The Walking Dead Fanbase Braces For Rick’s Imminent Exit

Next week’s episode of The Walking Dead is a big one. A huge one, in fact.

Titled “What Comes After,” the fifth installment of The Walking Dead season 9 will also be Rick’s last, as Andrew Lincoln prepares to leave the zombie juggernaut for pastures anew.

Judging by last night’s promo, it’ll be a bittersweet finale for the show’s fearless leader, as he stumbles mindlessly towards ground zero. Which is to say that the visibly distressed Rick will be journeying back to Atlanta in the hope of evading a herd of flesh-munching zombies. Will he make it out alive? Or has he been doomed to the same fate as Carl Grimes? We’ll find out very soon indeed.

One thing’s immediately clear: not everyone is ready to say goodbye to Andrew Lincoln’s protagonist, as evidenced by the outpouring of support and emotional tributes that began circulating around Twitter yesterday evening.

IM LITERALLY SO EMOTIONAL. THAT PREVIEW GOT ME CRYING. IM NOT READY FOR NEXT WEEKS EPISODE. #TheWalkingDead

— The Walking Dead (@TWDFamilyy) October 29, 2018

1×01 “Days Gone Bye” x 9×05 “What Comes After.” #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/VCedDJLJlI

— The Walking Dead (@TWDFamilyy) October 29, 2018

#ForeverKingOfTheApocalypse

📷 AMC The Walking Dead pic.twitter.com/94zCb04Wwp

— Team Andy Lincoln (@TeamAndyLincoln) October 29, 2018

https://twitter.com/itscarlylouise/status/1056877506979131393

DID YOU GUYS SEE THE PREVIEW FOR RICK’S LAST EPISODE!? SO MANY SCENES PARALLEL THE PILOT!! 😩😰 #TheWalkingDead

— follow @twdufans (@FTWDFans) October 29, 2018

This season has been REALLY good. Hate to see Rick go, this feels like the old and perhaps better Walking Dead.

— 💀 (@SkullManiac28) October 29, 2018

https://twitter.com/RickAndThangs/status/1056731202810454016

All good things must come to an end, as the old saying goes, and while The Walking Dead has arguably stuttered in recent seasons, falling back on recycled ideas and trite drama, season 9 has been a marked improvement as the Powers That Be prepare to deliver a fitting finale to Rick Grimes, arguably the show’s most popular character.

In his absence, it seems Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) will soon inherit leading man duties, before Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) follows Rick out the exit door later in the season…

“What Comes After” is scheduled to air via AMC on Sunday, November 4th. It’ll no doubt mark a major sea change for The Walking Dead, too, as everyone begins to adjust to life without Rick Grimes. Don’t. Miss. It.