It started at the end of this episode with him reading Carl's letter.
Rick's depravity and redemption has been a a theme throughout the series. Hell, just in the Negan Arc, Rick started out murdering what he thought was all of the Saviors. Then, he wanted to let them all go, thinking Negan was the only one at "the Sanctuary" that should die. Now, he blames himself for letting Siddiq live, resulting in Carl's death, so everyone dies again. Next week?
And it's not just Rick; Maggie, Carl, Morgan, Carol, etc. All have gone back and forth a couple times.
And this is the problem with the show....this endless moral equivocation that should have been resolved back when Dale was killed in the second season. Dale being the focus of hanging on to the old values before the infection. If Shane had not gone insane, he would have been the right leader for this “new world”, not Rick.