mounted so far, but we can assume this infighting won't end well.

Who Was Right, Tara Or Jesus?

Out of all the conflicts in Season 8, Episode 2, titled "The Damned," the most intense was between Tara and Jesus. They invaded one of the Saviors' outposts, taking many hostages. Jesus wanted to keep as many of them alive as possible — but Tara wanted the exact opposite, proving that she was ready to kill every single Savior in the building.

Jesus prevented Tara from shooting an unarmed man, explaining to her that the mission at hand wasn't simple revenge. Tara disagreed, then watched as the seemingly helpless Savior took Jesus hostage. Luckily, Jesus incapacitated him, though Tara was still prepared to end the Savior's life. The look in her eyes and the sound of her voice made it clear that all she cared about was vengeance and gaining control of the Saviors' satellite outpost.

How Will The Militia Address The Infighting Problem?

What we should take away from this episode is how these small instances of infighting can lead to bigger conflicts in the future. Jesus or Tara's spat didn't lead to any fatal consequences — and Jesus also stopped Morgan from killing the unarmed Saviors — but that's only because they got extremely lucky. A split second difference could have very well seen Jesus become a casualty.

And since every dispute won't end so peacefully, it's possible that such conflicts and dissent could ultimately lead to Rick's militia breaking apart. More disagreements could be ahead. No one is expecting the soldiers from all three communities to learn how to seamlessly work together, which could potentially lead to them branching off.

Hopefully that's not the case, because a setback of that magnitude would lean the fight in Negan's favor. All he needs is one good move to stop Rick's army. Of course, a flash-forward sequence has already shown a future in which Rick and his family are living happily — assuming it's not just a fantasy, it seems that Rick will survive this war ... but will the alliance he's built?

The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC.