Call it one brutal slice of life.
Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) shocked viewers by chopping off his left wrist in the opening scene of “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,” the newest spinoff of “The Walking Dead,” which premiered Sunday night on AMC.
The series opens with Rick, who’s been working for the Civic Republic Military, being held prisoner, tethered by his wrist to a soldier to prevent him from escaping.
Fans of “The Walking Dead” already know how tough Rick is — he’s made it this far in the zombie apocalypse universe, after all — but what he does next will make even the show’s most hardcore fans flinch in disbelief.
Deciding that he needs a plan to escape, Rick says, “This is how,” before swinging an ax to chop off his left wrist — and then, in agony, cauterizing the wound in the flames of a dead zombie and trying to flee … though shortly afterward he’s recaptured.
(He later escapes and wears a black glove on his left arm — complete with a switchblade.)
So now Rick will go through this season of “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” sans his left hand, all while looking to reunite with his true love, Michonne (Danai Gurira), in their continuing fight against deadly zombies.
The “Walking Dead” universe is, of course, based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series. In the comic book, Rick’s left hand is chopped off early on, in issue 28, by the Governor after he refuses to answer questions under interrogation.
Showrunner Scott Gimple said that the decision to part Rick from his left hand came from Lincoln himself.
“I played around with the idea but didn’t commit to it through all sorts of iterations of the story,” Gimple told Entertainment Weekly.
“But it was Andy that pushed it. Andy was the one to bring it across the goal line.”
Lincoln told EW that he lobbied for the shocker in the original series.
“I just bullied everybody into submission,” he said. “And there were quite a lot of conversations, particuarly with AMC, with people going, ‘Now, Andy, we love the idea but are you really sure about this?’
“But I just thought: this is the time to do what the comic book did and honor that,” Lincoln continued. “I’ve been trying to pitch this for years, and everybody was just shouting me down.”
So what changed from “The Walking Dead” to “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live”?
“We had to explain why Rick never returned,” Lincoln told EW. “This is a guy that would do anything to return, so what is the most extraordinary act or effort that he would put himself through in order to try and get back to his beloved?”
Gimple said it was decided to make Rick’s sacrificial act the opening scene to establish the character’s steely fortitude.
“The reason it’s at the start of the story is that this is Rick Grimes,” he told EW. “So why hasn’t he escaped? This is a guy who will do anything, but what happens when you do anything and you still don’t win?
“And he doesn’t even give up after that!”
The social media reaction to Lincoln’s performance in “The Ones Who Live” was enthusiastic.
“It’s a day later and I’m still genuinely SHOCKED at just how PERFECT #TheOnesWho Lives First episode was, flying clear of ANYTHING we’ve seen so far,” wrote @wxllx7 on X, formerly Twitter. “Andrew Lincoln makes it clear just how much he carried #TheWalkingDead because there is NOBODY like Rick Grimes!”
“I love Andrew Lincoln as Rick and I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised, it was pretty damn good,” wrote another fan, @noahabudoa.
@Jimothy022 wrote on X: “What a performance by the absolute legend Andrew Lincoln. Rick Grimes is back and didn’t miss a single beat. This man has always deserved all the awards and it’s about time someone delivers them to him!”
“Andrew Lincoln…oh my GOD?!” added @marthahineburg.
‘Wow. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live episode one ‘Years’ was incredibly good. Stuff and thangs got (out of hand) real quick. Great to see Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes again after over five years,” @gabriellambeth wrote on X.
In addition to “The Ones Who Live,” “The Walking Dead” has spawned five spinoffs: “Fear the Walking Dead,” “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” “Tales of The Walking Dead,” “The Walking Dead: Dead City” and “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.”
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Michael Starr
