Rick Grimes returns, although part of his body departs
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live | “Years”
Season 1, Episode 1
Airdate: 2/25/2024
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
Like a walker shambling off the ground after seemingly meeting its maker, I’m back for at least one more round of weekly Walking Dead reviews. This is for one reason only, and it’s not because the spinoffs coming out of the flagship program have actually proven to be pretty stellar. No, I’m back because Daddy Grimes is back.
That’s right, for the first time in over 5 years, Andrew Lincoln is back as Rick Grimes for an extended period in a series of episodes. And no matter how this all ends up panning out, it’s just really nice to see him again, and it’s nice to have a much clearer picture of what has happened to Rick in the 7-year-long absence he’s had from the flagship show’s timeline.
The Civic Republic Military, a recurring presence in the franchise and the main antagonists of “World Beyond” have been holding Rick in Philadelphia since they came into possession of him in late 2014, and seem to have completely broken him into submission the way that Negan could only have dreamed of doing. Rick tried his hardest to escape, but was foiled every single time. He even chops off his own left hand to try and make that happen, but even that fails.
CRM Leader Major General Beale, first referenced in the “World Beyond” spinoff, makes his first live appearance here, and says that the only reason that Rick is still alive after all those attempts is that Donald Okafor, the Lieutenant Colonel of the CRM, sees something special in him. He’s not happy about it, but when this episode begins, he has seemingly accepted his fate as a CRM soldier, and before it ends, he seemingly gives up on ever getting back to his old life.
That is, until someone shoots down his helicopter and he’s finally reunited with Michonne after a very long half-decade. The scene, set amidst a ton of carnage, is one of the most emotionally effective scenes in the entire history of the franchise, and we may have just only seen it from one of two angles.
While it can be assumed that next week belongs to Michonne and her journey to this moment, that takes nothing away from Andrew Lincoln’s stellar return to form here. He plays a much different version of Rick Grimes than we’re used to seeing, but he’s still very much Rick.
SCATTERED THOUGHTS:
- Everything about this show feels ridiculous, but looks fantastic, and that’s a trend that looks to continue going forward.
- The amount of cursing in this show is great. I remember the days when this show wasn’t allowed to use an f-bomb, and now they’re using it in every other scene. And that’s fine! People curse a lot!
- Rick actually does lose his hand early on in the comics, although that loss was decidedly not his own choice.
- Man, Lori really got the shaft in Rick’s dreams, huh?
- I do think most of the new cast really are pretty great, though. All of the spinoffs thus far have had fantastic casting, actually. King Bach is also going to be in this show for some reason, but it’s fine.
- Okafor is a great character, and it’s a shame to see him go this early. But, alas, that is The Walking Dead for you. At least he got quite possibly the coolest, most gruesome death in the franchise’s history. Also of note: He was the leader of those primarily responsible for bombing Atlanta and Los Angeles at the start of the outbreak, the latter of which may or may not be the only spoken “Fear The Walking Dead” tie-in.
- Pearl is also a great character, and plays well when matched up platonically with Rick. It’s a slightly less interesting version of Madison and Strand from “Fear” but it’s still fun to watch.
- I appreciate how Rick has the same haircut he had for most of the series, and I consider it a metaphor for the limbo he was stuck in.
- Rick and Pearl participate in a training exercise at Lincoln Financial Field, site of this year’s WrestleMania XL. As a wrestling fan, despite the mixed feelings I currently have regarding the industry, I thought that was pretty cool.
- The theme song for the show is a slightly remixed reprise of the music in the final episode of The Walking Dead, which I think is pretty fitting, although I still wish that scene happened post-credits.
- Another “Fear” connection that may be easily missed: in the map displayed throughout the opening credits, the nuclear blast zone from Seasons 6 and 7 can be seen.
- I wonder if Rick will ever find out that Daryl and Carol are all the way in France, although given the show’s timeline, it may be set somewhere in what ended up being Season 11 timeframe.
- There is a lot of franchise lore here that can only be truly understood by watching World Beyond, so I’d recommend checking that out if you haven’t yet. What happened in to the towns in Nebraska is specifically shown there.
- One has to wonder if Rick and Michonne will bump into Morgan at some point.
- Full disclosure: someone on Reddit claimed to be a captioner for the series and spoiled some pretty significant plot points for all six episodes, including the season’s final scene, and yes I did read them. I’m not sure if “captioner” is actually a real job or not, or if anything they said is true. But assuming it is, all I’ll say is we’re in for a rollercoaster ride and an ending that will be really affecting to a lot of people. And please, stop spoiling stuff.
BONUS: A Brief “The Walking Dead: Destinies” Game Review
The nicest thing I can say about The Walking Dead: Destinies is that it certainly allows you to take the story of the show (the narrative of which ends in the middle of Season 4 for some reason) in different, wild directions. The problem is that the execution of said story, and the game in general, is butchered and full of glitches, errors and bad gameplay. The best example of this is me allowing the entire Grimes family, including Carl, to be killed off rather early in the game and then the kid shows up at the end of the game anyway. Truly terrible game, no stars out of five.
One more thing…
Rick contemplates suicide at multiple points in the episode. This may be triggering for some who read this recap and watch the episode. With that in mind, I would like to share that the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. If you are struggling or someone you know is struggling and having suicidal thoughts, please give them a call. You matter, and your life matters.
See you next week.
