The Walking Dead: 15 greatest Rick Grimes moments of all-time

No. 15 – Rick’s World Comes Crashing Down

Season 1, Episode 1: “Days Gone Bye”

Remember the moment Rick Grimes woke up to find his entire world had come crashing down? As he awoke from his coma, Grimes woke up confused, lost and frightened by a world he no longer recognized. It’s hard to forget the look on his face–so innocent, so naive. The pilot, in general, is considered an iconic moment for many reasons, but most importantly, it’s because where this journey began.

As he stumbled out of bed and ventured out, he quickly realized that something was wrong, very wrong. Were there any survivors? Where is his family? What the hell is going on? And if we take a moment to think back to the pilot, we had the same thoughts running through our head. Let’s not forget the “Dead Inside” sign as Rick had his first encounter with the dead, completely lost at the spiraling world around him.

He first learns about what exactly is going on when he bumps into Morgan and his Duane (aw, remember Duane?) As the episode progresses, we see a very innocent man try to navigate through the hell around him. A moment that will always stay with us from the pilot episode is when Rick stumbles across a young girl. It turns out she has been turned, and as she runs right towards him, he proceeds to shoot her. It’s a very jarring moment for him but it’s also one of the first steps towards losing his innocence. Something that progressively diminishes as the seasons go on.

A very pivotal moment of the pilot episode is when Rick is forced to hide under a tank, a moment where he thought about killing himself. Luckily, he spots a door that will allow him to get inside the tank to safety. And as Rick contemplates his next move, he hears a voice coming from the walkie-talkie–if only he knew what things were going to follow after teaming up with Glen.