‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘What Comes After’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

‘It’s all about slim chances now.’
-Rick Grimes, Episode 201: ‘What Lies Ahead’

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in Episode 905 of ‘The Walking Dead’ – ‘What Comes After’. (Photo Courtesy of Gene Page/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 905 of ‘The Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Sometimes, writing recaps for one's favorite television shows, is actually quite the difficult task. Because sometimes a particular episode isn’t quite up to snuff, and you do your best to pay tribute to a series that you love because you know this is a one off and the show will be back to normal, soon. Or, sometimes you watch something so profound and so powerful that it leaves you speechless. Or, in the case of last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, you struggle with the sheer beauty and outright philosophy that was presented to the audience because you expected a dark and powerful farewell to a beloved character, something that has sadly become a staple of the series over the past nine years.
 
But instead, ‘What Comes After’ found all kinds of ways to surprise us, by providing us with incredible twists and turns, the kind that led to some amazing announcements from AMC, but I’m getting ahead of myself right now, and we will get to all the surprises in a moment. Because Rick Grimes’ beautiful swan song in this story is what truly stands out as the biggest moment of the night. Yet, ironically enough, it’s not even time to discuss that quite yet, because first and foremost we have to discuss the resolution to an important plot point that’s been brewing for ages, specifically Maggie’s vendetta against Negan. Because her attempt to put him down, ended up leading to quite a poignant and hopeful moment for Maggie.
 
Which is weird to type to be honest because for the past two and a half years, Maggie has been in quite the dark place since revenge has outright consumed her and when someone gets to that point, there’s really no coming back from it. In fact, she was so ready to commit to this bloodthirsty plan of hers that even Michonne saw no hope in stopping her and just let her into the cell and that’s when the magic happened. Because in talking to Negan and hearing him beg for his death Mrs. Rhee came to learn that the monster she had been building up in her head all of this time, was nothing more than a man. One that was now broken by his past and his actions and that matters because in that moment, the Maggie we came to know and love on his show was reborn and she realized that this was the better way and with that matter resolved in the story it’s time we discuss the grand farewell of Rick Grimes.
 
Who, in his final moments in this episode, was forced to face everything in his life, both good and bad as he worked to lead the herd away from the communities and well, we learned a lot about Rick in these tear-jerking moments. I call them that, simply because it was surprisingly tough to see some of the people we’ve lost on the series over the past nine years return via hallucination, and it was equally as rough to hear Rick speak of the regret in his heart when it comes to losing them and how he felt responsible for all of their losses by way of poor decision making on his part and well, that made you feel for Rick since if it wasn’t for those tough decisions and his dedication to moving forward, his group wouldn’t be here right now and in many ways, this vignette served as the culmination of everything Rick has been dealing with this season and at long last he finally seemed to make peace with his past and his regrets. 

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Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in Episode 905 of ‘The Walking Dead’ – ‘What Comes After’. (Photo Courtesy of Gene Page/AMC.)

​Which is a great thing, because Rick Grimes finally saw how his friends, no, his family viewed him, as a hero, as a man who had a greater vision and Maggie sparing Negan’s life speaks to that, as did Rick’s final and difficult choice to destroy the bridge before the herd could cross it. Because by bringing it down, he would save so many lives, and he would ensure that the future would go on and well, while it was devastating to see everyone’s hearts shatter when the family watched the explosion seemingly consume him it is obvious now that Rick will live on both literally and figuratively. For his end on the series will no doubt become a rallying cry for unity among the communities and his story will in fact go on since Jadis/Anne was able to rescue him downriver with the help of her mysterious helicopter buddies.
 
Which is a storytelling decision that definitely drew ire from some fans on social media since the decision to let Rick live was deemed as ‘cheap’ or comparable to Glenn’s dumpster save in season six. But to me, letting Rick live means something more. Because this is a series about hope, about being able to carry on when we lose those we love because their loss should give us strength instead of breaking us and that sometimes just choosing to stand up and fight, when it comes to anything in our lives, can pay off in spades because we took a chance, a slim chance in some cases, which is why I included that particular quote in this recap, because it sums up Rick’s mantra so well, and it relates to how Rick inspires all of us.
 
And as an added bonus, I am indeed looking forward to the fact that Andrew Lincoln and Rick Grimes will return down the line in the upcoming Walking Dead movies that were announced on Talking Dead last night and I am fairly certain that this keeps the door open for Rick to return to the series as well, perhaps when it comes to its end, to give his family and a grown up Lil’ Ass-kicker the closure they so desperately need. But all, of that aside, holy cow, what a wonderful way to say goodbye to Rick Grimes. It was classy, and it was powerful, and it was beautiful in ways I didn’t think were possible and you really can’t ask for a better farewell for a character. 
 
However, I’d be lying if I said to all of you that the series won’t miss a beat without Rick Grimes, because it is in fact, going to be weird to not see Andrew Lincoln on the series anymore, and I am sure this move will send more viewers packing, and that’s okay. People are entitled to do as they please. But for me, I’m ready to step into this undiscovered country and see where it takes us, because having zombies in the mainstream is a dream come true, and I am on this ride until the end. So, I’ll be there next week when a new chapter of this saga begins, and I do have to take a moment to thank Andrew Lincoln for his outstanding work on this series. Because his magnificent interpretation of Rick Grimes, one that brought incredible depth to the character helped launch the living dead into the mainstream, and he will forever be an icon of horror because of that and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him bring iconic comic book moments to life and he will definitely be missed. But, much like life, the story goes on and I am fully ready to continue to the journey and see how the memory of Rick Grimes, inspires a better future…

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