Warning, spoilers follow: With The Ones Who Live, fans of the zombie series The Walking Dead finally get the sequel they’ve been waiting for for years. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is back and experiences a shocking moment from the comic book in the first episode that the original series was too cowardly for.
Final spoiler warning!
The Ones Who Live finally delivers on one of the most brutal Rick moments in comics
It was probably the worst kept secret in the new The Walking Dead series. Long before the start, fans were wondering: Will Rick Grimes lose a hand? In the first few minutes of episode 1, The Ones Who Live delivers the shocking answer – with one of the cruelest The Walking Dead moments ever. Here you can find out exactly what happens.
Watch the German trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live here
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live – S01 Trailer (German) HD
This is how the shocking moment happens: Over 5 years after his exit from the original series, we learn what happened to Rick Grimes. He is held captive by the Civic Republic Military (CRM) and has to systematically slaughter the undead as a so-called consignee. This is intended to keep the “secret city” of Philadelphia safe. The desire to see his family again one day drives him to make a drastic attempt to escape.
To prevent Rick from escaping like this, he is tied to a soldier with a long cord during his “work”. In an unobserved moment He decisively grabs an ax and chops off his bound hand. He cauterizes the bleeding stump into a burning zombie. Which only makes this explicit and disgusting moment even worse? Rick’s attempt to escape fails – like several before.
Rick Grimes not only loses his hand, but also all hope, which ultimately leads him to surrender. Equipped with a prosthesis (including an integrated switchblade), he becomes a CRM soldier himself. There’s actually a long story behind Rick’s loss of his hand.
Andrew Lincoln fought for years to get Rick to lose his hand
Anyone who has read Robert Kirkman’s comic book series, on which the original series was based, can hardly imagine Rick Grimes with two hands. Because in the template, this is separated from him by the governor quite early in the story. The Walking Dead fans waited in vain for Rick’s hand moment for 9 seasons.
AMC
The “new” Rick Grimes
Andrew Lincoln unsuccessfully campaigned for years for Rick to lose his hand in the series adaptation, as he reveals to Entertainment Weekly:
There have been a number of conversations, particularly with AMC, with people saying, ‘Andy, we love the idea, but are you really sure about this?’ But I just thought, now it’s time to do what the comic did and honor that. I tried for years and everyone brushed me off.
It is not known why the makers of the zombie series were never able to bring themselves to this drastic comic moment. It was all the more bitter that another character suffered this fate right after Rick left the series.
In season 9, it was Aaron (Ross Marquand) who lost his arm in an accident with a tree trunk and from then on fought his way through the zombie apocalypse with a stylish morning star prosthesis.
The Ones Who Live is finally making up for this oversight and provides fans with an iconic moment between shock and satisfaction that directly shows us what is at stake in this story. In this spin-off, no one is safe – not even Rick’s hand.
What happens next in The Ones Who Live episode 2?
The first season of The Ones Who Live consists of six episodes, which are released weekly on Mondays on MagentaTV. Let’s continue Episode 2 on March 4, 2024. After the spin-off premiere is entirely dedicated to the story of Rick Grimes, episode 2 will instead Bringing Michonne into focus. Her lengthy search is highlighted before she is reunited with her husband.