Rick Grimes is the main protagonist in the AMC television drama series The Walking Dead.
Portrayed by Andrew Lincoln on the show, Rick is a former sheriff fighting to keep himself and his family alive in a post-apocalyptic world of flesh-eating zombies.
History[]
One of the show's main protagonists, Rick awakes from a coma in the first episode to find out that his rural Georgia neighborhood has been taken over by "Walkers". During the course of the show he reunites with his wife Lori, son Carl, and best friend Shane who have joined a small group of survivors on the outskirts of Atlanta. The group finds their way to the CDC in Atlanta, only to be told by Dr. Jenner that no cure has been found. Rick is also told by Jenner that all human beings are infected with the disease, so all will reanimate as walkers after death. Jenner sets the CDC to self-destruct, but Rick and the others escape before the building explodes. While on the road, Sophia gets lost in the woods and Rick is unable to find her. Carl is accidentally shot by a member of the Greene farm, forcing Rick to give his own blood so that Carl's surgery can be performed by Hershel. Carl is saved, but the group finds little relief on the farm. Lori learns she is pregnant, Rick learns that she and Shane had an affair, and the group learns Hershel has been keeping zombies locked up in his barn, Sophia among them. On top of these issues, Rick and Shane disagree about what to do with Randall, a survivor who may or may not bring his own group of bandits to the farm. Shane tries to kill Rick, forcing Rick to stab him in the stomach. Carl shoots the zombified Shane in the head just as a herd of walkers ambush the farm. Though Rick and the others fight off the herd, it is soon clear the farm will be lost and they retreat without Andrea. During season three, Rick takes on a more agressive leadership role in the group when they discover a prison overrun by walkers. The group is able to clear out the prison and make it their new home, but Lori dies giving birth to Judith and T-Dog is eaten by walkers. The loss devastates Rick, who begins having hallucinations of Lori and falters in his role as the group leader. He takes in Michonne and Merle as new members in the fight against The Governor, who has the entire town of Woodbury under his control. Rick and The Governor are unable to reach a peace agreement despite Andrea's efforts and the Governor attacks the prison. Rick and the others are able to fight him off and Rick decides to allow the Woodbury survivors to join them at the prison. During season four, Rick has focused less on leading the group and more on growing crops for food. His views on violence have also changed, so he allows much more input from other members of the group. However, a flu-like outbreak hits the prison, killing several members and weakening others. The Governor returns with a new group under his command and destroys the prison, also killing Hershel. Rick is almost killed by the Governor, but Michonne arrives to save him. He finds Carl amid the chaos and they mistakenly believe Judith has been eaten by walkers. Rick and Carl flee the prison, becoming separated from the others in the process. They are eventually reunited with Michonne and head to a rumored safe haven called Terminus.