I totally called this last week... though it is almost exactly what happens in the comics. In the season finale of The Walking Dead, Pete Anderson killed Reg Monroe which caused a grief-stricken Deanna to grant permission for Rick to do what he's wanted for a while now. It may not have been the opportune moment. It may have been too late. However, Rick finally got to shoot Pete. The abusive antagonist has ceased to be and I guess we should be on the lookout for a controversial Rick and Jessie 'ship in the next season.
In the comics, of course, Douglass Monroe is the senator and leader at Alexandria Safe-Zone instead of his wife. Her name is Regina, and she is the one killed by Pete. The show has simply flip-flopped them.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this affects the series going forward. First of all, who is going to tend to Glenn's gunshot wound? I hope Nicholas didn't get him too bad. Even Tara could probably use some medical attention. Daryl and Aaron are going to need to start looking for doctors — maybe they should go to Grady Memorial. The world of The Walking Dead has already gotten smaller with Morgan's return, why not start combining some of these groups?
So it looks like Rick isn't going to get voted off of the island by Deanna after all. Wasn't that what you thought was about to happen in the season finale? There has been so much talk about how Alexandria will not hesitate to banish people (and the dried blood in the gate didn't help) that it seemed inevitable that someone was going to get the boot by the end of the episode whether it was Sasha, Glenn, or Rick Grimes himself. I was wrong.
What does all of this say about Rick as a leader? Sure, Pete was a horrible man... but this is not the most traditional kind of justice. The Alexandria Safe-Zone may seem civilized, but this is The Walking Dead and, as Rick points out, the walls are meaningless.
Image: Gene Page/AMC
