Wilson passed away at the beginning of October, adding more pathos to what was already a pretty sweet scene. Much more melancholy is the appearance of actor Scott Wilson as Hershel, who shows up to tell Rick heвЂ™s on the right path. Bernthal, who stars in NetflixвЂ™s surprisingly strong вЂњPunisherвЂќ series, is a phenomenal actor, and even this brief appearance as RickвЂ™s violent id gives the episode a welcome jolt of energy. Rick Grimes: This Is Your LifeДЄs Rick, impaled, slowly leads the massive zombie herd away from the society heвЂ™s worked so hard to build, he periodically hallucinates major figures from his past, starting with his old partner Shane, played by Jon Bernthal, who wants to take credit for the viciousness Rick has demonstrated in the past. ItвЂ™s the correct decision for MaggieвЂ™s character, and while Negan shows his true pathetic colors a little quickly, the episode obviously has other fish to fry. As Negan begs and blubbers before her, Maggie loses any interest in killing Negan, not because revenge doesnвЂ™t solve anything, but because keeping him alive is the more apt punishment. Maggie confronts Negan and while at first he seems like his old, swaggering self, itвЂ™s clear that heвЂ™s trying to goad Maggie into killing him, because he canвЂ™t do it himself. вЂњWhat Comes After,вЂќ at least before things take a serious turn for the bonkers, is a perfectly acceptable, if somewhat, clichГ©-ridden hour of television, with some extremely welcome returns. Gimple and Matthew Negrete have settled on for RickвЂ™s exit is вЂњnoble sacrifice punctuated by вЂChristmas CarolвЂ™-esque visitations from past cast members,вЂќ which wins no points for originality but at least isnвЂ™t an epic miscalculation. But now, here we are, with RickвЂ™s much publicized departure.

Sure, the show became an ensemble before the end of its short first season, but through all the years Rick has been the constant heвЂ™s the character everyone else orbits around, the one who leads, the one guy you know wonвЂ™t be killed each episode (no matter how much of a drag that becomes). From the showвЂ™s opening moments, Rick Grimes has been our eyes as we watched the world slide into zombie hell.

Writing Rick Grimes off вЂњThe Walking DeadвЂќ is not an enviable task.

The walking dead season 9 episode 5