After nine seasons, Rick Grimes has been through an unimaginable amount of obstacles. The man who searched for his family. The man who formed a group. The man who led a community and not only protected them from the Walkers roaming the land, but also went head to head with the likes of the Governor, Terminous and Negan. He’s had to see the deaths of his best friend, his wife and his own son. Now, after defeating Negan and uniting the communities, Rick is on one last mission. A mission he must complete on his own, both for his people and his own soul.

Now, in his final stand, Rick Grimes says goodbye to his family.

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Mortally wounded after falling off his spooked horse and being impaled by a metal rod through his side, Rick pulls himself back up, hops on his horse and slowly rides, leading the large herd of Walkers away from the community. Through this slow travel, Rick is losing more and more blood, causing him to fade in and out of consciousness. Every moment Rick closes his eyes, his mind takes us to past moments in his life, where he is confronted by people from his past. Shane (Jon Bernthal, who we now know as Frank Castle on Marvel’s The Punisher), Herschel (the recently passed Scott Wilson), and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green, who now stars on Star Trek: Discovery) all make key appearances, helping to guide Rick in making amends with his past actions and reminding him to wake up before a Walker catches up to him.

While Rick is on his sacrificial ride, Maggie gains the opportunity to confront Negan and take vengeance upon the man who killed Glenn. Obtaining the keys to his cell from Michonne, Maggie stood before his cell and made Negan get down on his knees. However, what she was confronted with was a shell of what Negan was. Now, Negan was broken and praying for death. With death seeming like too much of a relief for him, Maggie decided to throw him back in his cell, keeping him alive as his punishment for life.

Meanwhile, Rick is able to lead the herd to the yet-to-be-completed bridge, hoping the weight of the herd would make it collapse, but it doesn’t work. With the rest of the community, lead by Daryl, Michonne, Maggie and Carol, spotting Rick and trying to save him, Rick sees only one last resort: shooting at the spilled dynamite on the bridge before any of the herd attack his family. With his final words being that he “found them,” Rick fires a round that blows he and the bridge away, burning the Walkers and sending them to their watery grave. Michonne is overcome with emotion as Maggie and Carol try to console her. Dayrl, with a quivery bottom lip and stunned look, can only turn and walk away from the sight of the ultimate sacrifice of the man he once called his brother.

However, we learn the truth behind this episode. It is not the end of Rick Grimes, but the end of Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead. Rick slowly opens his eyes and sees the face of Anne aka Jadis, telling him that he is going to be okay. Rick looks out a side window and learns that he is in a helicopter flying away from the communities. As the helicopter disappears, the series makes another time jump and we are greeted by a nine-year-old Judith who is carrying a gun, sword and wearing her father’s hat, helping lead some innocents to safety.

Writer Scott M. Gimple later said on AMC’s Talking Dead that Rick will be the main character in three upcoming AMC Original films following the character’s continuing story. So, while he may no longer be on The Walking Dead, we have not seen the last of Rick Grimes.

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