We knew we'd be saying goodbye to the main character of The Walking Dead tonight, and now we know how Rick Grimes checked out. Major SPOILERS follow.
Despite all signs pointing to Rick's demise, he actually survived and the door is open for Andrew Lincoln to return some day! The majority of the episode dealt with a seriously injured Rick searching for his "family" while experiencing visions of long-gone friends and foes - including the late Scott Wilson as Herschel Green - until he finally led the walker herd to the bridge.
There, Michonne, Maggie, Daryl and the others came to their leader's rescue, but Rick knew he was on borrowed time and had only one option left.
Grimes fired at some sticks of dynamite that'd been knocked over by a walker, blowing the bridge - and, seemingly, himself - to smithereens. However, when we returned from break it was revealed that Rick had actually been blown into the river, only to be discovered washed-up on the bank by Anne, who persuaded the pilot of that mysterious helicopter to rescue him.
So, Rick survives... and contrary to what we'd been led to believe, it will not be the last we see of him!
During an interview on The Talking Dead, EP Scott Gimple announced that Lincoln will reprise his role as Rick in a series AMC original Walking Dead movies. We don't have too much more to go on for now, but this is very exciting news for fans of the character.
Check out a promo for the next episode below (new characters, time-jump, older badass Judith!), and be sure to share your thoughts on all of these huge developments in the usual place.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.