The Maze Runner: Thomas’s Most Morally Dubious Choices

Breaking the Number One Rule

To save Alby and Minho, Thomas runs straight into the Maze before anyone can stop him. He breaks the first and most important rule: no one enters the Maze at night. By doing so, Thomas undermines Gally’s authority and disrupts the fragile social order that kept the Gladers alive for three years. His arrival ultimately shakes the entire Glade.

Stinging Himself with Griever Venom

Desperate times call for desperate measures, but this choice bordered on suicide. Without knowing the consequences, Thomas stings himself with Griever venom to recover his memories. The Gladers are forced to use their last vial of Grief Serum to keep him alive, turning him into a heavy burden for Newt and Teresa, who struggle to save him.

Leading the Escape (and Getting Chuck Killed)

Gally warned Thomas that trying to escape the Maze would end in disaster. Thomas pushes forward anyway, determined to find freedom—at a devastating cost. The Gladers lose multiple members, and the most heartbreaking loss is Chuck, one of the group’s purest and most innocent boys.

Giving Winston the Gun

As the Crank infection slowly overtakes Winston, Thomas chooses to leave him behind with a gun and a single bullet. While it is a mercy killing in essence, the moment is chilling. Walking away as the distant gunshot rings out leaves Thomas with a dark burden no leader should have to carry.

Leading the Group Blindly into the Scorc

Thomas leads the group into another fight for freedom, following nothing but his gut. He convinces them to abandon the safety of Janson and the scientists who kept them fed and alive. Once in the Scorch, they’re stranded in a hostile, radioactive wasteland with no food or water. The decision nearly kills them all through dehydration, lightning storms, and Crank attacks.

Risking Everyone to Save Minho

In The Death Cure, Thomas risks everything to save Minho. Newt, Frypan, and Brenda all endanger their lives—and the Right Arm resistance—for Thomas’s personal mission. By prioritizing his best friend over the survival of humanity, he essentially sparks a war for just one person.

Kidnapping Teres

Even though Teresa betrayed him, Thomas crosses a major ethical line by using her as a human keycard to infiltrate WICKED. It’s a ruthless move that makes him appear manipulative and morally compromised. He exploits her lingering feelings for him, treating her more as a tool than a person during the first half of the heist.

Refusing to Cooperate for the Cure

Throughout the trilogy, Thomas repeatedly refuses to let WICKED harvest his blood to create a cure for the Flare. While his distrust is understandable, his actions are ultimately selfish. Because Thomas’s blood could save humanity, his constant running essentially condemns millions to slow, painful deaths.

Killing Newt

Newt’s death is an act of mercy, but a tragic one. As Newt loses his mind to the Flare, Thomas gives him a peaceful end. The guilt haunts him, especially because he had the serum in his pocket. Had he arrived just minutes earlier, Newt might have been saved.

Abandoning the Rest of the World

The series ends with the survivors settling in the Safe Haven and choosing to abandon the dying world. It’s a peaceful ending for them but a bleak one for humanity. Thomas carries the cure in his blood, yet chooses a secluded island where it can save no one but his friends. In choosing peace, he condemns the rest of humanity to extinction.