The Walking Dead Finale Answered Everyone’s Biggest Question: Where Is Rick Grimes?

Rick Grimes was carried away by a CRM helicopter in The Walking Dead Season 9 after he blew up a bridge to protect his people. Despite the best efforts of Daryl Dixon and Michonne to find him, he was seemingly gone forever. But the series finale, "Rest in Peace," revealed what happened to Rick after the helicopter incident: he was still alive in a Civic Republic institution somewhere far away and wouldn't be getting home anytime soon.

When Andrew Lincoln departed the series in 2018, dedicated Walking Dead fans wondered where Rick was and why he hadn't returned to the series despite numerous time jumps. Danai Gurira left in Season 10 after Michonne found a clue that indicated Rick was alive. So many theories insisted that Rick would return in the final episode to fight against the Commonwealth or to at least confirm his fate in a post-credits scene. Thankfully, The Walking Dead kept its promise by bringing Rick back to tease what he's been up to and where he goes from here.

Updated on Sept. 19, 2024, by Katie Doll: Fans wondered what happened to Rick Grimes, and thankfully, the The Walking Dead series finale gave them some insight. The new spinoff, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, revealed more about this character. This article has been updated with information about Rick's life at the CRM and the aftermath of his eventual escape.

What Happened to Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead?

The Former Sheriff's Deputy Was Taken by the CRM After an Explosion

In Season 9, Episode 5, "What Comes After," an injured Rick was whisked away by a CRM helicopter that Anne called in. At that point, the Civil Republic Military wasn't a major plot point in The Walking Dead universe and wouldn't become one until the 2020 spinoff series World Beyond. The only thing known about the CRM is that nobody knew anything. Fear the Walking Dead had an entire episode dedicated to explaining the CRM in the most cryptic way possible, and it gave no concrete answers. So, what exactly did The Walking Dead say about the mysterious community?

• The mystery of who took Rick Grimes was resolved when The Walking Dead series finale showed the former sheriff's deputy trying to escape the CRM.
• The Ones Who Live revealed that the CRM ostensibly protected the citizens of the democratic Civic Republic.
• The CRM's military operated without oversight and committed horrible crimes like genocide on other populations.

The final minutes of "Rest in Peace" jumped between Rick and Michonne writing letters to their loved ones, urging them to keep pushing forward, even when hope seemed lost. With no shoes, Rick walked alongside the muddy river shore, holding a bag and his cowboy boots. When he heard a helicopter in the distance, he urgently threw his belongings on a boat. A voice coming from a helicopter called out, "Consignee Grimes. You have been located and are instructed to surrender." As Rick angrily surrendered, the voice continued, "Come on, Rick. It's like he told you: there's no escape for the living."

The Walking Dead Finale Confirmed Rick Was at the CRM

The Final Minutes of the TWD Finale Featured an Andrew Lincoln Cameo as Rick Grimes

"Rest in Peace" is still as obscure as Fear the Walking Dead and World Beyond are about the CRM. However, the episode confirms Rick is in the community, not by choice. The scene reveals Rick is a "consignee" of the CRM, which explains the CRM's obsession with labeling people "A" and "B." Rick is also using a modified catchpole that Silas utilized in World Beyond when he was working at a decontamination center to clear large amounts of walkers. Rick's possession of the weapon indicates he is working at one of these centers.

• "Rest of Peace" provided little information about Rick's stay at the CRM, but it did have a connection to The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
• This lack of information created a lot of anticipation for the new series, The Ones Who Live, which mostly fulfilled fans' expectations and desire for information about this mysterious corner of The Walking Dead's world.

Another important detail is that the voice is capturing Rick for what doesn't seem like the first time. The speaker's exhausted tone and a reminder that "he" has warned Rick about what happens to people who escape telling viewers that Rick has tried leaving before. The rest is revealed in Rick and Michonne's spinoff. But judging from the final moments of "Rest in Peace," it is clear that The Ones Who Live brings the different timelines of Rick and Michonne together. That makes it the true spinoff to watch since it finally answers Walking Dead fans' burning questions.

The Ones Who Live Showed Rick's New Life

Rick Rose in the Ranks at the CRM After Failing to Escape

The "he" that the soldier was referring to in the finale ended up becoming a main character on The Ones Who Live, acting as Rick's antagonist. The man in question was named Major General Beale, the head of the CRM whose goal (known as the Echelon Briefing) was to eliminate any potential threats to become the only organization in the world and extend humanity's shortened lifespan. Beale wasn't initially the man who took Rick into captivity, but the two frequently crossed paths over the next several years as Rick adjusted to his new life.

• The sixth direct spin-off of The Walking Dead original series, The Ones Who Live completed its six-episode run.
• The Ones Who Live was originally meant to be a movie.
• The Ones Who Live tied directly into World Beyond, set in the Campus Colony in Nebraska about 10 years after the outbreak.

Rick's long absence suggested two reasons why he never came home: he either gave up because of the CRM's rigid willpower to stay in secrecy, or he truly began to believe in the CRM's cause. There was a case that he fell into both categories, but not entirely willingly. Rick did try to escape multiple times — one time he took his own hand as a sacrifice. But after learning that Jadis had hidden intel about Alexandria that she would give up if Rick successfully left, he submitted to the CRM's cause. Rick wasn't necessarily brainwashed or conditioned by them. However, the trauma of being taken and emotionally abused by a militant power coerced him to believe that he didn't deserve a life beyond the CRM. Rick was always a people pleaser who gave up everything to lead others; the CRM was just an extreme version of all the selfless work he did for Alexandria on The Walking Dead.

The CRM was a large and sinister organization, but Beale saw potential in Rick to help achieve the CRM's goal. He was one of the few recruits labeled as "A" that the CRM didn't execute for his leadership and influential qualities that posed a risk of resistance. The combination of Rick's servant mindset he acquired through the CRM's mistreatment of him, and Rick's inclination to help the world made him the perfect soldier for Beale. However, the dream of uniting the entire world under the CRM's rule was interrupted by Michonne's efforts to find her husband, forcing Rick to choose between his family and the people who kept him prisoner for several years.

How The Ones Who Live Ended Rick Grimes' Story

Rick Finally Got His Happy Ending With Michonne and Their Children

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live aired six episodes and is complete with no current plans for Season 2. Fans got much of what they wanted from the series: tense action scenes, surprise plot twists, and revelations about the CRM (though not all the Walking Dead reunions they may want). Ultimately, the spinoff had everything that made The Walking Dead series great, including the desperate fight for survival against overwhelming odds and characters who compromise to survive versus those who go through emotional conflicts without ever quite giving up hope.

• Rick and Michonne were destined to reunite, but that didn't mean the couple agreed on what to do about the CRM and how to move forward together.
• The Ones Who Live ultimately balanced the show's penchant for tragedy and the fans' desire for their favorite characters to finally catch a break.

In the final few episodes of the series, Michonne broke through Rick's walls he'd be keeping up since they reunited. She was a reminder that his life hadn't ended, and there wasn't any reason that he needed to sacrifice his own happiness for an inherently menacing cause. Through betrayals and unexpected turns, the couple eventually plotted a course forward that couldn't accept what the CRM was responsible for and what it was planning to do.

They put a stop to the Echelon Briefing and accomplished the best of both worlds. The Civic Republic went under massive reconstruction to prevent the military from another potential coup, which still allowed hundreds of thousands of innocents to live safely in a post-apocalyptic world. Rick and Michonne don't stick around though, because their place is at the Commonwealth and Alexandria with Judith and R.J. Grimes, whom they reunite with in the Ones Who Live finale. If the series accomplishes nothing else, it dramatizes the evil that people are capable of when they view a situation as hopeless and the good that people can accomplish when they don't lose hope.