Undead Walking writers pick their favorite Rick Grimes episodes

Season 1 Episode 3 “Tell It To The Frogs”

Jennifer Renson, @JennyRenson

This is easily my favorite Rick Grimes episode because of one key moment: his reunion with his wife and son. Ever since Rick wakes up alone and disoriented in the hospital, his mission had been to find his family. Even when Morgan explains the current situation Rick remains steadfast. Immediately Rick is portrayed as a man who will literally risk his life to find people he loves. Even going as far as to help complete strangers out of walker-infested Atlanta. The moment Rick spots Carl and Lori at the camp, the musical score slowly builds into something euphoric. The result: waterworks. What luck Rick had that the one group who happened to find him was the same group his family was surviving with. Even after the emotional reunion, we get to learn more about Rick’s moral code. Even though he didn’t know Merle Dixon (whom he handcuffed to a roof previously for safety reasons), he still offered to Merle’s brother Daryl Dixon to go back and rescue him. This is a man Rick does not know, period. Yet he knows he has to go back, even after he just found his family the day before.

This episode alone defines not only the man Rick Grimes is and will always be but The Walking Dead as a whole. It is more than just surviving, living in fear and doubt. It is about family, friends who become your family and that even at the end of the world there is always hope.