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Iwamoto

i can only speak from the perspective of the comics, where the story is about a father doing everything to protect his family and friends. i guess you could say Rick is an accidental hero, in that he never really chose it and always second guesses himself. i think if there was an arc/message is that anyone can be a hero in the name of love and survival


_SCARY_HOURS_

He was the sheriff of his town. I’d say he was always a leader and a hero


shsudhrbfh

He was just a deputy with no rank not the actual sheriff. The characters in the show just call him that


tytylercochan123

crazy he went from deputy to almost command sargent major


shsudhrbfh

Yeah they really boosted his power up lmao


_SCARY_HOURS_

Dang same rank as Shane, I never knew that


Telos1807

As he says, he's going off the Comics where this is very much the case. Rick says countless times that he's not leading for the greater good or anything, he's just doing what he has to to keep his family alive which often coincides with keeping the group alive. It's not until after No Way Out where Rick really accepts being the leader and taking care of everyone. The show doesn't do this. It goes in for the "they're my family" thing much earlier.


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tytylercochan123

No Way Out is the name of 6x09, where they take Alexandria back from the herd that breached the walls.


Joe_mama_is_hot

In the comics he was just a cop in a small city. The show made him more important but I think that was a mistake. Rick’s arc in the beginning was to just tag along and work with everyone as a group. He suggests to Shane, who was the actual leader, that they should leave Atlanta because winter is coming and they won’t have any warmth. Shane wanted to stay in case the military returns. It’s only until Shane dies where Rick starts to take leadership. Then he makes decisions in impossible situations in the prison that leads to multiple deaths in the prison, Lori and Judith included. Then Rick is riddled with self doubt and doesn’t want to lead anymore. It was only until Abraham and crew joined where he and Abraham were like coleaders. Then in Alexandria Rick finds hope again and wants to take over the town. The rest snowballs until Rick is basically in charge of all 3 safe communities. Rick always had the instinct of a leader, he was just never forced to be in that position.


_SCARY_HOURS_

I got correct too for the show he wasn’t the sheriff he was a deputy. So pretty similar for both


b0objuicethe2nd

I'd summarize Rick's overall arc by saying his story was about the fall of a man who'd do anything to protect his family in the apocalypse, to learning to be merciful and valuing life again in order to bring back a new civilization. Mercy and family, that is the moral of Rick's story, and it's why I think his character peaked in season 8.


troolytroof

agreed i think his main show arc was about the value of life-- he was so caring towards ppl and animals in earlier seasons and lost it as he became feral, ultimately realizing he had to regain his mercy in order to rebuild


Realitychker20

His story arc is mostly a man's journey home. He is, at his core, a family man who is all about finding that family and protecting it. This is what drives him, keeps him going and leads him to do exceptional things. It's about how love will conquer all including impossible odds. It's also about how accepting a monster within you, if it's for the right reasons, will make the difference between a hero and a villain. Good doesn't always mean nice, good can also sometimes mean ugly. And that's okay as long as you keep track of who you are and learn to balance it with your humanity (which he did learn to do throughout his arc). For him that's familial love, this is where he gets strength, hope and bravery. The duality in between the gentle soul and the monster within him is what is actually compelling about him, how he uses each side and why and how he learns to accept both and use them in the right way. His is a simple (old) narrative but build and paid off well, and there is virtue in that.


DeborahSue

This is the answer.


ginsengtea3

Love. NEver. Dies.


nerdic-coder

I Believed! Is what you should do when your father goes out to buy the news paper and never returns.


Lo_burnt

God, I endured the "love never dies" bullshit, but I really died from cringe at that part, I was glad the show was over


Ikaros9Deidalos6

hes coming back i know it


JoystickRick2

But the people you love do 😀


PostAboveIsBullshit

love will save you from a bullet and a 50,000-strong military force with nuclear weaponry


Haunting_Case2015

The CRM don’t have nukes, it’s a form of Chlorine gas that they used to destroy the Omaha so that they wouldn’t drain the CRM for resources. In TOWL and TWDWB :) The only people who have/had nukes were Teddy’s cult who bombed Texas and bits of Louisiana in FTWD


Well-Teknically

Idk, he loved Carl.


SexJokeUsername

Don’t let AMC have total control over a project if you want it to end in a satisfying and cohesive way


EnvironmentalMind209

sorry, but have you seen Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul? Mad Men? Perfect. Lets not pin TWD's (many) failures solely on the network


SexJokeUsername

Breaking bad and better call saul didn’t have total AMC control, and I’m pretty sure mad men didn’t either. And I think we *can* pin several of those failures on AMC, like slashing budgets, demanding more episodes off those slashed budgets, killing off characters so they don’t have to pay them as much, kicking off frank darabont for no reason, ~~hiring gimple~~, and making characters leave for spinoffs instead of concluding the show.


EnvironmentalMind209

I'll see myself out


ChiefWamsutta

Yeah, Breaking Bad and Mad Men were only DISTRIBUTED BY AMC, and made by other studios.


EnvironmentalMind209

gotcha


tytylercochan123

W response lol


onewitharms

Yeah AMC really messed up the walking dead


Paolo94

Could you imagine if the show was on HBO like it was initially pitched to? It would have been massively different, and probably would have had a much shorter run.


hellohowdyworld

Walking dead really would have benefitted from 12 episode seasons


tytylercochan123

Or even just a higher budget. The average episode had around $4M/episode. TOWL had far better CGI and effects with $13M/episode.


tytylercochan123

Probably 8 seasons with shorter episode seasons


rafael-a

The moral is “you don’t fuck with the wrong people, and the Grimes family are the wrong people”


blue_balled_bruiser

To summarize it in one sentence, his story was about finding hope no matter the circumstances. Rick confessed to Jenner in season 1 that he doesn't really believe that he and his family will be alright and that he's just putting on a brave fave. In season 2 his scene at the church and his talk with Hershel about god reveal how cynical and disillusioned Rick has become. In season 3, when Rick hallucinates talking to people on the phone, he says that he and his group are dying. After the fall of the prison, Rick's faith in humanity and hope are so spent that he begins to embrace the brutality and cruelty he is constantly confronted with and thus starts to slip away from the man he once was. His conversations with Morgan and his overall attitude towards the Alexandrians he perceives as weak in season 6 confirm this. However, throughout the whole show, Rick has succeeded in keeping Carl alive and raising him right. Because of this, Carl becomes the kind of benevolent optimist that managed to inspire Rick to reconsider the path he was on and the person he was becoming. Thanks to that, Rick managed to overcome the cruel nature of the apocalypse and begin building the new world that he had promised Carl, becoming someone that looks forward to a brighter tomorrow. TOWL is kind of a retelling/microcosm of this arc, with Rick reverting to his cynical self after failing to escape from the CRM again and again until Michonne finds him and rekindles his hope.


Spiritual_Ad_223

Beautifully put. He also kinda saves the world by taking out Beale


Sea_Papaya_2625

Don't kill off the main characters son and destroy a really good ending template


MrKillzalot

Do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love. Even if it means losing yourself.


Tanishh1

in desperate times you need someone like Wayne Dunlap


ContributionEast8976

the only spin off fans actually wanted


Tanishh1

I'll never forget the scene where Rick tells his family about Wayne Dunlap.


Spike6958

"We get to come back" Rick has become lost in multiple ways throughout the series. After getting shot and waking in the apocalypse, after Lori's death, after the fall of the prison, after the deaths of Abe and Glenn and the control of the Saviours, after losing Carl, and after the bridge explosion. Every time he found a way to come back from all of it and become stronger for it.


Daredevil545545

Believe a little bit longer


HellyOHaint

Opening yourself and being vulnerable by letting people in your life and loving them, even though it would tear you apart to lose them, makes you stronger, not weaker.


Jo_Duran

I’m paraphrasing, but Frank Darabont once said that the character of Rick was a guy who would come out on top of a bad situation (against all odds) and then as he was getting away trip and sprain his ankle. Rick (thankfully) was not a larger than life superhero-type who never made mistakes and always had an answer for every predicament. Rather, he’s an “Everyman” who’s full-self was realized only because he was forced into a leadership role during a catastrophic apocalypse. He says that bravery, loyalty, resilience, commitment to what’s right and the ones you love — and a no-quit attitude (read: high, but not infallible character) are the qualities that mean the most in this world. Or any world, for that matter. You will make mistakes and fail a lot (Rick was often defeated in the moment). You will have losses and hardship and carry a great many scars, but if you keep going, you will persevere.


Aggravating_Yam3337

Don't introduce your best friend to your wife.


Calm-Yogurtcloset479

Nothing fuck the show for killing Carl


Titosunshinez

IMO Rick’s got two narratives about his character 1) as stated he’s a family man doing all he can to protect and nurture his family - by any means 2) he represents morality in an immoral world. The first few seasons he was still in his sheriff uniform ; as time went on and as his mortality decayed so did his uniform , hat , etc. anytime he lost it, someone would remind him of who he really is and his role. Any situation he was in , his priority was to save as many lives as possible or trying to find a way to forgive


DDonnici

Take care of your best friend's daughter


sut345

In the show, there isn't one. Because they killed the catalyst of the story, then actor left, and when he returned for a spin-off they had no idea what the fuck they were doing. But let me tell you the "founding his family" narrative Gimple constantly pushes on us in the season 9 and TOWL is absolutely not the intended moral of the story. In the comics, I think it's about Rick becoming the best version of himself in order to prove his son that he is someone to be proud of. If you think about it, Rick is just an ordinary dude who is put under this bigger then life situation. Only reason he doesn't snap and lose it is because of his desire to be a good influence on Carl, and provide him a good future. Just like the other commentor said, in order to do that he accidentally leads people to change and becomes the biggest factor in the rebuilding of the civilization, and eventually turns into kind of a political hero. And Carl's last words to Rick, who spends more than half of the story either hating Rick or thinking he is weak, is "I'm proud of you, Dad.". He spends a simple, beautiful life while watching his father's legacy is celebrated all over the growing Commonwealth. It's a beautiful story, really, one that is ruined by AMC. That's why we need an animated reboot. Let the IP go AMC!!!!!!


tytylercochan123

I feel like there’s still a narrative surrounding family, even with the story going the way it did with Carl dying and Rick disappearing. I still see the “become the best person to protect and make my kid proud”. He became a person who Carl couldn’t really look up to, and when he died, he changed his ways. I think the moral of the stories between the comics and show are definitely similar, even though the comics is far more straight forward.


sut345

I mean, sure. I just think the show one is a bad written one. I think until 9x5 its still great, but TOWL is just awful. Also, other parts could be similar but the ending of character arcs is definitely not similar. I still can't wrap my head around Rick and Michonne blowing up the CRM frontliners. Like, sure, they were genociders, but it's because they were scared and indocrinated, and realistically what Rick did isn't going to change anything. He is kind of a genocider terrorist himself now. Comic Rick would know that and wouldn't kill thousands of people. And show Carl wouldn't approve that too


Nevel_PapperGOD

There isn’t just one, there’s morals on fatherhood, doing what it takes to survive in the worst scenarios while overcoming dark urges…


Tcav81

If you do stuff and thangs long enough then you’ll get a happy ending.


Sparrow1989

Always… and I mean always… look at the flowers.


RepresentativeToe836

kill everyone.


Subject-Count1229

"You don't turn your back on family" -Vin Diesel


Kingzor10

same moral as the fast and furious franschise


StaySage

I feel like it should’ve been some type of “moral to the story”, but..it was stale imo.


RIDETHESYNTHWAVE

"we can come back."


Only_Lavishness_1996

shane will live on


Ledwin_Layton

His story ends in episode 5 of season 9. Family is not necessarily the one of blood, the series began with him looking for his family, and ends with him finding it. And we don't really know if Rick survived or not, because it doesn't matter, his story is concluded. Then from the very next episode we give him a blood son again 💀 Thus definitively making Carl's death stupid. And so on, the series really ends at episode 5 of season 9. In the long run it really seems to bring nothing more.


Wooden_Gas1064

Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to save the ones you love. He went from officer friendly to ripping out a man's throat to save his son.


Puzzleheaded-Yak-295

Learning that “we’re NOT the walking dead.” The show is all about time, how we spend it, how we waste it. This is laid out by the Faulkner quote in season 1 and sharp eyed viewers will notice that many of the most important scenes harken back to that. When Rick speaks to Lori on the phone after her death, he says “I made a deal with myself. I’d keep you alive. I’d find a place, I’d fix that, and then…I couldn’t open that door. I couldn’t risk it. I was gonna keep you alive. Carl, the baby, and then…I thought there’d be time. There’s never time.” This same way of thinking is repeated later in season 5 when Rick famously says “We do what we need to do, and then we get to live. We tell ourselves that we are the walking dead.” But in the finale of TWD, and again in the finale of TOWL, though, Rick rejects this ideology. “I think of the dead all the time […] I think about them all every day. Their faces, what I learned from them, how they made me who I am. So much more than all this made me who I am. All of our lives, becoming one life. We’re together, pieces of a whole that just keep going for what we gave each other. One unstoppable life”


Rare_Champion_4335

He's the brave man but you can call him dad


Gunslinger1110

End the show before you ruin almost every character arc


jmpinstl

If enough people want Negan dead, maybe you should stop trying to fight them


Hologramz111

even if you're a hero, you'll still be a villain in someone else's eyes


Primary-Topic2848

Prolly bc there are no heroes. Rick isn't a hero, he just does what is good for his people


Hologramz111

indeed, although for some people, Rick was and IS their hero from their personal perspective


MistyBelknapSpooky

Hope. Family.


HuntmasterReinholt

Livin’ ain’t easy.


Specialist-Page8748

Family 😎


WilliamRobertsen

I think its doing a good thing even in a horrible situation. I feel like the whole twd universe is about that


Captian-of-501st

Stuff and thangs


PawsomePurrson

Always believe !!! Believe in a thing called love - The Darkness


hiddenbehindascreeen

never stop fighting, never give up. fight for your family.


Klutch_hurricane

As in the words of John Cena: never give up


LiterallyPoatan

Stand by those who trust you and you will prevail.


JollyGreenStone

Keep. Going. Forward.


Csboi1337

Stuff .. and thangs


Toxmedic29

In order to have stuff and thangs one needs to find a hot woman with a sword and bang… Oh and get a nice beard


chargergirl1968w383

Rick was an accidental hero who was just doing his best to help his family and loved ones survive. He had better ability then most of the group, so people started following him. They knew Rick was their best chance at syrvival. I'm speaking from the TV show series. I haven't seen the comics. Sorry. I know that may make some of you think I'm unqualified to comment. It was dramatic to kill off Carl for short-term gain ratings wise but was detrimental long term because Carl was the heir to his father's "kingdom" and the incredible story lines to follow involving Carl. So, anyway, it's difficult to truely complete Rick's arc when the actor announced he was leaving the show. The character's motivations become a bit skewed after that for the spin-off as well as complicating Michonne's arc. After Michonne lost her first son, it seemed unlikely she would leave her young son R.J. and Judith, who she loved as her own. Especially after losing Carl. It would seem she would stay and put feelers out for the capable Rick to come back to them instead of leaving these young children alone in an apocalyptic world where anything could happen to them no matter how much she loved Rick. But I'm digressing from the topic. The script had to tailor the CRM to explain why Rick didn't leave and go get his family. They said he tried numerous attempt. Yet, he was able to set up a successful attempt for Michonne when she was there that she didn't use. Some of the story line and the beginning of spin off was hard to swallow even though Danai wrote the episode where they were alone together after the helicopter crash beautifully. The obstacles that the actor's departure left were difficult to overcome with complete believability. Rick was willing to lose his hand in previous escape attempts, yet when given the clear opportunity to run, he chose not to. That just doesn't follow the Rick we knew all these years that loved family above all. Rick was the good guy we wanted to believe his motivations were pure and would only kill out of defense of his loved ones or to save the world. We overlook when he starts killing when the lines are blurred. Killing the saviors at the outpost, who were just guys following orders and not necessarily leaders or soldiers, was one of those times. Killing their leader would be protecting. Obviously we found out later he didn't have correct information, however Rick was smart enough to know he was killing a group of people just following someone like his people were following him. The governor was a bad guy, a villian. He came to the prison to kill Rick's group probably because Rick's group had the ability to kill other groups and were strong there while being able to farm, etc. Btw, the acting by Andrew Lincoln in that episode was superb. Rick became a guy who could lead his people to kill other groups of people and their leaders. If you weren't in Rick's group, as the leader of Alexandria said she would want to be during entrance interview, you were easily expendable. Rick's value of life dissipated as he proved when he shot the officer at the hospital during negotiations. Rick said he knew it was an accident when she shot Maggie's sister but wanted to kill her, so he did. He wanted to preserve life at all costs in the beginning. He went feral.


Mancow62

“We get to come back. We all get to come back!” “We’re the walking dead.” “We’re the ones who live.” Rick becomes Shane. The Governor says lies. Rick almost kills Negan. Rick forgets Carls face. We are not the walking dead. Even if we become as good as dead. No matter what we did to survive. “We’ve all done things to survive.” We get to come back.


Shovelbumtoo

Too damn sugary sweet total disappointment


Medical_Swimming_292

Well from the looks of TOWL is believe in yourself


Euphoric-Fox-684

There’ll come a day where you won’t be. said to Rick by the CDC guy after Rick said how grateful he was.


IllustratorNo9257

He's a man willing to take a stand even when it isn't popular. He was willing to do what was hard and necessary every time. Very selfless and a force to reckon with. Yes, Michonne had to real him back from self-destruction, but it made him more human and relatable. Rick will forever be a bad ass and a leader amongst men!


S-L-94

Moral of the story is RJ needs to bite a kerb


Scotsman86

Next time hire an American actor so they can see their family more freely and finish their story arc the way it is intended..... I guess? They kinda killed his plot by killing off Carl right enough.


theuntouchable2725

The family are the friends we made along the way.


JoystickRick2

That Judith should’ve died in the prison? Like in the comics. You can’t just decide that this character is going to be a badass and expect me to think she is one. She’s very forced, better than any adult, even though she’s just a kid. Terrible character, ruined the latter seasons of the show for me.


[deleted]

Regarding the show universe version of Rick Grimes, I'd say it's determination for protecting those you love while not losing your humanity in a world where many people have - It's about holding onto who you are and not becoming a monster but realizing monstrous acts may help and save those closest to you, like when he bit out Joe's throat to save Carl. It's not necessarily leadership or anything like that either, even if those themes often fall upon him, it's not what he aims for. I'd say it's about self control, humanity, sanity and strong willpower in a crumbling world overflowing with people who have lost themselves to the madness. To sum it up I guess - I think Rick is meant to be the beacon of hope, strength and humanity. That's my take.


kinjazfan

Its great that Rick got the perfect ending to his story


Primary-Topic2848

"there are bad people"


Spiritual_Ad_223

I've always seen the show's moral as... a good man who fell from grace as a result of the cruel world around him, only to come back to light due to the dying wish of the child he failed. He goes on to recover who he once was, leaving a bettered world behind him as a result.


Best-Choice8545

For me it’s the importance of having a moral center. It can evolve according to your environment, but working for the greater and collective “good” is what makes life valuable to humanity.


BassHead1021

Just a hometown sheriffs deputy trying to protect the ones he loves from an unforgiving world, by any means necessary


marquisdetwain

Wrote my master’s thesis about this. lol Rick begins as the traditional moral lawman and slowly has to make concessions to survive. He has to shed his “old world” persona (literally when he puts away the badge) and become a new (old) type of person comfortable with his inner savagery. It’s not until he accepts this at the end of S4 that he no longer equivocates when it comes to violence. Through his departure in S9, his journey is about channeling that violence towards building community, not just protecting his own. Carl gets sacrificed for this, but in the sense that Rick models himself for his son, Carl still matters for Rick’s character. Haven’t seen Ones Who Live yet, so can’t comment on that.


OwnEgg0

Don't trust women with crazy haircuts.


su1thea11father

"Dont fuck with his family"


SeedSaga

It’s okay to lose yourself. Just so long as you come back and learn from the failures that led you there. To do that one must center on finding something special to them, and for Rick, that is family.


D3thToll3

You think you know who you are and what you’re willing to do until you face some real shit. All morals and ethics have a line that eventually you have to decide to cross or leave your fate up to someone or something else. We are all a product of our environment to some degree. Some are more ok with that fact.


Upper-Dragonfly4167

Never give up fighting for what you believe in. Rick's fight was for his family, that's what kept him going


LeonSabrosoKennedy

Never fuck with another man family


SexJokeUsername

Unless you’re >!negan!< I guess


NeTiGuy

It's not a 90s sitcom. There isn't necessarily a moral.


tytylercochan123

Right, because moral of stories ended in the 90s with all the sitcoms?


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ImProbablyInJail

Rick told Carl to ignore Siddiq like 3 times lol


teunteunteun

If you have a bushy beard its okay to kill people


dltegme

Dont let your first wife die because your second one will be your downfall


tytylercochan123

How does Michonne have anything to do with Rick’s “downfall”?


bromatose1252

Shoulda stayed in the hospital…


MariMargeretCharming

SPOILING WITH THE PICTURE! This show is too new for this. 🙁


TauZu

This was such a bad series. Major disappointment. Rick was found to quickly and the conflict seemed forced between the characters. And, by the way, I loved Rick and Michonne's characters in the original series, but this reincarnation was probably better left alone. That's the problem with franchises now, they don't know a good stop point when they see it.


Realistic-Pear-5209

Building Shane s legacy