How Rick could leave The Walking Dead alive based on ‘Warning Signs’

Based on the events in The Walking Dead “Warning Signs” this is one plausible theory of how Rick can exit the show without dying.

Ever since it was made public that Andrew Lincoln was leaving The Walking Dead fans have been wondering how this exit would happen. Is Rick Grimes going to be killed off? It seemed hard to imagine the series moving forward without Rick Grimes or Carl Grimes.

It also seems unlikely that the show would plan a long drawn out farewell for Rick Grimes after giving Carl Grimes a dramatic and emotional send off last season with an entire episode devoted to Carl’s last hours. Watching their favorite characters grieve for Rick Grimes after the loss of Carl would be traumatic for fans.

But it has been indicated that Andrew Lincoln had his exit planned for a long time,  so the show has had plenty of time to come up with an exit for Rick Grimes that will leave his story open-ended so that Andrew Lincoln may return in the future for an episode here or there if not as a series regular anymore.

And based on some critically important evidence from the first couple of episodes of The Walking Dead season 9, especially the most recent episode “Warning Signs” it’s possible that clues about Rick’s departure have already been given. Here’s one theory of how Rick can exit the show but stay alive and the evidence to support it:

The Theory

In “Warning Signs” fans found out that Jadis/Anne is in fact in touch with the helicopter people and that there is another society out there. And it must be a pretty big one if they have helicopters and fuel and supplies to spare. Could that be The Commonwealth? There’s a strong likelihood that it’s The Commonwealth, which is a society that comes into play later on in The Walking Dead comic.

The revelation that Jadis/Anne has been giving people to this other society in exchange for supplies makes a lot of sense and give the writers a perfect out for Rick. Father Gabriel followed Jadis/Anne back to The Heap because Rick told him to keep an eye on her and because they are in a romantic relationship.

Jadis/Anne goes back to The Heap fed up with being mistrusted by Rick and the others and wanting to go live at the other group. She radios the helicopter and they have an exchange with reveals that she has been giving them people for supplies all along. When she says that she wants to go live at their community she is told she has to deliver an “A” in order for that to happen.

When Gabriel confronts her she knocked him out cold after saying she thought he was an “A”. So Gabriel’s not going to be her ticket to the new society. But Rick could be.

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It’s possible that Rick goes looking for Gabriel, knowing that Gabriel followed Jadis/Anne to The Heap. There he finds Jadis/Anne who knocks him out and takes him prisoner. She called for the helicopter telling the pilot she has an “A”. The helicopter comes. Jadis/Anne drugs Rick and possibly Gabriel to keep them knocked out for the duration of the flight and they are loaded onto the helicopter.

During the flight and under the influence of some kind of drug Rick hallucinates. This is when he sees Shane, Hershel, and all the returning cast members whose appearances have already been confirmed. When the helicopter lands at the new community Jadis/Anne starts a new life there and Rick and possibly Gabriel are held there as prisoners and laborers.

It’s possible that only Rick is taken, and that Gabriel is able to get away and get back to Alexandria so he can tell Michonne what happened to Rick. This gives Michonne a strong new storyline because she will be the defacto leader of Alexandria in Rick’s absence and she will begin the search to find him.

This scenario would leave Rick’s story open ended so that Andrew Lincoln could appear in another episode once and awhile and provide a little update on Rick and to keep the Rick Grimes story going.

The Evidence

So what evidence is there that this theory might be correct even though it’s pure speculation? It turns out there’s actually quite a bit of evidence in favor of this theory of Rick’s departure.

The strongest piece of evidence is the dialogue in The Walking Dead “Warning Signs”. Jadis/Anne wants to be taken to the new community but the man in the helicopter is clear that she needs to deliver an “A”or “B” if she wants a ride to the new community.

The next piece of evidence to support this theory is the synopsis for The Walking Dead season 9 episode 4, which would be the episode in which Rick and possibly Gabriel are drugged and taken on the helicopter. The synopsis for the episode reads:

"“Rick’s vision of a civilized future is threatened by a sudden reckoning with past sins that remain unavenged and unforgiven.”"

Sounds like something that might occur during a drug induced hallucination doesn’t it?

Yet another block of evidence for this theory is the episode titles. Clues to major events in The Walking Dead are often hidden in the episode titles and the episode titles for the next few episodes could be interpreted to support this theory:

903 “Warning Signs”

904 “The Obliged” This could be a reference to Jadis/Anne being obliged to deliver people in order to join the other community.

905 “What Comes After” This title is the most relevant of the bunch. It’s been rumored that 905 is Andrew Lincoln’s last episode. So according to this theory 905 is the episode where Rick becomes a prisoner or forced labor at the new community. The reference to “after” could be a reference to Jadis/Anne because there have been other episodes in the past where “after” has been used by Jadis and in reference to something.

In season 8, episode 7 “Time For After” Rick is taken prisoner by Jadis/Anne and held in a shipping container marked “A”. She takes photos of him and says she’s going to sculpt him “after”. He asks after what and she just replies “after”.

After as in after Rick becomes a prisoner and Jadis/Anne takes up residence in the new community? Seems likely doesn’t it?

Other Evidence

There’s also some evidence that Jadis/Anne already tried to be taken to the new community. In season 7 after Simon and The Saviors slaughtered The Heapsters Jadis/Anne comes across Negan on his own after his fight with Rick. And what does she do with him?

She takes him prisoner and he’s kept in the container marked “A”. She goes to her very nicely outfitted container which we now know is so nice because she’s been giving people to the mystery community for supplies. She packs a suitcase, indicating she’s not coming back.

She takes Negan into an open part of The Heap, checking her watch. She’s clearly waiting for the helicopter. She has a flare to attract the attention of the pilot. Negan gets hold of the flare and lights it and they struggle so she isn’t able to signal the helicopter. But now in hindsight it’s clear that she was trying to deliver an “A” in order to be taken to the other community. And now she’s going to try the same plan with Rick but this time it will succeed.

Possible Evidence

When announcing his departure from The Walking Dead at San Diego Comic-Con this summer Andrew Lincoln said  “My relationship with Mr. Grimes is far from over.”

Andrew Lincoln has also said that he’s going to return to The Walking Dead in season 10 to direct an episode of the show. That’s not that unusual, several former cast members have returned to direct episodes. Michael Cudlitz directed an upcoming episode in season 9.

But putting out there that he will be directing an episode could be a cover so that he could sneak in a cameo appearance in an episode of The Walking Dead in season 10 without being detected.

He could even still appear in an episode later in season 9 since Andrew Lincoln recently returned to Georgia. Supposedly he returned to shadow a director and learn more about directing because the final episodes of season 9 are being filmed right now. But that could also be a cover story to explain  his presence so he could film an appearance in more episodes.

What do you think TWD Family? Is this how Rick Grimes will leave The Walking Dead? What are your theories? Tweet us @SonyaIryna and @UndeadWalkingFS with your theories and speculations.