Rick Grimes is finally returning in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, a new spinoff following Andrew Lincoln’s iconic character as he finally reunites with Danai Gurira’s Michonne. Together, Rick and Michonne will take on the villainous and powerful Civil Republic Military, which may be the most dangerous enemy they’ve faced so far in the apocalypse.
As the protagonist of The Walking Dead, Rick Grimes has a long and arduous journey leading up to The Ones Who Live. From the moment he woke up in a hospital bed in the series premiere to the day he was carried off in a helicopter in Season 9, Rick worked to build a new and better world for his family and friends.
Rick Wakes Up In The Apocalypse
In the opening episode of The Walking Dead, Sherriff’s Deputy Rick Grimes is shot in the line of duty and falls into a coma for several months. When he finally wakes up, he is shocked to find himself in a world overrun with the walking dead. Society has fallen apart and people are scattered to the winds, including his wife Lori and son Carl.
With the help of another survivor, Morgan Jones, Rick manages to track down his family, who, along with his best friend Shane Walsh, have joined a group of other refugees. Rick leads the group to the CDC in Atlanta in search of answers, only to discover a single survivor, Dr. Edwin Jenner, who informs them that the world’s situation is far worse than they thought. After offering them a chance to all perish together, Dr. Jenner eventually lets Rick and his friends go, knowing that the day will come when they will no longer be thankful for his mercy.
Rick And His Group Take Refuge On Hershel’s Farm
After some time on the road, Sophia Peletier, a young member of Rick’s group goes missing. While the group desperately searches for her, Carl is accidentally shot by a hunter. In desperate search of help, Rick and the group end up on the Greene family farm, where they remain as they search for Sophia and wait for Carl to heal.
The group faces multiple moral quandaries while staying on the farm, forcing Rick to grapple with what it means to survive in this new world. He also faces increasing opposition from Shane, whom he learns is in love with Lori, who is now pregnant with his child. Things culminate until Rick is eventually forced to kill Shane in self-defense just before the farm is overrun with walkers. On the road thereafter, Rick angrily declares himself the leader of the group, denying the other survivor’s right to argue and complain about his decisions. He also reveals that all people are infected with the lethal virus that ended the world and will turn into walkers, regardless of how they die.
Discovering The Prison And Conflict With Woodbury
“How you live, how you die… it isn’t up to me. I’m not your Governor.”
After several months on the road, Rick’s group grows to be more cohesive and resourceful, even though supplies are limited. Fortunately for them, they happen upon a massive prison, which they clear of walkers and turn into their new base of operations. Tragically, Rick’s wife Lori dies shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Judith.
Lori’s death sends Rick into a wave of depression, leaving him unprepared when the group comes in contact with another community known as Woodbury, run by the villainous Governor. However, with the help of an escaped Woodbury resident named Michonne, Rick and the group defeat the Governor. Rick then surprises everyone by accepting the surviving Woodbury residents into the prison to mend bridges and start anew.
After the conflict with Woodbury, the prison community grows and thrives for months. No longer functioning as the group’s leader, Rick attempts to lead a more peaceful life as a farmer, with Hershel Greene serving as his new mentor. However, things take a solemn turn for the worse when the Governor returns with a new group. The villain murders Hershel in front of everyone before burning the prison to the ground.
Although the Governor is killed in the resulting conflict, the damage is done and the prison is destroyed. With his group scattered to the wind, a wounded Rick travels with Carl in search of refuge, believing everyone–including Judith–to be dead. They reunite with Michonne and make their way toward the neighboring community of Terminus, but Rick is forced to brutally kill several bandits along the way, losing a piece of himself in the process. When they finally reach Terminus, they are shoved into train cars and held prisoners–but discover that the rest of their group is there too.
On The Road: Terminus, Losses, And A New Home
With the help of Carol Peletier, Rick, and the group raze the cannibalistic Terminites and take to the road. Along the way, the group is forced to endure some of the saddest deaths in The Walking Dead, as Bob Stooky, Beth Greene, and Tyrese Williams in the span of a few weeks. Rick and the group grow ragged and detached until they are barely hanging onto their humanity.
Just when the group needed it most, they were brought into the community of Alexandria, which remains safe and comfortable despite the apocalypse outside its walls. Rick starts to have feelings for Jessie Anderson, a member of the community whose abusive husband Pete is an increasing problem. Rick eventually has a breakdown, beating Pete within an inch of his life before giving an explosive speech to the other Alexandrians about their need to experience the real world. A few days later, Rick is given the green light to kill Pete when he drunkenly murders another member of the community.
Rick Becomes The Leader Of Alexandria
After Pete’s death, Rick began to take on more and more leadership roles in Alexandria, heading a charge to handle a large herd of walkers before it reached the gates. However, things go awry when a watchtower falls on Alexandria’s walls, letting the walkers into the city. Many people die in the ensuing slaughter, including Deanna, the community’s leader. However, Rick and the group manage to put down all the walkers within their gate and take back the city.
In the following months, Rick becomes the de facto leader of Alexandria and begins a romantic relationship with Michonne. At the behest of the Hilltop Community, Rick leads a charge against another group known as the Saviors, whom they think they defeat after a sneak attack at their base. However, Rick awakened a sleeping dragon with his attack, spurring the Saviors to retaliate. Not long after, Rick and eleven of his friends are captured and confronted by the Saviors’ leader, Negan.
Alexandria’s Subjugation To The Saviors
In his infamous lineup, Negan brutally murders Abraham and Glenn, forcing Rick into submission. Now subjugated to the Saviors, Alexandra is forced to give over a large portion of its supplies. Broken by his traumatic experience, Rick obeys Negan’s every command, believing that it will keep his people safe. However, when Rick discovers that Negan will still kill whomever he wishes, he resolves to rebel against the Saviors.
Over the rest of Season 7, Rick unites with some of The Walking Dead‘s best heroes from Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom to finally rid the world of the Saviors. Things come to a head in an epic battle in Alexandria, wherein an alliance between the three communities is finally solidified and the Saviors are sent running for the hills.
Rick Leads The Charge In The Savior War
Rick leads the coalition of communities in an all-out war against the Saviors, but the battle proves more difficult than he had thought. Things take a turn for the worse when Carl Grimes dies after suffering a walker bite, forcing Rick to take a deeper look at why he is fighting this battle against Negan.
Finally, the Saviors are defeated thanks to the sneaky shenanigans of Eugene Porter but things still come down to a one-on-one battle between Rick and Negan. Rick ultimately wins when he slices Negan’s throat. To everyone’s surprise, Rick gets Negan medical attention, honoring Carl’s dying wish to seek mercy over wrath. He vows to build a new world where everyone, even the surviving Saviors, can feel safe. However, this decision doesn’t land well with some people, including several of Rick’s closest friends like Daryl Dixon and Maggie Rhee, who plan to destroy the Saviors anyway.
Aftermath Of The War And Rick’s Disappearance
Eighteen months after the Savior War, Rick finds himself struggling to hold things together as the Saviors and the members of the other communities refuse to live together peacefully. He undertakes a massive building project to erect a bridge, which will make trade between the communities easier. However, Rick faces increasing opposition from even his closest allies, who can’t fathom why he is so insistent on protecting the Saviors.
When another walker horde enters the area, Rick is grievously injured while trying to turn them away. After struggling just ahead of the herd for hours, Rick leads them to the bridge, which he blows up, cutting off their root to the communities. With his friends and family watching from afar, Rick appears to die a heroic death that finally convinces the others to live in harmony with the Saviors. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Rick is secretly kidnapped by the CRM, whose soldiers mend his wounds and take him away in a helicopter. What becomes of Rick afterward will be the basis of the upcoming spinoff, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.