Well, that certainly did not go how we expected. Following the shock cliffhanger of the last episode, which saw him impaled on a rebar, it looked like Rick Grimes would be meeting his maker in Sunday night’s outing of The Walking Dead. However, in the end, the character made it out alive, as he was transported away on Anne’s helicopter, off to undertake new adventures in fresh pastures. Namely, those three TV movies that AMC’s ordered up.
But that wasn’t it for last night’s episode of TWD season 9, titled “What Comes After.” The final scene surprisingly jumped forward another six years, on top of the 18 month jump from the end of season 8, and gave us a hint at how things had changed since Rick’s disappearance. In particular, a bunch of new characters were introduced. Namely, Magna (Nadia Hilker), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), Kelly (Angel Theory), Luke (Dan Fogler) and Connie (Lauren Ridloff).
What’s more, a grown-up version of Judith Grimes also made her debut. Clad in the sheriff’s hat that once belonged to her father and then her brother, the roughly ten-year-old Judith was there to greet the new arrivals and made clear that she’d inherited Rick’s toughness and her adoptive mother Michonne’s badassery.
Though this was a surprising twist at the end of an already surprising episode, it does draw inspiration from the comics. The Walking Dead #127 likewise whisked forward by over half a decade and introduced Magna’s group at the same time. The moment the characters assemble by a shipping crate is even a homage to the cover of that very issue.
It’s also worth mentioning that Judith somewhat resembles the depiction of her late brother Carl Grimes in the comics at this point, as the character was much younger in the source material than he was when died on the last season of the TV show. It’s possible that Carl’s role in the comics will be filled in future by his sister, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
For now, though, tell us, did last night’s shocking ending make you excited for what’s to come next on The Walking Dead? Have your say in the comments section down below.
