The Walking Dead has always been about survival – from nature, from people and from the walkers, but there has also been another, more subtle theme ever since the end of Season 1. As Rick’s group left the CDC, Dr. Jenner told Rick Grimes that everyone was already infected. The physical ramifications were obvious: everyone will turn into walkers when they die. However, from a psychological stance, it meant that the biggest threat to survival wasn’t the dead because the real “monsters” were the people who were still alive.

After that, Rick spent the next seven and a half seasons trying to protect his family and his followers from various threats. During that time, he was clearly supposed to be the “good guy,” but the theme that there was a “monster” inside of him repeatedly showed up. From the neck-biting incident, to attacking the Saviors’ satellite station, to killing captured Saviors, Rick put his “good guy” status into question multiple times. In the latest episode of World Beyond, however, Leo Bennett made sure that his people wouldn’t become like Rick.

At the end of last week’s episode, Jadis put Leo in charge of Project Votus, after killing his colleague and lover Dr. Belshaw. Before that, Leo, his daughters and Huck had all been investigating the CRM and its nefarious-looking actions. However, after Leo was read-in on Project Votus, he was able to confirm their worst suspicions. The CRM massacred the people of Omaha and was planning on doing the same thing to the people of Portland. So, in “Returning Point,” he and his daughters activated their escape plan.

Before they could leave, though, there was something that they had to do. They wanted to convince all of the CRM’s scientists to escape and continue their research elsewhere so that the CRM’s efforts would be crippled. In a secret conversation with his colleagues, Leo informed all of the scientists of the CRM’s misdeeds and pleaded with them to run. They were appalled that they had been complicit with the murders at Omaha, but they also knew what the CRM was capable of if defied. So, naturally, some of them were hesitant.

That was when Leo said this: “We’re working to stop the monsters and to save people from turning into monsters. But we need to save ourselves from that fate first.” By saying that, Leo was drawing a line that Rick Grimes never could. Rick’s problem was that he was willing to be a monster if that would save himself and his family. Leo, on the other hand, chose to be better than his enemy. He recognized that anyone could be a monster, and he wanted to avoid that fate for himself, his daughters and his colleagues. Otherwise, they would all be no better than the CRM.

Reluctantly, they all agreed to escape, so they put their plan into motion. It involved making a hostage out of Major General Beale’s son, Mason, getting “trapped” in the Bio-containment unit and drilling through the floor to some old mining tunnels. As the episode ended, they were all on the run, and Jadis authorized the use of deadly force against them.

To see if Leo and his group of escapees get away from the CRM, tune into The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The series airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and is available to stream early on AMC+.