The Walking Dead: Why hasn’t Rick Grimes made it back home?

Fear The Walking Dead gave fans some small bits of information about the helicopter people including a clue about why Rick never made it home.

One of the biggest unanswered questions about Rick’s disappearance on The Walking Dead is why he never found his way back to Alexandria from wherever the helicopter people’s main base is. It’s possible that it was too far to go on foot but considering that both Morgan and Dwight made it from Virginia to Texas in just a few months it’s not very likely. So why did Rick never manage to get back to Alexandria during the six year jump? It’s very hard to believe he wouldn’t fight tooth and nail to get back to Alexandria.

The answer to that question might lie in something that Isabelle said in Fear The Walking Dead. Her comments to Al about her group were warnings about staying away from anyone in the clothing of the group and not trying to find the main base. She also said that no one just walks away from that group.

Presumably that’s to ensure operational security and so that no one could tell others what is going on there or lead people against the base to take their supplies. But that also could be a major hint about why Rick has never been able to get back to Alexandria.

If he’s being held prisoner or if he’s simply not allowed to leave the militia group he would not have been able to even try to get back home. The helicopter group obviously takes secrecy and operational security seriously so they likely wouldn’t let him radio Alexandria to let Michonne know he was ok. But how realistic is that? Our panelists have some theories about why Rick couldn’t make it back home based on what we’ve learned about the helicopter group:

Why Rick Couldn’t Make It Home

One of the mysteries about Rick’s disappearance on The Walking Dead is why he was unable to try and get back to Alexandria during the six year time jump. With what we’ve learned about the helicopter people what are your theories about why Rick was unable to leave?

Sonya says:

"The more we learn about this group the more I’m convinced they are doing some sort of medical testing looking for a cure and they won’t let anyone leave because they don’t want anyone to learn about them and because it’s not safe to let people out into the world with whatever medications they’ve given them. The only reason that I can imagine that Rick wouldn’t do everything he possibly could to get back to Alexandria is if he was a prisoner and couldn’t leave or if he was worried he’d be exposing them to something toxic to he stayed away to protect the ones he loves."

Sara says:

"I honestly think that Rick is being held against his will. Isabelle said that you can never leave that place, and I don’t think Rick has been able to do that. It is very worrisome to me."

Jeffrey says:

"Isabelle herself said that people don’t just walk away from her group. This definitely provides some explanation as to why Rick hasn’t returned to his family in six years. The only thing that would stop him from at least trying to get back is if he is suffering memory loss. If that isn’t the case, he may not have made his way back, because the people he is with will not let him."

Ethan says:

"I believe that the CRM keep people captive so that they have more people to protect their plans to build a better future. Safety in numbers, right? Isabelle didn’t want to disclose any information about the CRM so if people try to leave then they can tell others, which the CRM do not want. It will be interesting to see why Isabelle was so stubborn about the confidentiality of the CRM."

Sarah L says:

"Going off my theory that CRM is a private military contractor and seeing what Isabelle has done and will do to protect the group’s mission, I don’t believe Rick has the option to leave. His family means the world to him, and I’m sure over these past years he has tried many times to escape and go back. However if this is truly a group trying to put things back together, this is a thing Rick would believe in so that in combination with A LOT of conditioning from them maybe he is willingly a soldier for them now."

What do you think TWDFamily and FearFamily? Why wasn’t Rick able to get home? Tweet us your thoughts: @SonyaIryna, @WrittenBySara, @TWalkingDWorld, @EthanCorby, @MamaDeadHead, and @UndeadWalkingFS