Does Rick die in The Walking Dead?

With a Walking Dead spin-off coming up, in which Rick is front and center, everybody’s asking: Didn’t he die? Where did he go?  This article breaks down Rick’s story, answers some burning questions (like does Rick die in The Walking Dead), and looks at what might be coming next. Let’s dive in.

Does Rick die in The Walking Dead?

Rick Grimes died while blowing up a bridge to save his community from a horde of walkers — or so it seemed. To the rest of the characters on the show, until the series finale aired, he was as good as dead. But we see later that Jadis rescued him and took him away by helicopter to an unknown location. The aircraft belonged to the Civic Republic Military. In the series finale, we find out that Rick is being held captive by them.

So, Rick did not die in the series.

What happened to Rick in The Walking Dead?

Shot on duty as the Sheriff’s Deputy, Rick wakes up from a coma to discover a world overrun by the undead. As the show goes on, Rick’s primary role becomes one of guiding survivors through a post-apocalyptic world.

Rick loses his wife, Lori, to childbirth. His leadership, not without controversy, sees the group through fights with other survivor factions like The Governor’s Woodbury, Terminus, the Saviors led by Negan, and more.

Rick almost dies in season 9. To divert a massive horde of walkers and save the community, he destroys a bridge and gets caught in the explosion. The community believes Rick died and sticks to this belief for a long time—until the big reveal.

But Rick survives the explosion. Jadis (also known as Anne) finds him, who’s in communication with the Civic Republic Military (CR). She arranges a helicopter to airlift an injured Rick to an undisclosed location. After this, Rick doesn’t appear on the show much.

The exact details of Rick’s time with the CR and whereabouts after being airlifted are unknown. That’s what the spin-off is about; at least, that’s what we’re hoping for. We saw a glimpse of what had happened to him with CR in the series finale — maybe he didn’t have the best time in his years after the explosion.

Is Rick coming back to The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead ended after 11 seasons, two of which didn’t feature Rick. The complete series is streaming on Netflix.

While Rick Grimes leaves the show at the end of season 9, his story is far from over. He’ll be starring in the spin-off The Ones Who Live.

When is the Rick and Michonne spin-off coming out?

The first episode of the spin-off was released on February 25, 2024, on AMC and AMC+. The following episodes were released weekly, with the finale airing on March 31, 2024.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will focus on Rick Grimes and Michonne. The zombies are still around, so the spin-off continues in an apocalyptic world, probably with a stronger focus on their iconic love story.

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