According to multiple reports, Andrew Lincoln is leaving The Walking Dead in Season 9, bringing an end to Rick Grimes’ story after almost a decade on our screens. And in some ways, it’s probably the best thing the show could do (short of ending it altogether).
Make no mistake, I’m fully invested in Rick as a character – and watching Lincoln’s gut-wrenching performance over the past few seasons – especially in Season 8, when he had to face the death of his son, Carl – has been nothing short of riveting. But after everything Rick has been through, all the people he’s loved and lost, and all the compromises he’s had to make, it seems like the right time to let the cowboy hang up his hat and walk off into the sunset to reunite with “Coral” and Lori in the great beyond. (Sure, it’d suck for Judith, but we all know she’s not Rick’s anyway Daryl and Michonne have proven to be excellent babysitters.) Honestly, it would’ve been a better time to let Rick die last season, as the show seemed to be heavily foreshadowing before pulling the ol’ bait-and-switch with Carl. But hey, better late than never?