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Perhaps most notably either way, their relationship becomes the most strained when Negan viciously murders Glenn. Andrea and Michonne both struggle with seeing Rick robbed of his spirit, and, over time, rally him to take Negan on once more. A Rick that doesn’t stand up for what’s right isn’t Rick at all, they know. Indeed, for much of either series, Rick teeters on the line between benevolence, barbarism, and despair. His partnership with Andrea/Michonne, long before it becomes romantic, is a big part of what helps him keep his head above water.
Andrea never makes it to the Commonwealth. She’s bitten when the villainous Alpha and her Whisperers unleash a massive walker horde on Alexandria. As she dies, Rick weeps, telling her he can’t do it without her, but Andrea knows that he can. She dies with him by her side, and it nearly breaks him. The weight of bearing so much without his partner is shattering, and he’s unable to stab her to prevent her from turning until after she attacks and nearly kills him. Rick wants to die, but he has to move on.
“We’re the ones who live.” Until we don’t.
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Let the Commonwealth Go
Rick’s death in the comics is easily explained as a simple act of violence, with the spoiled Sebastian acting out in anger because Rick refused to toe the party line and instead caused a revolution in the Commonwealth. Yet, it wouldn’t be The Walking Dead if there wasn’t a larger commentary at play. Much like the TV show, by the time he makes it to the Commonwealth, Rick has killed countless people, made endless mistakes, and said goodbye to most of his loved ones under some of the most unbelievable circumstances possible. Amidst all of that, this is where he finally becomes who he always wanted to be.
Rick is a deeply flawed man from day one, but the last time we see him, he’s better than he’s ever been. His great act of leadership in the Commonwealth was not to fight to the top but to issue a plea that the people rise up, not to embrace a leader, but to lead themselves. For an ex-cop with an incalculable death toll under his belt, who we have regularly felt had passed the line of no return, this is shockingly progressive, but it’s also the story being told from the very beginning.
If you don’t agree with Rick every step of the way through his bloody journey in The Walking Dead, the fact is, you’re not supposed to. Rick, in his final moments on the page, very likely wouldn’t have agreed with the version of him we met in “Days Gone Bye.” Through blood and guts and pain, this is who Rick becomes. Even in death, he lives, as he is lifted into near-martyrdom by the people he didn’t liberate, but who he asked to liberate themselves.
