The Walking Dead Theory: Why Does The Civic Republic Want Rick?

The Walking Dead Theory: CRM has been looking for Rick for a long time

Between what we’ve heard in World Beyond and what we’ve seen across the rest of The Walking Dead universe, we know that the Civic Republic (And their military) have been around since nearly the beginning of the zombie outbreak. Hell, we technically saw them going back to the very first episode of The Walking Dead, as the helicopter Rick saw flying over Atlanta when he first entered the ruined city.

And, while Rick saw them, what if they saw him, too?

Considering that the CRM can maintain a fleet of attack helicopters, is it so farfetched to imagine that those choppers have video cameras on them? If so, they could have seen Rick just as easily as he saw them.

What if they didn’t want him seeing them? Remember, it was a helicopter passing by that began the herd that would eventually descend on Hershel’s farm back in season two, and, in World Beyond, we’ve seen the CRM use that as a means of weaponizing massive herds of walkers 100,000 strong to destroy whole cities, what if they were trying to do that to some other community in Georgia, and just like with Omaha, didn’t want people knowing about it.

Think about this: We know that Heath was captured by Jadis and handed over to the CRM. What if, upon interrogation, Heath idly mentions the new leader of his community, a man named Rick Grimes, who came to Alexandria from Georgia and told stories about how he once spotted a helicopter over Atlanta. And how, unbeknownst to him, the sound of his son shooting the walker of his best friend caused a massive herd to sweep across the rural Georgia farm where he and his group had been staying? If the CRM had noticed Rick watching them, and Rick had disrupted an attempt to destroy another community, and finding Heath’s description matched that of events that played out around their outposts in Georgia, don’t you think the CRM may suddenly find themselves interested in this “Rick Grimes” fellow?

If we’re being honest, we know that Jadis had a prior relationship with the CRM before eventually joining them; who’s to say that the reason she grabbed Rick when she did was that she knew they wanted him and saw his sorry state after the destruction of the bridge as the best opportunity to trade him into the CR?

To be honest: I don’t know why the CRM finds Rick so valuable, but the fact that they do carries an immense amount of weight to it. It means that Rick is not just another rescue, not just another prisoner, and not just another test subject. It means either they see him as some hated enemy or as some rare asset. Whatever the case may be, it’s something that we can not ignore.

But, what do you think? Do you believe the CRM found Rick to be valuable before or after Jadis brought him to them? Do you think the Civic Republic sees him as a model leader for the future of humanity? Do you believe that Rick could be immune to the zombie virus? Could the CRM have been aware of Rick throughout his journey and decided that they needed to apprehend him? Or, do you think I’m out in space with these theories? I’m curious to hear! And, if you enjoyed this and want to learn how to stay alive in a zombie apocalypse, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can also get it at Amazon here, on iTunes here!