An era in The Walking Dead has just come to an end. Rick Grimes for the better part of The Walking Dead has always tried to implement diplomacy instead of being the aggressor as a first tactic. This has provided many successes and consequences for him and the people he leads. His last success has been to calm down Governor Milton and her army into relinquishing their power and allow for the Commonwealth to begin the process of electing a new leader to help usher them into a more just society. Yet the aftermath of this success has grave consequences for Rick that will change the entire Walking Dead community going forward.
The Good:
Once again Rick Grimes shows us how an effective leader should act in various situations to ensure what is best for his people. This is primarily done through Rick’s speech where he highlights the accomplishments of the Commonwealth and how they have taken back society from the walking dead. Furthermore, Rick goes on to compliment what the citizens have built in their community. As he is doing this he begins to take off his prosthetic arm to make it clear that people have been scarred along the way as a means to build this community. His speech and his scars shows he has suffered along with the hope of building a better society. Moving forward, it instantly ends the fighting between the two forces in the Commonwealth as they begin to come together to help fix the damage that has been caused. Following the Commonwealth reunion, the comic begins to foreshadow an event that will happen to either Rick or Carl as they have a father-son moment talking about when to stand up for what is right. Throughout this interaction Carl is wondering how his father always knows what to do and how he does it, while also admiring him. Rick, much like Carl, admires him also and realizes his son will also do the right thing and it is a moment of reassurance that he raised him well. This is only highlighted more as Rick’s room is swung open when Sebastian comes in with a gun pointed at him. After a heated conversation of Rick attempting to calm Sebastian down, who is upset about his mom being out of power, shoots Rick in the chest with the intent to kill him. This highlights how differently Rick and Pamela raised their kids in the post apocalyptical world and how they deal with the changes that are constantly occurring around them. Furthermore, this action makes it clear that both the Commonwealth and the Four Communities have lost their most effective leader and that it will have a massive effect on how they move forward in dealing with their daily operations within and outside of their respective societies.
The Bad:
The main problem with the comic is that it quickly solves a complex problem that should have been drawn out over several issues and that is the showdown between Rick and Pamela. In quickly solving this circumstance it cheapens what has been developed over the last 20 plus issues since the Commonwealth was first discovered. The second problem with the comic is that Sebastian shooting Rick is a monumental moment in The Walking Dead, but was introduced almost as an afterthought as a way to lead into the next issue. In doing this it seems that the last 190 issues of witnessing Rick’s leadership evolve and his diplomacy and ideas were all for naught. His death raises questions on the direction of The Walking Dead series as in many ways Rick was the glue to that comic’s success.
The Verdict:
Clearly Rick Grimes has been shot and that should be enough to read this issue of The Walking Dead. But the issue goes further than that as it captures how effective Rick has been as a leader, a father, the influence he has had on his own people, and how it has led to the thriving of the Four Communities. Without a doubt, this issue is a must read as it captures the legacy of Rick Grimes and sends him off into the sunset in a blaze of glory The Walking Dead way.
