4 ways Rick Grimes could make his exit on The Walking Dead

With news of Andrew Lincoln exiting The Walking Dead after season 9, fans wonder how Rick Grimes will exit the show, and if he’ll do so dead or alive.

Update: This article has been updated to include new theories per the start of season 9 of The Walking Dead.

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Andrew Lincoln — aka Rick Grimes — is facing the end of his time on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Just three episodes into season 9, and we now know Rick’s final episode will come in episode 5, titled “What Comes After.” We knew Rick would leave his loved ones and the show at some point this season, but how his journey ends exactly is still a mystery.

It’s hard to fathom the end of Rick. We began this whole journey with him, as he awoke in a hospital, confused and alone, only to find a world gone dark and taken over by the dead. Since the series premiere in October 2010, Rick has seen and done so, so, so much.

The first group of survivors he met up with included fan favorites Glenn and Daryl. He was reunited with his wife Lori and son Carl, and soon learned how his friend Shane had uh, been seeing Lori while Rick was unconscious in the hospital. There was the CDC, Hershel’s farm, the prison, the Governor, Terminus, and Alexandria.

Despite chaos, violence, and a whole lot of loss and death, Rick survived. He nearly met his end when he went up against the toughest villain yet on the show — Negan. Even then, Rick persevered.

It doesn’t seem possible that anything could take Rick Grimes out, but something just might as his character has to exit someway, somehow in season 9. We preview what those possible exits could be.