Rick Grimes (TV Series)

"I found 'em." —Rick telling himself this after seeing his new family united one last time, knowing his mission in life is completed.

Rick Grimes is the former protagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is a former sheriff's deputy who was shot in the line of duty and fell into a coma, only to awaken and find himself in the midst of the apocalypse. He travels to Atlanta, Georgia, in search of his wife, Lori, and his son, Carl, who have traveled to Atlanta with his best friend, Shane Walsh.

After reuniting with his family, along with discovering a group of survivors, Rick gradually becomes the de-facto leader in their search of a safe haven. He eventually enters a relationship with Michonne Hawthorne and they later conceive a child together. He later becomes the leader of the Alexandria Safe-Zone and one of the four co-leaders of the Militia along with Maggie Rhee, Ezekiel Sutton, and Cyndie before its disbanding.

A year and a half after the war against Negan Smith, Rick adopts a more peaceful and democratic way of leadership and tries to accomplish Carl's dream of rebuilding civilization. After blowing up a bridge in order to protect his loved ones and allies, Rick is presumed dead by his beloved comrades. However, he is secretly rescued by Anne and is taken away on a helicopter by the CRM to an unknown location to begin a new journey.

## Overview

Rick is typically a calm, smart man, being both a good friend and a dedicated father. However, he will often stubbornly cling to his strong personal moral code, which has resulted in numerous questionable decisions and extra stress within the group. Rick's greatest fault, perhaps, is his uncanny ability to place responsibility on himself and set for himself goals that are impossible to reach. Despite his faults, his combat skill and general care for all members of the group have led him to be looked up to, and allowed him to take the leadership role within the group. Rick is strongly non-religious, admitting to never have been much of a believer and instead putting his faith in his family and the group members around him.

Relying on his former police skills and survival tactics, Rick has evolved into a battle-hardened survivor who will protect his family and group without question. In many ways, Rick has become exactly like Shane; being ready to destroy a threat, living or dead, without a moment's hesitation, not trusting anyone except for his group, and knowing that with the world the way it is now, there are very few good people left and if you don't fight for your survival, then you will die. In addition to picking up some of Shane's ideologies, Rick has displayed similarities to other primary antagonists that he has encountered and killed (or who other members of his group have killed) in the past, particularly the Governor, Joe, Gareth, and most recently Negan (who is currently alive). However, unlike the aforementioned enemy survivors, Rick retains some of his humanity and honor for the sake of his family and friends, looking to them for guidance in making sure that he doesn't completely lose his sanity and devolve into an another antagonist himself. This is in direct contrast to the people he's faced, who have almost completely sacrificed their humanity in favor of personal survival by any means necessary, and who exert unchallenged power and control over other survivors and give into their worst inclinations for their own benefit, rather than the benefit of others.

Throughout the first season, while adapting to the new apocalyptic world, Rick maintains his honor and moral code and is shown to be incredibly protective of his group and their well-being as seen when he attempted to return to Atlanta to save Merle Dixon's life and also refused to surrender Glenn to the Vatos Gang. He is also shown to be willing to use deadly force to protect his group as he threatens Daryl Dixon a few times with his revolver when he acts out. Upon entering the CDC and learning of the severity of the apocalypse, Rick refuses to allow his family and group to die in the exploding CDC and claims that there is still hope and is able to convince Dr. Jenner to let them try for as long as they can.

By the second season, Rick is still shown to be extremely protective of his group as seen by his devotion to find the missing Sophia, despite Shane's argument that she is dead and also refuses to risk his group's residency on Hershel's farm due to Lori's pregnancy by going along with Hershel's views of the Walkers still being people. After the massacre of the walkers in the barn and discovering Sophia, Rick regrets his decisions that put the group at risk. While making amends with Hershel, Rick, for the first time is forced to use deadly force to protect his allies from death as he kills Dave and Tony, two men who attempt to force their way onto Hershel's farm. Despite this, he refuses to leave Randall, a member of Dave and Tony's group behind to die following an attack on him, Glenn and Hershel. Saving Randall's life and deciding to let him go is the ultimate moment in his rivalry with Shane and the two physically fight each other over his life. After learning of the threat of Randall's group, Rick reluctantly decides to execute him, but stops at the last minute after seeing Carl watch. After deciding to once again release Randall to honor Dale's wishes, Shane attempts to assassinate Rick by killing Randall and luring him out into the woods under the guise that Randall is free and armed, however Rick kills Shane instead, an act the visibly breaks him. Following this and the destruction of Hershel's farm, Rick has become noticeably colder and strains his relationship with Lori, Carl and the group by revealing Jenner's secret of everyone being infected and his killing of Shane. Following this, he declares himself leader of the group.

By Season 3, Rick had become battle hardened after months on the road and is still distant from members of the group, mostly Lori. Despite this, Rick is able to use his leadership skills and combat abilities to keep the group alive for many months and leads the group in taking the abandoned and overrun West Georgia Correctional Facility, using desperate survival tactics they had come to learn on the road all winter. Rick at this point also has no hesitation in killing human threats as seen when he mercilessly killed the prisoners leader, Tomas, for attempting to kill him twice and also locking Andrew in a courtyard of walkers to die. Rick has also shown that he no longer trusts outside members of his group and refuses to allow Oscar and Axel, two prisoners to join his group following the assassination attempt on him by Tomas, showing he's more cruel. He eventually accepts them once they prove their loyalty to him by killing Andrew, who survived being left to die and launched an attack on the prison in order to exterminate the Survivors and nearly killed Rick himself, though Oscar saves him.

After Lori's death, Rick becomes very emotionally unstable, and it's not until just before the group learns of the Woodbury threat that Rick comes back to his senses. By this point, Rick has become a ruthless, uncompromising leader of survivors, in contrast to his high moral code and values in previous seasons. After the Governor causes Andrea's death, Rick seems to regain much of his old self and finally begins to trust other survivors and accept them into the prison. In the six-month jump between the third and fourth seasons, Rick relinquishes his leadership position in order to focus more on raising Carl and making the prison self-sustaining. During the fourth season, many of the other group members ask Rick to step back into a leadership role, most notably Daryl Dixon. After the Governor returns and attacks the prison, Rick becomes distraught and remorseful over the loss of the prison, the death of Hershel and the assumed death of his daughter Judith. He becomes more protective of Carl and gets into a few arguments with him. After Rick reunites with Michonne, he loosens his grip on Carl a bit and allows himself some time to rest, albeit only temporarily.

After he, Carl, and Michonne are forced to evacuate a house they were residing in to evade the Claimers, he comes across a poster pointing to Terminus. He decides to take a chance and see the supposed sanctuary. On the way, they encounter the Claimers, who tracked them down in order to exact revenge on Rick for killing one of their group members, Lou. Rick comes to terms with his brutality, which he thought he had put away for good, after he rips out Joe's jugular with his teeth and stabs Dan, who attempted to rape Carl, to death. The next morning, he tells Daryl he knows of his two different personality traits and how he has settled his mind knowing that his brutality has kept his son and the rest of the group alive.

After arriving at Terminus, Rick accepts his leadership position, for which the group respects him. He holds no conflict in his mind anymore and does not doubt his decisions. The wisdom he took from Hershel, who he came to view as a mentor (as well a father figure towards him), Rick now understands that he can retain his humanity by protecting his friends and has stated that he views his group as his family. His darker side is shown through his brutality and he does not hesitate to kill someone who he views as a threat, fearing he or she will come back and harm his family (based on what happened to Lori when Rick failed to kill Andrew, the prisoner who Rick locked in a courtyard of walkers and presumed was killed). During Season 5, following the group's near death experience at Terminus, Rick grows in confidence but develops massive trust issues towards any strangers that he and his group come across, even if they seem timid and harmless. He has a hard time trusting Gabriel Stokes and Aaron, even threatening to kill them once or twice if they did anything that would harm his family and friends. His trust issues are so strong that he even suspects the applesauce Aaron offers to Judith to be poisoned. Aaron points out that he is tied up and that killing Rick's daughter in front of him would only lead to Aaron getting killed by Rick. Aaron tries telling Rick that his trust issues are exaggerated, but Rick remains stubborn and makes it clear that he is a man who doesn't take chances anymore, and forces Aaron to eat the applesauce to prove that it's safe and still threatens to kill him. In the end, Aaron and Gabriel (for the most part) prove that they are not threats.

After arriving in the Alexandria Safe-Zone, Rick cautiously allows himself to relax in the comfort of the community, although it is evident that he still does not trust the inhabitants. He becomes actively involved in the community after Deanna Monroe, the safe-zone's leader appoints him and Michonne as constables. While he appreciates the job, Rick and his group view the Alexandrians as being weak and unfit to survive and he declares that they will take the community for themselves, showing how his mentality has become one of survival for himself and his group. He is willing to kill members of the community if it means the majority will learn to survive, and tries to make them understand what it takes to live in the new world. When his confrontation with the alcoholic and abusive Pete turns violent, he launches a tirade at the shocked Alexandrians in the street, which nearly seals his exile from the community at the hands of Deanna. He is saved by the intervention of Michonne, who knocks him unconscious.

When Walkers manage to get into the community, displaying their defensive vulnerabilities, Rick tells them that they will have to change if they are to survive. When Reg is killed by an enraged Pete, Rick executes him at Deanna's command. In the days following this incident, Rick takes a greater leadership role in the community as Deanna mourns and deals with her overwhelming grief. Although there is distension, Deanna approves of Rick's plans and gives him her support. The two grow closer, and she tries to get Rick to realize that the Alexandrians are all his people now, just as his original group is.

Following a massive invasion of walkers into the safe-zone, which leads to the death of Deanna, Rick becomes the leader of the safe-zone, and his faith in the abilities of the safe-zone's residents improves dramatically as together they all boldly face the herd and kill every walker, effectively reclaiming the safe-zone. Rick reveals to his injured son Carl afterwards that he is ready to show him the new world. Following this he seems to have cooled down a bit in his desire to kill human threats as he spares the life of Paul Rovia after the latter attempts to steal a van of supplies claimed by Daryl and Rick which leads them to finding the Hilltop Colony. His relationship with Michonne has also caused him to show his lighter side more often, as he is seen relaxed and happier than he was before they started their relationship.

Over the course of Season 6, Rick's confidence grows with every successful outcome and threat survived. He believes that not only are his people capable of dealing with any threat, but that the Alexandrians themselves now know what it takes to survive. Rick has shown that he has not lost his ruthlessness, as shown by his desire to exact revenge on the Saviors for threatening Daryl, Abraham and Sasha and kill them all in order to obtain much-needed supplies from the Hilltop Colony, and protect Alexandria, even though the Saviors have technically caused no harm to them. Rick now has a desire to destroy any potential threats before they even happen, showing that he will do just about anything to protect his people from danger (very similar to The Governor in the first half of Season 3, but on a more heroic scale). Rick has demonstrated that he's now indeed a cold-blooded killer as shown during their attack on the Savior outpost and his killing of Primo and Jiro. He also nearly kills an innocent survivor from the Kingdom, believing him to be a Savior hunting Carol, though Morgan stops him to his visible anger and claims regardless of who he was, he no longer takes chances, showing that he is willing to kill completely innocent survivors.

However, his overconfidence and eagerness to destroy the Saviors brings about serious consequences; while on a frantic journey to get a sick Maggie to the Hilltop, he and his group are tricked and ambushed by the Saviors and for the first time in the series, Rick shows extreme fear as he is confronted with an impossible situation over which he has no control. At the sight of his new enemy, Negan, Rick visibly trembles and appears to be almost numb with terror and is helpless as Negan personally selects a member of the group at random and beats them to death with a baseball bat in revenge for Rick's actions.

It is revealed that Negan had selected Abraham and preceded to beat him viciously to death with his baseball bat; Rick watches on in horror. Glenn is later killed as punishment for Daryl assaulting Negan moments after Abraham's execution. Rick, with Abraham's blood on his face, quietly threatens to kill Negan. Negan inquires to as to what Rick said and Rick is petrified to look at him but gains the courage to repeat his threat while looking him in the eye. Negan then takes Rick on a "trip" where he continuously mocks Rick for thinking of a prosperous future with his group whilst physically assaulting him. Unsatisfied Rick hasn't submitted to him, Negan returns Rick to his group and threatens that if he doesn't severe Carl's left arm his remaining group members will be executed. This pushes Rick to his absolute breaking point as he wails, cries, has mucus run out of his nose and even suggest he suffer the amputation. Just as Rick is about to cut off his son's arm, Negan becomes satisfied claiming the terror on Rick's face was the "exact look" he desired. Having been the first man to devolve Rick into a complete loss of power and control, Negan has revealed the extremity of Rick's emotions/actions of absolute fear and subjugation as he becomes horrified for the safety of his remaining group should he provoke Negan again. This fear was later subsided after the deaths of Spencer and Olivia, and finally regains his courage to fight Negan and the Saviors. He attempts to recruit the Hilltop and the Kingdom to help fight the Saviors with little success. Rick's desire to kill other survivors, aside from the Saviors, has subsided as well: this is most likely due to the fallout that came from his attack at the Saviors outpost. Once again, Rick has also shown a reluctance to lead, only wishing to lead Alexandria, not wishing to lead the joint communities once they take out the Saviors. Rick has demonstrated that he is no longer afraid of Negan as while he is once again at his mercy, he tells him that no matter what he does to him he will make it his mission to kill him and all the Saviors and that nothing will change that. This shows Rick will never be subservient to Negan again and will do whatever it takes to stop him, even at the cost of his own life to ensure a prosperous future for his family, group and allies.

During Season 8, Rick along with Ezekiel and Maggie have stepped up to lead their communities in a war against Negan and the Saviors. Rick is shown to have complete faith in the abilities of his soldiers and the Militia and claims that they will win the fight at all cost. Rick has displayed his intense ruthlessness and mercilessness again and is prepared to kill any Savior without hesitation as he single-handily slaughters numerous Saviors brutally. He is also shown to not be willing to take chances with strangers again as he chases a lone survivor named Siddiq away with his revolver, much to the anger of his son, but he justifies it by saying he could be a Savior. In spite of his willingness to kill the Saviors and his threat to Negan in the Season 7 finale, Rick appears to be focused more on just killing his nemesis Negan and ending the conflict without too much bloodshed as he personally offers Negan's lieutenants, including Simon and Eugene, a chance to surrender, while Rick promises he will kill Negan as he has promised him twice, though they all refuse. Throughout the war, Rick has shown remorse for some of his actions, notably killing the father of an infant in a Savior Outpost and also shock at some of his allies' desire for blood, notably Daryl who kills their old ally Morales, despite knowing him and Todd, who Rick promised not to harm, showing that Rick is not completely merciless. In spite of this, Rick is truly dedicated to free his allies from Negan and the Saviors at all cost and is willing to do whatever it takes, as seen when he recruits the Scavengers to help him fight in spite of their betrayal of him, showing that he is desperate to stop Negan. The war however has taken its toll on Rick and he has suffered one of the most personal losses he will ever face: his own son.

Carl's death absolutely devastates Rick and pushes him to his absolute breaking point. Following this he appears to be more determined then ever to kill Negan as he recklessly attempts to go after him alone and almost gets himself killed in the process. He is shown to still be somewhat hostile towards Siddiq and appears to hold a slight grudge against him due to his involvement in Carl's death as he rejects his words following the Saviors' assault on the Hilltop and is shown to be emotionally distant from others, even Michonne. Rick has displayed an even colder side as well as he refuses to allow Jadis to return to safety with him and Michonne after learning that the Saviors have massacred her people and shows no remorse for their deaths and blames her for the situation. He is shown to now want to destroy the Saviors entirely again as he mercilessly slaughters more Saviors during the attack on the Hilltop and after he and Morgan are kidnapped by a group of Savior prisoners fleeing from the Hilltop and with a herd approaching, Rick promises not to harm them though even after the Saviors attempt to help him and Morgan fight the Walkers and after one saves Rick from being bitten, the two betray them and brutally slaughter them and Rick even sadistically admits to one before he kills him that he lied all along. This situation shows that Rick is potentially developing into a bloodthirsty killer very similar to Morgan as both have lost their sons and are now venting their trauma and anger on hostile forces threatening them and their allies and also now sees no chance that the Saviors are capable of redemption and that they best be exterminated.

However, after betraying the Saviors that helped him, seeing what he had become and reading Carl's letter, Rick is reminded of who he once was and has a change of heart about how to deal with the Saviors. After defeating Negan by slicing his throat, instead of letting him die he asks Siddiq to save him, despite Maggie's protests. He also gives the remaining Saviors a chance to help him and the other communities in creating a new world together.

In Season 9, a year and a half after the war against Negan, Rick has adopted a more peaceful and democratic way of leadership and is seen as a heroic figure among some people. Despite his decision to spare Negan, he still tries to unite all the communities to accomplish Carl's vision of rebuilding a civilization for the future. In an effort to do this, he unites the communities in rebuilding a bridge that will serve as a connecting point between the communities's trade routes, however, despite his best intentions, several events unfold in the camp which leads to several people abandoning his project and breaking his dreams, to the point of making him cry in sadness.

In the end, Rick, seeing that the bridge supports a herd coming towards the communities, does what he considers is the right thing and in a selfless way, shoots at some dynamite, causing an explosion and destroying the bridge to save all his loved ones. Despite being rescued, Rick's presumed sacrifice is always remembered as the reason people followed his example and joined together to create a better future, and his legacy will always be carried on by his family and loved ones.

## Pre-apocalypse

### King County, Georgia

Rick grew up in Georgia, somewhere near Atlanta. As a child, he shared a close relationship with his father whom he described as a 'profound' man who instilled a strong moral code onto him. His mother often told him the story of *‘The Stone in The Road’,* which encouraged him to never give up in the face of adversity.  He also became inspired by the old tales of his grandfather, whom served during the Second World War.

He grew up alongside his closest friend Shane Walsh, where the two developed a strong bond together to the point where the pair came to regard each other as 'brothers'. In high school, Rick acted as the more disciplined of the pair and thus experienced very few short-lived relationships with girls, in contrast to Shane whom had many conquests. Academically, Rick and Shane studied at college together for police administration where they eventually graduated and became employed deputies stationed at the King County Sheriff's Department, with Shane assigned as his partner.

As a young adult, Rick later met a woman named Lori, where the two eventually fell in love with each other and became married where together they had a son named Carl. The trio lived together as a typical family in a single-story house located in King County, Georgia, where Shane became a close friend of the family. Rick took memorable walks with his 3-year-old son around a local farm, where Carl became grateful for the safety and happiness his father provided him.

Over time however, Rick and Lori's marriage became increasingly strained due to Rick constantly distancing himself from her, as he generally hesitated to express his feeling regarding their marital issues and thus Rick instead opted to absorb himself through his work. This nature led to various cracks in their relationship, which resulted in harsh words directed from Lori, who once questioned whether Rick cared about his family in the presence of their son.

### Days Gone Bye

On a deserted Georgia highway, Rick drives his police cruiser past overturned and damaged cars scattered blocking the road, making him stop. He gets out and takes a gas can out of the trunk. He walks past the remains of more wrecked and abandoned cars down a hill towards a gas station. Various corpses and garbage are spread across the gas station, where a handmade sign hanging reads "NO GAS".

Rick searches around, when suddenly, he hears something and ducks down behind a car. He catches a glimpse of the slippered feet of a little girl on the other side of the car as she picks up a teddy bear on the ground. He stands up and sees the little girl walking away, so he walks closer to her. *"Little girl"*, Rick keeps calling to her until she turns around to face him. Her lips and right cheek have been torn away, exposing raw teeth and muscle.

Rick's face falls as she starts walking towards him, growling. She approaches faster as he steps back, draws his Colt Python and shoots her in the head. As her body falls to the floor, Rick lowers his gun.

In a flashback, Rick and his partner and best friend, Shane Walsh are eating hamburgers and fries inside their police cruiser. They joke about the differences between men and women. When the conversation turns to Rick's wife, Lori, he turns somber. He says that they've been fighting lately, and says that Lori accused him that morning of not caring about his family in front of their son, Carl. *"The difference between men and women?... I would never say something that cruel to her, especially not in front of Carl,"* Rick muses. Suddenly, the cruiser's radio cracks to life reporting a high-speed pursuit in progress involving two armed suspects.

Rick and Shane dump their food and rush to the scene. When they arrive, they lay down a spike strip and meet up with their co-workers, Lambert Kendal and Leon Basset. As they all wait for the car, Leon muses about their chances of getting on a police chase reality show. Rick tells him to focus, and worry about having a round in his gun chamber and the safety off. Leon sheepishly checks his gun while Shane suggests that it would be *"kinda cool gettin' on one of them shows."*

At that moment, the car approaches, pursued by two more cruisers containing the Linden County Sheriff's Department officers. The car, with the suspects inside, speeds over the spike strip, shredding the tires. The driver loses control of the wheel and the vehicle flips off the road, rolling several times before coming to a rough stop upside down in a field. *"Holy shit,"* mutters Shane, cocking his shotgun as the officers descend on the vehicle.

Rick carefully approaches the overturned car. A man emerges from the vehicle and immediately starts shooting at the officers. Rick yells at him to drop his pistol, but the man shoots directly at Rick and hits him in the chest. Shane shoots the gunman, killing him as Rick falls to the ground.

A second man emerges from the vehicle brandishing a shotgun, but is also shot to death. *"I'm alright!"* Rick shouts, the gunman having shot his Kevlar bulletproof vest. Shane approaches Rick as he pulls himself off the ground.*"Shane, you do not tell Lori that happened! Ever!"* Rick commands Shane as he looks at his vest.

Meanwhile, a third gunman unnoticed by everyone crawls out of the car and through the grass. The man fires his gun and hits Rick in the side, where his vest does not protect him. He falls to the ground bleeding as Shane shoots and kills the third man before rushing to Rick's aid. He begs for Rick to stay with him, barking at Leon to call an ambulance, but Rick remains motionless.

A while later, Shane delivers flowers to Rick in the hospital, but Rick isn't fully conscious while Shane starts talking to him. Two weeks later, Rick awakens and responds to Shane's presence. He discovers that Shane is no longer there. The flowers have wilted and died, the beeping of the machines have stopped as has the clock; the room is empty. Weak, dehydrated and alone, Rick pulls himself out of bed, flops onto the floor and calls out for a nurse to help, but no one comes.

After getting no response, he stumbles into the bathroom, guzzling water directly from the tap, while noticing a growing beard, before he heads for the door. He opens the door and notices a gurney is blocking the entrance to his room. He pushes it aside and continues walking in the dark and disheveled hallway.

The hallway's lights flicker and wires hang from the ceiling. He goes to the nurse's station and tries the phone, but it's dead. He finds a set of matches while also looking for anything else worth taking from behind the desk. Suddenly, a flickering light draws his attention, and through a doorway, Rick sees the ravaged body of a nurse missing most of her skin. His eyes can't believe what he's seeing and he backs away, confused and afraid. Continuing further down the hallway, he sees that the walls are covered in blood with numerous bullet holes. A double door leading into the cafeteria has been chained shut, a message scrawled across in black paint: "DON'T OPEN/DEAD INSIDE." A woman's hands, her fingernails dirty and broken, reach through the cracks and fiddle with the padlock and chains, moaning and groaning as more fingers start to reach through the cracks growling. Terrified, Rick stumbles backwards.

He tries the elevator but it's dead, so he exits through a heavy door into a dark stairwell that reeks of rotting flesh. He chokes on the smell as he lumbers down the stairs, lighting matches until he finds the exit. A door opens to the back of the hospital into the loading bay. When Rick's eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, he sees hundreds of decayed, fly-covered bodies wrapped in sheets and arranged in rows and piles. He leaves the hospital and stumbles up a hill. There's a military helicopter, sandbags, and other signs of a military cordon, but everything has been abandoned.

He wanders down the road in his hospital gown, spotting an overturned bicycle in a park. As he reaches for it, the badly decayed body of a mutilated woman, her legs and lips missing, turns and reaches for him, pathetically moaning and growling in. Startled, Rick falls off the bicycle but regains himself a moment later, mounts the bike, and hastily rides away.

Rick bikes over to his home to find the front door open and the house deserted. Sobbing on the floor, he calls out for Lori and Carl, questioning if any of this is real or if he's dreaming. He heads back outside the house and sits on the steps. He spots a a man stumbling down the road and waves his hand to try and get his attention. As he is doing this, a young boy creeps up from behind and hits him with a shovel. *"Carl, I found you,"* Rick mutters. *"Daddy I got this sumbitch! I'm gonna smack him dead!"* the boy screams. The boy's father, Morgan Jones, approaches the stumbling man Rick was waving to and shoots him in the head. He then proceeds to walk towards Rick and points a revolver in his face. *"What's that bandage for? You tell me, or I will kill you,"* Morgan asks him, cocking the gun at his face. Before he can answer, Rick passes out.

Later that night, Rick wakes up with his arms and legs tied to a bed. The young boy, Duane, stands guard with a baseball bat. *"Did you get bit?"* Morgan asks Rick stiffly, having changed his bandages though Rick's gunshot wound that has mostly healed. *"Just shot, as far as I know,"* Rick says. Morgan checks his forehead and says if he had "the fever" it would have killed him by now, so he sets him free of the bedposts with a switchblade, but not before telling him that if he tries anything, he will not hesitate to kill him. He then offers him a seat at their dinner table.

Rick recognizes the home that they are in as his neighbors', Fred and Cindy Drake's house. Morgan tells Rick not to look out the window because they will see the light. He then begins to explain the story of the outbreak and the following days to a confused and disoriented Rick. *"I never should have fired that gun today. The sound draws 'em. Now they're all over the street."* Rick accuses Morgan of shooting a man in cold blood. *"It was a walker,"* Morgan corrects. He adds that they get more active after dark sometimes.

Before they begin eating dinner, Duane insists that his father give a blessing. *"Lord, please watch over us in these crazy days,"* Morgan says, and proceeds to explain to Rick that the man he shot would have tried to eat them. *"One thing I do know, don't you get bit. Bites kill. The fever burns you out. But then after a while... You come back."* Morgan explains. *"Seen it happen,"* Duane adds solemnly.

After dinner, the trio talks about Rick's son, Carl, and Rick satisfies a lingering curiosity shared by Duane and Morgan as to what line of work would put someone in a position to be shot at. *"Sheriff's deputy,"* Rick remarks. Morgan smiles and says, *"Duane thought you were a bank robber."* Suddenly, a car alarm starts to go off outside and the trio turns off the lights.

Rick and Morgan peer out to the street through heavy covered windows and boarded up doors. The street is filled with walkers, drawn by the noise of the alarm. When a woman wearing a nightgown appears and walks up to the front door of the house, Duane runs away crying. Morgan comforts his son while Rick stares at the woman through the peephole at the front door. The woman looks around and tries to turn the door handle. *"She died in the other room on that bed. I should have put her down. I just didn't have it in me. She's the mother of my child."* Morgan confesses with sorrow.

The next morning, Rick walks outside in a face shield, carrying a baseball bat. *"We're sure they're dead? I have to ask,"* says Rick, approaching a walker sitting near the stoop. *"They're dead. Except for something in the brain. That's why it's gotta be the head,"* Morgan assures him, exiting the house with Duane.

Rick approaches the walker and swings the bat repeatedly at his head, beating it down until it stops moving. He quickly becomes fatigued, most likely from his still-healing gunshot wound.

Back at the house, Rick tells Morgan he thinks his wife and son are still alive. He explains he found empty drawers in the bedrooms and the family pictures and photo albums were gone. *"Photo albums. My wife, same thing. There I am packing survival gear; she's grabbing photo albums,"* Morgan laughs, getting emotional over the memory. Duane suggests to Rick that they could be in Atlanta. Morgan explains that the government was telling people to head to a refugee center there with military protection and food, before the broadcasts stopped. He also explains that the C.D.C. is rumored to be working on a cure.

Rick, Morgan and Duane head to the King County Sheriff's Department, where they luxuriate in hot showers thanks to a separate propane heating system. As they dress, Morgan tells Rick that his family was headed to Atlanta but he and his son never made it because they got "stuck" after his wife got bit, and after she died they just stayed hunkered down at the Drake's home. Afterward, Rick packs a duffel bag with guns and changes into his sheriff's uniform and hat. He hands Morgan a rifle and some ammunition.

They head outside and start loading the weapons into the trunk of his cruiser. Rick prepares to set off for Atlanta, while Morgan says he'll follow in a few days, once Duane has learned to shoot. Rick hands Morgan a walkie-talkie and he tells him to turn it on every day at dawn to make contact. Before leaving, Morgan gives Rick a warning: *"They may not seem like much one at a time. But in a group, all riled up and hungry? Man, you watch your ass."* However, the farewell is interrupted when Rick spots a reanimated Leon who claws at the chain link fence separating them. Rick admits he didn't think much of the young officer, but he won't leave him like this. He shoots him in the forehead with his revolver, putting him down. Then, he and Morgan drive away from the sheriff's department in opposite directions.

Rick returns to the park where he found the legless walker. He follows a blood trail for quite a distance to find her again crawling helplessly. She reaches for him futilely. *"I'm sorry this happened to you,"* Rick says, shooting her in the head with his revolver and putting her out of her misery.

Later, en route to Atlanta on Highway 85, Rick sends out a broadcast on his cruiser's CB radio. In a camp outside the city, a group of survivors receives the transmission. A young blonde girl, Amy, runs to the CB, but can't get a reply. Shane, Lori, and Carl are among the survivors, however, they don't recognize Rick's voice over the garbled transmission. By the time Shane takes over the CB controls and introduces himself, Rick has left the emergency broadcast channel.

On the road, Rick's cruiser runs out of fuel, so he abandons his car on the highway and heads out on foot with a gas can and the duffel bag full of guns, making sure to grab the family photo he keeps above his rear-view mirror and stashing it in his jacket pocket. He approaches a farmhouse looking for gas. He peeks in the window where he makes the grisly discovery that a couple had committed suicide. "GOD FORGIVE US" is written in blood on the wall. Rick tries to locate the keys of the pick-up truck parked in their driveway, but finds a horse on their property instead. He saddles up and rides the rest of the way to Atlanta with the bag of guns slung across his shoulder.

Rick arrives to Atlanta, but realizes it's nothing like Morgan described. Hundreds of cars trying to leave the city have burned out on the other side of the freeway. The road into the city is completely deserted. He continues to ride into the city, devastated that he has no other leads on where his wife and son are located. He trots the streets on horseback, finding an overrun military blockade with more burned out vehicles. A few walkers along the way take notice of him, so he and the horse speed up. He looks back to see many more emerging from buses and alleys.

Suddenly, Rick catches the reflection of a helicopter passing by through a skyscraper. He speeds up the horse to try and follow it but unknowingly leads himself into a horde of hundreds of walkers. He fails to escape and topples off to the floor as the walkers start to devour the horse. While the walkers are distracted, he manages to scramble underneath an abandoned tank. Walkers take notice of him and start to reach under and grab him from both ends of the tank. He shoots several of them, but more and more keep coming. In desperation, he places the gun to his head. *"Lori, Carl, I'm sorry,"* he states. As he is about to pull the trigger, he sees an open hatch on the floor of the tank and crawls inside just before the walkers can get to him.

As he sits in the tank catching his breath, he takes the gun of a zombified soldier and continues to search through his uniform for anything of use. The movement awakens him and as he turns to bite Rick, he freaks and shoots him in the head. A deafening echo reverberates inside the enclosed space of the tank. Dazed and disoriented, he makes his way to the top of the tank where the top hatch is open. He lifts his head out of the hatch to stop the ringing in his ears. He spots the bag of guns that he dropped, but there are too many walkers. They begin to take notice of him and climb the tank to get to him. Rick then closes the hatch, sealing himself inside.

Rick, unsure of what to do next, holds the soldier's Beretta pistol to his forehead, sweating. Suddenly, the tank's radio crackles. *"Hey. Hey you, dumbass. You in the tank. Cozy in there?"* a voice says. Rick looks up and slowly lowers the gun from his forehead.

### Guts

In Atlanta, sealed inside a military tank, Rick says over the CB radio: *"Whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here."* A young man's voice replies that Rick is surrounded by walkers and advises him to make a run for it while they're distracted and busy eating his horse. Rick collects a grenade from the dead soldier and a shovel from the floor of the tank. He pops through the top hatch and dispatches a walker with his shovel, jumps off of the tank, and runs down a nearby sidewalk toward an alleyway, shooting walkers along the way. He turns around a corner and is surprised by Glenn, who reveals himself to be the one talking to him earlier over the tank radio. They race up a ladder to the roof, stopping to catch their breath on a platform halfway up. Glenn introduces himself and Rick thanks him for saving his life.

While they walk across the roof, Rick asks Glenn why he stuck his neck out for him back there, to which Glenn replies, *"Call it foolish, naive hope that if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody would do the same for me. Guess that makes me an even bigger dumbass than you,"* leaving him in thought. Glenn leads Rick down a staircase to an alley, which is free of all but four walkers thanks to a bus blockade. Glenn radios his group, prompting T-Dog and Morales, wearing riot gear and brandishing baseball bats, to emerge from the building and beat down the walkers. Rick and Glenn rush into the building, followed by them.

Inside the store, Andrea points a gun in Rick's face, furious at his recklessness. *"We're dead because of you,"* she tells him. Morales informs Rick that his gunshots have attracted numerous hordes of walkers. *"You just rang the dinner bell,"* Andrea seethes, as the group's attention turns to a crowd of walkers outside that are slamming themselves against the the store’s front doors, furiously trying to gain entry. The group questions Rick about what he was doing roaming around the streets. Rick tries to explain he was trying to flag down a helicopter. Jacqui suggests that it was just a hallucination. *"I saw it,"* he insists forcefully. T-Dog tries to make radio contact with another unknown group, but fails to get a signal, wondering if they might have better luck on higher ground. Suddenly, muffled gunshots are heard. *"Oh god, is that Dixon?"* Andrea says in disbelief, as they all leave to investigate.

On the roof, Rick and the group find Merle firing at walkers with a rifle. T-Dog chastises him for wasting bullets and attracting more walkers. Merle scoffs at him by saying he'd never take orders from a "n\*gger," which sets off a fight between the two. Merle beats T-Dog and presses a handgun to his forehead, but Rick intervenes, hitting Merle with the butt of the rifle and handcuffing him to a pipe. *"Things are different now. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."* Rick tells Merle as he holds a gun to his head. He then finds a stash of cocaine in Merle's shirt pocket and tosses it over the roof, much to Merle's chagrin.

Morales informs Rick there's no refugee center and that they are part of a larger group of survivors staying outside the city, but T-Dog can't reach them on the radio. *"We're on our own,"* Rick says. With the streets no longer safe, Rick suggests they try to escape underground. Jacqui, who formerly worked in the Atlanta zoning office, says that the building might have access to the sewers, prompting Rick and the group to head back downstairs to the basement. In the basement, Glenn concocts a plan and sends Rick and Andrea to watch the storefront while he and Morales head down the sewer.

On the front of the store, Rick and Andrea keep watch. *"Sorry for the gun in your face,"* she says to Rick, who claims he's helping the group escape to earn their trust and understands what Andrea did, but he tells her: *"Next time, take the safety off."* She says her gun was a gift and she doesn't know how to use one. *"We may have occasion to use it,"* Rick tells her. A while later, Andrea spots a necklace with a mermaid pendant. Rick encourages her to take it, insisting shoplifting rules don't apply anymore. Andrea pockets the necklace, when the walkers break through the exterior glass doors and begin pounding on the interior set. Glenn, Morales, and Jacqui arrive to report that the sewer is not an option. Rick and the group heads to the roof.

On the roof, Rick spots a cube van at a nearby construction site. The group discusses the difficulty of moving past the walkers undetected. *"They smell dead. We don't. It's pretty distinct."* Andrea says. Rick latches onto the concept of scent and how the dead use it to differentiate between themselves and the living. A while later, Rick and Morales collect a dead walker from the alley. Inside, Rick acknowledges the walker's lost humanity and then begins hacking the dead body to pieces with an axe. Rick and Glenn then smear guts on themselves, disgusting everyone. Before leaving, Rick tosses T-Dog the key to Merle's handcuffs.

Outside, Rick and Glenn crawl under the bus blocking the alley. They start to shuffle in to the streets, mixing in to the crowd of walkers unnoticed. Suddenly, a rainstorm passes over them, washing the guts off their jackets. The walkers detect them as humans, prompting Rick and Glenn to fight them while continuing to run to the construction site. They are able to make it over the fence uninjured. Rick shoots at walkers while Glenn locates the keys. The crowd of walkers knocks down the fence and charges at them, but they speed away in the van just in time. Rick orders Glenn to radio the group to get ready for pick-up, and mentions that they will need a way to lure the walkers away from the department store, eyeing a red Dodge Challenger sports car. Rick smashes the driver's side window to gain entry, causing the car's alarm to blare loudly.

Rick pulls the van up and the group piles in, catching their breath as they drive away from the city. They look around at one another and a guilt-ridden T-Dog admits to the others he dropped the key, leaving Merle trapped on the roof, still handcuffed to a pipe. Andrea then asks Rick, *"Where's Glenn?"*

### Tell It to the Frogs

On the road, Morales advises Rick not to dwell on Merle's abandonment. When the van arrives at the camp, the group embraces with their families while Rick hesitantly stays in the car for a few moments. He later emerges and recognizes Shane. The two trade stunned glances as Carl spots Rick and runs into his open arms. Lori stares at Rick, but she tearfully embraces her husband and son. Rick turns to smile at Shane, who does manage an honest smile in return.

In the night, around a campfire, Rick describes the disorientation he felt waking up alone in the hospital. Lori explains she was told Rick would be brought over to Atlanta, but it never happened. *"Mom said you died,"* Carl comments. *"She had every reason to believe that,"* Rick replies. He then expresses immense gratitude to Shane for saving and taking care of his family. He then volunteers to deliver the news to Daryl Dixon about his brother, as does T-Dog, who is wracked with guilt for dropping the key.

Later on, in their tent, Rick says goodnight to Carl and then takes Lori's hand as he crawls into bed with her. He tells her he knew she and Carl were alive because their photo albums were gone when he returned to their house. Lori smiles and pulls one open. *"I told you so,"* says Rick, and Lori jokingly accuses him of getting cocky as he grabs for the family photo in his jacket pocket. They reflect on their past mistakes and are grateful for the second chance that they have been given. *"Not many people get that,"* Rick says. Lori returns Rick's wedding ring, which had been removed when he was in the hospital, and the two discretely have sex.

The next morning, Rick wakes to find a fresh pair of clothes laid out for him inside the tent. He gets up and gets dressed. Outside, he finds Carol ironing his freshly laundered uniform, though she laments how much harder it is without her old Maytag. Rick thanks her for her kindness. Nearby, Glenn mourns as Morales, Dale, and Jim strip the Challenger down for parts, taking gas for the camp's generators. *"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday,"* Rick says to comfort him, patting him on the back.

Rick then tells Lori he keeps thinking about leaving Merle behind and he plans to return to Atlanta. Lori is shocked, but their discussion is interrupted by screams. Carl, Sophia, and Jacqui, who had been out walking, run in to camp deeply shaken. Sophia calls out for her mother and the men grab various weapons from the campsite.

Rick, Shane, Jim, Morales, and Glenn run past them to a clearing where a walker is devouring a deer with crossbow bolts sticking out of it. The five men beat on the walker until Dale arrives and decapitates it. The group hears the bushes rustling and Shane raises his gun protectively. Daryl emerges from the woods carrying a crossbow and hauling over a dozen dead squirrels. He's upset that the walker ate the deer he'd been tracking for miles, and the food has been wasted. The walker's decapitated head starts grinding it's teeth, growling. Daryl fires his crossbow in to its skull. *"Come on people, what the hell? It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothin'?"* he rebukes, before heading into camp looking for Merle.

Shane follows, telling Daryl that Merle didn't make it back. Rick chimes in, confessing he left Merle handcuffed to the roof as the group surrounds them. Daryl throws the dead squirrels at Rick who ducks as Shane throws him backwards. T-Dog sees Daryl pull a knife and warns Rick and Shane, joining the scuffle. Rick is able to disarm Daryl, and Shane locks him in a sleeper hold. *"Choke holdin's illegal!"* Daryl argues breathlessly. Rick tells Daryl he wants to have a calm discussion about Merle. *"Your brother does not work and play well with others,"* Rick tells him, which Daryl seems to understand already. T-Dog cuts in, explaining that he accidentally dropped the key in a drain. He adds that he chained the door to the roof shut so the undead couldn't get to him. *"Just tell me where he is, so I can go get him,"* Daryl orders. Lori then states that Rick is going back to Merle.

Later, Rick prepares to leave with Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog. Shane questions his decision to risk his life for Merle and argues that they need everybody to protect the camp in case more walkers show up. However, Rick contends they need more guns, which he'd be able to retrieve from the bag he dropped outside the tank. He also explains to Lori that he needs to collect his walkie-talkie from the bag so he can warn Morgan away from the city, claiming he owes them his life. Shane then gives Rick the last of his bullets for his revolver. Rick loads his gun in the passenger seat while Daryl drives out of camp and the group leave the campsite.

In Atlanta, the group parks beside a railroad line. Daryl threatens T-Dog if Merle's not okay, but T-Dog insists that the undead can't get through the chains on the door. As they travel on foot below a highway overpass, Glenn decides the group should go for Merle first, because going for the guns would mean doubling back.

Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog arrive at the department store. Daryl kills a walker in the store with his crossbow. They cut through the chain on the stairwell with the bolt-cutters and emerge onto the roof. On the ground, the hacksaw sits beside Merle's severed hand with the bloodied handcuffs hanging from the pipe above. Daryl screams as the others look on helplessly.

### Vatos

An enraged Daryl points his crossbow at T-Dog, but relents when Rick pulls his revolver. They then follow Merle's trail of blood to a kitchen, where Sterno cans burn next to an iron steak weight crusted with skin—the result of Merle cauterizing his stump. Rick agrees to help Daryl search the streets for his brother. "Only if we get those guns first," T-Dog says. Glenn outlines a plan to retrieve Rick's bag: Daryl will watch his back from the store's alley, while Rick and T-Dog cover a second alley two blocks away.

On the street, Glenn runs toward the tank. Back in the alley, a teenager named Miguel approaches Daryl. Daryl trains his crossbow on Miguel, who begins screaming. Glenn grabs the bag of guns — and Rick's hat — then runs back toward Daryl. Rick and T-Dog, hearing Miguel's screams, also head for the alley. Two men named Jorge and Felipe, who have also come for the guns, then jump Daryl. The men turn to Glenn and start beating him. Daryl then fires an arrow in Felipe's butt. They throw Glenn in a car and drive off—leaving Miguel and the guns behind. Rick then takes Miguel and asks him about the men that he was with, Miguel refuses to speak to Rick. Daryl tries to tell Miguel that his brother's hand was a result of "the last guy who pissed him off" and throws the hand on Miguel as he starts to panic. Daryl then threatens to cut off his feet by telling he is "going to start with the feet this time." Rick fends Daryl off and asks Miguel that all he wants to do is work something out with his gang. Later on Miguel leads Rick, Daryl and T-Dog to an abandoned factory, where the leader of the group called "G" emerges. Rick proposes trading Miguel for Glenn. G demands the bag of guns, threatening to kill Glenn if they do not hand it over.

Rick then escorts Miguel into the warehouse carrying the guns on his back. Rick cuts Miguel loose and demands G hand over Glenn. Felipe and Miguel's grandmother shuffles into the middle of the stand-off, asking Felipe for help with "Mr. Gilbert." She notices Rick's uniform and begs him not to take Felipe away. Rick tells Felipe's grandmother that Felipe is helping him find a missing person. Abuela leads Rick into a nursing home auditorium, where several elderly people—and Glenn—are grouped around an asthmatic man. Felipe helps the man with an inhaler.

After giving them a few rifles, Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl walk back to the cube van, but find it missing. Back at the RV, a walker tears into Amy's neck. Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog arrive and quickly shoot the remaining walkers.

### Wildfire

Rick stares at a sunrise over Atlanta as he tries to reach Morgan on the walkie-talkie, discussing what has happened to him ever since they departed from one another. Rick, Lori, and Shane discuss how to handle Andrea as she continues to cradle Amy’s body. Rick tries to approach Andrea but she pulls a gun on him. Around the same time, Jim reveals his bite wound to the group. Rick thinks the CDC might be able to help Jim, and suggests relocating there. Shane, however, thinks the army base in Fort Benning — 125 miles in the opposite direction — is a safer bet. Daryl heads toward Jim with his pickaxe and tries to take a swing. Rick points his gun at Daryl's head and prevents him from taking action. Rick and Shane later dig graves near the campsite. A deeply frustrated Shane reminds Rick that he and the others who accompanied him to Atlanta to find Merle should have stayed so they wouldn't have lost so many people. Rick counters that without the guns he brought back, the losses might have been worse.

The survivors stage a funeral. Privately, Rick asks Lori if she blames him for not being there when the camp was attacked, and to support his decision to head for the CDC. She does not blame him exactly—not like Shane does—but she does not know if she can follow him to the CDC on blind faith. In the RV, Rick tells a feverish Jim they are going to get him help, but Jim is delirious. Outside, Shane asks Lori to convince Rick the CDC is a bad decision, cautioning her about choosing her marriage over peoples' safety. When Rick emerges, Lori announces that they should follow Rick's plan.

Rick, Shane and Dale depart to sweep the forest for walkers. Alone, Shane tries to convince Rick to change his mind. He's outraged when Rick appears to show a lack of compassion and gratitude for all he's done over the past few days, and for a brief few moments, aims his gun at Rick who's wandered off into the woods. Glaring, he drops the gun, and then notices Dale watching him. "Jesus," whispers Dale. Back at camp, Shane announces that he thinks they should trust Rick's instincts and those that agree would be leaving for the CDC in the morning. At dawn, Rick tries to reach Morgan to advise him of their plan. En route to the CDC, the RV's radiator hose bursts. While Shane and T-Dog drive ahead to find a replacement, Rick checks on Jim, who is in agony. They say their goodbyes and leave him to die next to a tree at his request.

Rick's caravan approaches the CDC, where hundreds of bodies lay dead on the ground. The group quietly approaches the building, which is locked and shuttered. As night time approaches the group begins to panic and Lori says that they can't be that close to the city after dark as walkers begin to rise. Rick catches sight of the security camera's movement but Dale thinks he "imagined it" and slams on the shutters, screaming for help as Shane drags him away. The shutters open at the last minute and drown everyone in light.

### TS-19

In a flashback to the early days of the outbreak while Rick is still in the coma, the hospital is getting overrun and doctors are seen fleeing in terror or getting executed by the military, leaving Shane by himself with Rick. Shane tries to get Rick to wake up but a nearby explosion causes a power-outage and Rick's life-support machines die. Shane is forced to run but, holding out on hope that his friend might still wake, he barricades the door with a gurney before fleeing, indirectly saving his life.

In the present, Rick and the other survivors file into the CDC lobby as Dr. Edwin Jenner meets them at the door. Jenner agrees to allow them in — provided they all submit to a blood test. Rick agrees, and they follow Jenner to the building's basement control center. Later, the group feasts in the CDC cafeteria, jovially drinking wine and liquor, jubilant about finding a safe place. Jenner shows the group around the building, directing the children toward the recreation room and imploring everyone not to waste electricity. Rick stumbles drunkenly into the control room, where Jenner is working. Rick thanks Jenner again. He admits to Jenner that he never let on to the others what he really thought, but he knew they were running out of options. Rick stumbles into bed with Lori and sees that she is been crying. He assures her she doesn't need to be afraid.

The next morning, when Jenner arrives, he leads the group to the control center, where he displays brain scans from "Test Subject 19," who was infected and allowed the process to be recorded. Jenner admits he does not know what the disease is or how to treat it, and that he's lost contact with other facilities. Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn head to inspect the generators while upstairs, the building's air cuts off. In his office, Jenner stares at a photograph of a woman, asking her to understand that he did the best he could and hopes she would be proud of him. The panicked survivors confront Jenner, who explains the building is shutting itself down.

When the building runs out of power it will self-destruct — a "decontamination" protocol to keep dangerous infectious diseases from escaping. Jenner tries to convince Rick to accept his fate. Rick demands to know why Jenner stayed if he did not think there was any hope. "I made a promise," Jenner says, to his wife — Test Subject 19 — to keep going as long as he could. She was one of the finest scientists in the world; if anyone could have done something about this, it was she. Jenner eventually opens the door, but maintains that they still won't be able to get past the lock-down upstairs. He shakes Rick's hand, pulls him close, and whispers into Rick's ear.

In the CDC lobby, the group finds the doors locked and pounds helplessly on the windows. Carol pulls the hand grenade that Rick found in the tank in Atlanta from her bag. Rick detonates the grenade, blasting out one of the glass windows. The survivors run to the cars. From inside the RV, Lori sees Dale and Andrea emerge from the building. Jenner and Jacqui hold hands and watch the others evacuate on the security monitor. The CDC erupts in a fiery explosion. Dale and Andrea rush to the RV. Shaken, Rick starts the engine, and the caravan drives away from the smoldering rubble.

Season 2

### What Lies Ahead

Rick stands atop a roof in Atlanta, addressing Morgan through his radio, though Morgan appears not to be present. Nevertheless, Rick says that Atlanta isn't safe anymore, and that the CDC was a dead end, as if Morgan is really there. He is about to mention what Jenner told him just as they were leaving the CDC, but decides against it, instead saying that the group is heading toward Fort Benning. The group finally leaves Atlanta, commencing on a new journey. As they continue south of Atlanta, they come across a large sum of parked and crashed cars, which ultimately blocks their path. They attempt to navigate through the maze of vehicles, but soon the radiator in the RV blows out. The group decides to search the nearby cars for another radiator they could use, as well as any other useful supplies.

Rick and Dale keep watch. Dale notices a walker hobbling about, and Rick recognizes it as well. He's about to shoot it before realizing that the walker is in fact part of a much larger herd heading their way. Rick silently orders the group to hide under the cars. Rick watches as Lori comforts a frantic Carol, her daughter Sophia alone and hiding under a different car. After the herd passes, Sophia, thinking it's safe, comes out from under the car, but fails to notice two walkers nearby. Rick watches helplessly as the walkers see her and chase her into the nearby forest. After reassuring Carol that he will get her daughter back, he runs after Sophia. Once he reaches her, he guides her to a tree hanging low over the riverbank and tells her to hide under it, "If I don't come back, head back to the highway the same way we came. Keep the sun on your left shoulder." Rick guides the walkers a safe distance away before taking care of them with a boulder. Afterward, Rick returns to the highway, expecting to find Sophia, but he instead discovers that she still hadn't returned, and is forced to confront a distraught Carol.

Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn return to the riverbank to investigate. After finding nothing, Shane and Glenn head back as Rick and Daryl continue on. They eventually come upon a walker, and after killing it, Daryl notices that it had fed recently. They two reluctantly open it up as insurance, and Daryl identifies the walker's recent meal to be a woodchuck, much to the pair's relief. They return to the highway by sunset, and Carol reprimands Rick for leaving her daughter alone in the woods. The next day, the group as a whole go tracking Sophia once more. They find a tent in the middle of the forest, but no signs of Sophia anywhere near it. It's then that they hear a bell toll nearby, and upon following the sound, they find themselves at a church. Sophia appears not to be there either, as the bell is in fact an audio loop on a timer.

The group waits at the church as Carol prays for her daughter, but as it starts to get late, they are forced to head back to the highway. Rick, however, isn't ready to give up, so he and Shane stay behind as the rest go on ahead. Before leaving, Carl asks to stay with Rick, and Lori and Rick agree to let him. Before the trio sets out, Rick approaches the crucified figure of Jesus and admits that, although he isn't a believer, he could use any help possible in finding Sophia. After leaving, the group comes across a lone buck. Shane is about to shoot it, but stops as Rick points out Carl curiously approaching it. Suddenly, a gunshot fills the air as a bullet travels straight through the deer, finding it's way into Carl's abdomen. Rick and Shane run to him as he falls to the ground.

### Bloodletting

After discovering who shot Carl, a man named Otis, the three take Carl to a nearby farm in which Otis says a man named Hershel Greene can help. Rick pitifully carries an unconscious Carl as he runs, and once at the farm, Hershel and his daughters help get Carl onto a bed so they can start to treat him. As they do so, Shane assures Rick that it isn't his fault, and that Carl will be fine, just like he was when he was shot. Maggie, Hershel's eldest daughter, informs Rick that he will need to donate blood to Carl, for they are both the same blood type. As his blood is drawn, Hershel begins surgery on Carl, and the painful screams of his child upsets Rick. Afterward, Hershel announced that he isn't finished, and to do so without inflicting harm, he needs specific medical supplies that they don't have. They conclude that the best place to find such supplies is a nearby high school-turned-FEMA camp. Otis volunteers to go, feeling guilty for shooting Rick's child, and Shane decides to go with. Maggie volunteers to get Lori, as she has a right to know what happened to her son.

Later on, Rick admires Hershel's farm and talks with Hershel about a potential cure for the outbreak when Maggie returns to the farm with Lori. Once she sees her bedridden son, Lori breaks into tears. Rick does another transfusion and after assuring the couple that Carl will be fine after Shane and Otis get back, Hershel admits to Rick and Lori that he is a veterinarian. Lori doesn't seem pleased with this, but Rick reminds her that he's the only option they have. It's soon that they start worry that Shane and Otis haven't returned, and Hershel reveals that if they don't arrive soon, he will have to resume surgery without anesthetic and the necessary equipment.

### Save the Last One

By the evening, Rick and Lori meet with Glenn and T-Dog as they arrive at the farm, they give their regards to Carl. Having a discussion with Lori about their situation, Lori wonders whether Carl should even live, saying that it's better for him to leave this world instead of watching more people die, while Rick becomes deeply upset and wants a future for his son. They are happy when Carl finally awakens but soon goes into a seizure and their fear returns. Hershel gives them an ultimatum, Carl doesn't have more time left and they need to perform the surgery urgently. Shane miraculously returns with the supplies needed in time, but Otis didn't make it back. Rick is very grateful, unaware of Shane's lies about what truly happened to Otis. Hershel is able to perform the surgery and Carl is finally safe. After the moment of relief, Rick and Hershel comforts Patricia, Otis' wife, as Shane watches them from the hallway.

### Cherokee Rose

Rick sits by Carl, and Carl wakes up, only to ask about Sophia. Rick tells him she's okay, even though she still is missing. Maggie shows Rick and Shane a map of the area, and Rick is happy that they finally can organize the search for Sophia. Hershel tells Rick that he donated too much blood for Carl and needs to rest, Shane also can't go around for too long since he is injured from his trip for the medical supplies. They decide to wait a day before going back to the search. Hershel and Rick are talking later on, and Hershel says he expects the Atlanta Survivors will leave once Carl is in fit condition and they find Sophia. Later on, Rick and Hershel are seen once again, having a discussion as to whether Hershel will reconsider. Hershel also reassures Rick that he is a commendable father after Rick confesses to having lied to Carl. Rick is at Carl's side at the end of the day again as he awakens, and they share some conversation. Rick reveals that he lied about Sophia being okay, and Carl forgives him. Carl jokes about being happy that he and Rick have been shot. Rick gives him his sheriff hat and tells him to rest some more as Lori walks in. They hug briefly before Lori leaves the room. Rick puts away his police uniform and badges then takes off his clothes before laying down with Carl.

### Chupacabra

Rick is seen continuing the search for Sophia, laying out a map of the terrain and setting the group up in parties to go and continue looking for her. Jimmy approaches Rick and tells him that he wants to help and claimed that Hershel said it was okay for him to do so. He also allows Daryl to borrow one of Hershel's horses to help cover more ground to look for Sophia. Later, he and Shane are seen continuing searching the woods for her while discussing their old high school days and girls they liked. Shane then changes the subject and says that they are wasting time trying to look for Sophia since it's been several days since she was first originally lost and as a police officer, after 72 hours, the case gets colder (less likely to find the missing person). Rick and Shane head back to the farm where Rick asks Lori if Shane is correct in stopping the search. Lori convinces Rick otherwise comparing Sophia to if it were Carl that was missing and Rick decides to keep on searching, however, he is approached by Beth Greene, she says that Hershel wants to talk to him.

Rick talks to Hershel, who complains about Rick taking the young Jimmy out in the woods and also taking one of his horses without his permission, they agreed that Rick needs to control his people while Hershel controls his since Rick and his group won't be staying at the farm for very long anymore. Later, Andrea spots a walker approaching the farm and everyone is alerted and prepared to go kill it, when in fact they discover it was Daryl, covered in mud and blood after an accident with Hershel's horse; Andrea didn't notice it was him though, and shoots him anyway, grazing Daryl with a bullet. Rick and Shane helps Daryl back to the house and gets him medical attention from Hershel. Daryl reveals that he found Sophia's doll by the river, giving Rick even more hope of finding Sophia. After he joins everyone for a well prepared meal and has a quiet and awkward dinner with both his group and Hershel's group of people.

### Secrets

Rick and Shane both continue to plan for the search for Sophia as he allows the training of the Atlanta survivors and Hershel's people with the usage of guns and weapons. He and Lori decide that Carl should begin to learn how to shoot now and joins everyone with practice. Lori later confronts Rick about how Hershel still wants everyone to leave the farm soon and begs him to get Hershel to change his mind. Later, Rick finds abortion pills in his tent, fearing for the worst, he goes in search of Lori and finds her by the dirt road. The two have another argument after Rick finds out that Lori is pregnant and how she tried to get it aborted. They argue and Rick tries to convince her that the baby is worth keeping and knows about her relationship with Shane, but he forgives her since at the time she thought he was dead.

### Pretty Much Dead Already

During breakfast, Rick and the group finds out from Glenn that there are walkers locked in the barn. Rick is concerned about their safety, he wants to talk to Hershel about this, but Shane suggests that they open the barn and kill every single walker. After calming everyone down, Rick convinces the group to wait for him to negotiate with Hershel. Rick talks to Hershel about the barn and the possibility about having his group stay at the farm, during the conversation, Hershel says that he is not changing his mind about Rick leaving the farm, Rick responds that Lori is pregnant and they can't leave the farm, Hershel needs to reconsider. After leaving the house, Rick notices Shane inspecting the barn and tries to tell him that they just need more time to make a decision but Shane is insistent on either they clear out the barn to stay or let it be and leave the farm. Later, Rick and Andrea plan yet another search for Sophia when they are interrupted by Hershel when he asks for Rick's help with something.

While walking into the forest, with Hershel and Jimmy, Hershel says that if Rick and his group intend to stay, they have to handle walkers in his special way which is to trap and escort them back to the barn at the farm. Two walkers are stuck in the mud and Rick agrees and helps escort the two walkers back to the farm. As they approach the barn, Shane (who was giving the group weapons against Hershel's rules and preparing to kill the walkers in the barn) spots them, he explodes with anger and frustration and shoots the walker that Hershel is holding. Rick can't stop Shane because he is holding another walker, Shane opens the barn and release the walkers inside. The Atlanta group get in line with him to kill all the walkers as they pour out from the barn, Shane shoots the walker Rick is holding in the process.

As the Greene family watches in horror, a last walker leaves the barn, and it's the reanimated Sophia. Everyone is shocked and saddened until Rick realizes what has to be done; he gets his gun, points it at Sophia's head and pulls the trigger.

### Nebraska

After the barn massacre, Shane starts yelling at Hershel, blaming him about Sophia, Rick tries to stop him. Hershel tells the group to leave the farm immediately. Rick then becomes angry at Shane, because Rick had been handling the situation well before Shane ruined it, Shane calls Rick delusional and storms off. The group decides to bury Sophia, Annette Greene and Shawn Greene and burn the other walkers. Rick is disappointed since he got the group in danger looking for Sophia while she was inside the barn all the time. Everyone, except Carol, attends to the funeral of Sophia, Annette and Shawn. Later, after Beth goes into shock, the group discovers that Hershel is gone and finding his flask in his bedroom, Maggie suggests that he is at a local bar in town, Rick and Glenn decide to look for him. Rick has a conversation with Glenn about his romance with Maggie, telling him not to be afraid of telling her how much he likes her. As the night falls, they arrive at the town and find that Hershel is indeed drinking at the bar.

Rick tries to convince Hershel to go back to the farm because his daughter needs him, but he refuses, having lost all hope after the barn massacre. Hershel explains that he spent his whole life trying to raise his daughters to his beliefs only for Rick to show up and destroy everything. He says that Rick and his group are like a plague, and Rick insists that Hershel can't have lost all of his faith. After the conversation calm down, Hershel decides to go back to the farm with them. As the three are about to leave, two survivors, Dave and Tony, walk into the bar. They share a drink as Dave tells them of his journey across the country looking for a safe place, having found Fort Benning destroyed and mentions that Nebraska is a possible safe place. Dave tries to convince Rick and Hershel to let him and Tony move to the farm but they don't agree. The tensions begin to rise, Dave, after numerous failed attempts to convince Rick to let them join his group, draws his pistol. Rick quickly kills him with a shot to the head, and then turns and kills Tony.

### Triggerfinger

After the killing Dave and Tony, Rick, Hershel, and Glenn are about to leave but instead get pinned down in the bar by three members of Dave and Tony's group: Nate, Randall, and Sean. Rick tells them that Dave and Tony pulled their guns out on them first, but the group begin to shoot. Rick tells Glenn to check the back exit. After hearing shots coming from the back, Rick asks Hershel to cover Glenn as they leave through the back door. Sean spots Glenn and starts shooting, just to get shot by Hershel in the chest, Rick and Hershel notice that Glenn is not moving, he says he thinks Glenn was hit. Rick finds out that Glenn is just frozen behind a dumpster and approaches him. Randall spots them from a roof and starts shooting at them. While they take cover, Nate appears in the street inside his car and tells Randall that the gunfire attracted walkers into the town, Randall tries to jump from the roof but fails, Nate apologizes and leaves town, leaving his friend behind. Rick decides to investigate and he discovers that Randall accidentally fell and impaled his leg on a fence spike. Rick, Hershel, and Glenn argue about saving him and how to do so. Hershel suggests to put him down from misery.

The walkers slowly begin to close in on them so they decide to try to amputate his leg, but do not have enough time. Before the walkers can devour Randall, Rick lifts Randall's leg off of the spike, tearing his calf muscle. Rick, Hershel and Glenn returns to the farm by the morning, with Randall blind folded in the backseat as a hostage. The group argues on what to do with Randall, Rick says that they will fix him up, wait for him to heal and then drop him off to defend himself. Shane thinks that he will tell his group where the farm is and this will start a war. Hershel reminds Shane that it is his farm and while he is there he needs to keep his mouth shut. While Lori and Rick are in a tent Lori tells Rick that she thinks Shane killed Otis, that he is dangerous and if Rick doesn't do something about it they may all be in danger.

### 18 Miles Out

One week after the events of the previous episode, Rick and Shane drive down a country road. Rick stops the car short of their destination — 18 miles away from the farm — to confront Shane: Rick knows what happened with Otis, and he knows about Shane's liaison with Lori. Rick asks Shane if he believes Rick is unable to keep his family safe. "You can't just be the good guy and expect to live," Shane replies. "That is my wife, that is my son, that is my unborn child," Rick says. He would do anything for them. Rick opens the SUV to check on Randall, who's bound, gagged, and blindfolded in the trunk.

Back on the road, Rick makes plans for the coming winter, explaining that they have to conserve ammunition and stockpile food. Shane listens passively, staring out the window at a lone walker ambling through a field. Rick drives past the 18-mile mark, looking to leave Randall somewhere he'll have a chance. He pulls up to a public works station surrounded by a fence. A walker in police uniform approaches. Shane draws his gun but Rick stops him. Rick cuts his finger and wipes blood on the fence. When the walker presses his face against it, Rick stabs it in the head. "Gun's quick, easy," Rick says, "but there are other ways to do this." A second walker in uniform approaches, and Shane follows suit.

After checking if the place is secure, Rick siphons gas as Shane examines the policeman's bodies, noticing they haven't been bitten. Rick points to scratches that likely caused their transformation. Rick and Shane drag Randall to the pavement. Rick drops a knife on the ground as he and Shane walk away, Randall begs them not to abandon him, trying to explain he's a normal guy. "I went to school with Maggie for God's sake!" he screams. Rick and Shane freeze. "He knows where the farm is," Shane speculates, drawing his gun. Rick tackles Shane as he pulls the trigger, forcing Shane to miss Randall. Rick argues he needs time to think about what to do. Shane counters that Randall could lead his people to the farm and accuses Rick of putting Lori and Carl in danger by sparing him. "I don't think you can keep them safe," Shane concludes. The two best friends begin brawling. Shane topples a motorcycle onto Rick, briefly trapping him. He goes to Randall and aims his gun, but Rick tackles Shane before he can fire and subdues Shane with several punches to the face. Rick then yells out that he won't let Shane make the decisions anymore because of his ruthless and anger-driven attitude. Frustrated, Shane grabs a wrench and hurls it at Rick. Rick dodges the wrench but it goes through a building window which causes dozens of walkers to begin pouring out through the broken window. Rick hides under a corpse as Shane flees the onslaught.

Rick empties his gun as walkers pile on top of him. Shane barricades himself in a school bus against the walkers. After getting the bodies off of him, Rick finds Randall trying to escape, they notice Shane trapped in the school bus, Randall complains that Rick can't save him after the beating they gave each other, Rick agrees and decides to leave Shane for the dead and he drags Randall to the SUV. From the school bus, Shane watches as his partner abandons him. Rick stops to take the weapons off the two dead policemen, but after looking at the corpses, he remembers about him and Shane being best friends before the apocalypse.

In the bus, Shane is losing ground to the walkers when the SUV bursts through a nearby gate. As Randall drives, Rick leans out the window telling Shane to run to the back of the bus as he shoots the walkers. Shane runs to the back of the bus and dives into the SUV, the three finally escape the public station. Back on the road, Rick and Shane restrain Randall and toss him in the trunk once again. Alone, Rick admits he'll likely kill Randall — but he's still going to think it over. "That is my wife, that is my son, that is my child," Rick repeats. "You wanna be with us, you gotta follow my lead." Rick returns Shane's gun to him. "It's time for you to come back," Rick says.

### Judge, Jury, Executioner

After Daryl reports back to the rest of the group that Randall's group is well armed and in large number, Rick declares Randall a threat, and that he must be killed. "You can't just decide on your own to take someone's life," Dale objects, begging Rick to give him time to talk to the group and find another way. Rick agrees to give Dale the rest of the day, if he manages to convince everyone that this is the best idea, they will let Randall live. Lori finds Rick tying a noose in the barn. He asks if she supports his decision. "If you think it's best," she says, asking what happened on the road with Shane. "He won't be a problem anymore," Rick answers. Carol comes in informing them that Carl was arrogant with her. Rick chastises Carl for talking back to Carol about how people who believe in heaven are idiots, Rick then says "Don't talk, think." As the sun sets, Rick again asks Lori if she thinks he's doing the right thing. Lori nods. The group gathers in the house. Rick asks if anyone thinks Randall should be spared. Dale is disappointed that nobody, except for Andrea, agreed with giving Randall a chance. While holding his tears, he says that Rick and the group completely lost their humanity, on his way out, Dale tells Daryl that this group is broken.

By the evening, Rick, Shane and Daryl bring Randall to the barn and put him on his knees. Rick asks if he has any final words. Randall cries, begging for his life. As Rick raises his gun, Carl enters the barn. "Do it Dad," he says. Shocked, Rick lowers his gun and orders Randall taken away and Shane storms out of the barn. Rick brings Carl back to the camp and tells Lori what happened. "He wanted to watch," Rick says. "I couldn't." A scream is heard from the field and everybody is alerted, Rick orders Carl to go inside as he and the others run to investigate what's happening. Daryl gets to the scene first, where a walker is on top of Dale, tearing into his stomach. Daryl stabs the walker in the head, then shouts for help. Dale's intestines are spilling out of his body; he goes into shock. When Hershel arrives, he reports that Dale can't be saved. As Dale writhes on the ground, Andrea begs Rick to put him out of his misery, and Rick takes out his gun, but can't bring himself to shoot Dale. Daryl takes the weapon, aims it at Dale's head and shoots him.

### Better Angels

By the morning, the group hold a funeral for Dale and Rick announces that they are going to prove him wrong by showing that the group is not broken and they can still work together. Rick and Daryl plan to take Randall to the nearby town and leave him there. Shane approaches Rick saying that he needs to have a word with Carl, but Rick declares that his main concern is disposing of Randall. Shane tells Rick that Carl told him that he saw the walker that killed Dale earlier the previous day, but was too afraid to get into trouble and didn't tell anybody. Carl also gave Shane a gun that he stole from Daryl's bike, Shane storms off complaining that Randall is more important to Rick than Carl. Rick goes to the barn and talks to Carl, he encourages him to keep hold of the gun, as they no longer can live without taking action, "I am going to die. Mom. There's no way you can ever be ready for it." When Rick and Daryl prepare to leave, T-Dog is sent to get Randall but discovers that the barn is empty and Randall is missing. While investigating the scene, Shane arrives with his nose bleeding, stating that Randall broke out of the barn and hit him with a rock while he was taking watch.

Rick assembles a group of four which included Glenn, Daryl, Shane and himself to go out in search for Randall, he orders everybody else to lock themselves inside the house and wait for them to come back. While in the woods, Rick and Daryl notice that Shane is strangely agitated, Shane insists that they need to split into teams and search through the forest for Randall. Rick and Shane end up splitting from Daryl and Glenn. As the night fell, Rick notices the strange behavior from Shane and picks apart his story, he comes to the conclusion this was a ruse to lure him out into the field, where Shane would kill him. Rick turns around and tells Shane that nobody will believe him if he goes back to the farm without him and without Randall. Shane explains that he killed Randall earlier and have everything planned to fool the rest of the group into believing that Randall actually killed Rick. He tells Rick he is a better father than he is, is better for Lori than he is and that him returning only messed things up. Shane orders Rick to raise his gun so they can end this once for all.

Rick refuses to defend himself, telling Shane that he's going have to kill an unarmed man. Rick makes it seem as though he's handing Shane his weapon, once his gun is in Shane's hand and Shane is distracted for a moment, Rick pulls out his knife and stabs Shane in his heart, "This is on you, not me! You did this to us, not me!" Rick screams. Shane then dies in his arms. As Rick tries to cope with what just happened, Carl appears, shocked to see Shane dead. He aims his gun in Rick's direction who tries to calm him down, unaware of Shane rising up, now undead. Carl hesitates then pulls the trigger, killing the reanimated Shane seconds before he can bite Rick. Rick looks back confused. The shot alerts a mass herd of walkers, Rick and Carl bend over to check the corpse of Shane while not noticing the wave of zombies approaching in the horizon.

### Beside the Dying Fire

After killing Shane, Carl asks Rick what exactly happened. Before he can answer, Rick notices the herd of walkers approaching and tells Carl to run to the barn. They lure the walkers there and set fire to the barn, killing many. From the roof, they are able to signalize to Jimmy as he drives the RV so they can jump on it. After getting down from the RV, Jimmy is killed by walkers, Rick and Carl are forced to run into the forest. Later, they arrive back to the farm, saving Hershel as walkers were closing in on him. Rick asks where the rest of the group is, Hershel answers that everybody left the farm. They decide to also flee the farm, as it is swarming with hundreds of walkers; Hershel initially wanted to stay, stating that he is not going to leave his farm behind, but eventually leaves with Rick and Carl.

As the sun rises, they reach the vehicle jammed highway from the beginning of the season, they notice no one else has returned. Carl fiercely demands that they go back to find Lori, but Hershel says that keeping Carl alive is more important. As Rick weighs each option, Lori, Glenn and the other survivors arrive. Everybody is happy to see each other alive, they go to the body count: Jimmy died in the RV, Patricia died while trying to leave the house, Shane was killed by walkers (as far as Rick told the group) and Andrea was caught by walkers while saving Carol, but they don't know if she was indeed bitten. When Daryl suggests going back to find Andrea, Rick immediately shoots it down immediately claiming that "we're not splitting up again." The group decide to depart from this area, try to look for another safe heaven where they can live. As the sun sets, Rick's vehicle runs out of gas, prompting him to suggest to the group that they spend the night in some ruins nearby. Everybody starts to panic, saying that is not safe to spend a night on the road, Daryl tells Rick that he and Glenn found Randall reanimated in the forest when they split up from him and Shane. They ask what happened during the last night.

Rick reveals the secret Jenner told him back at the CDC: everyone is infected. Many of the group are angry with Rick, notably Glenn and Carol, for keeping this hidden from them. The revelation of Jenner's secret leaves many of the group having a distrust with Rick (except for Hershel and Daryl, who still trust Rick's judgment). He later tells Lori exactly what happened to Shane, horrifying her. She refuses to let him get near of her and Carl. During the night, while sitting around a campfire by the road, the group is talking about going their separate ways, a noise in the forest startles everyone, they start to complain with Rick about camping in this place, prompting Rick to finally snap and reveal that he killed Shane in cold blood to save the group. He offers anyone who doesn't want to go with him are free to leave. He waits, and when no one gets up to leave, Rick snarls "You stay, get one thing straight: This isn't a democracy anymore." Rick then leaves to investigate the noise. Unknown to any of them, a prison complex looms in the horizon.

### Season 3

#### Seed

Eight months have passed since the final events of the second season, Rick has seemingly been forgiven by the group after the events that transpired, and once again, earns their trust. He has also seemingly taken charge of the group. Rick and the group stumble upon an abandoned house, killing all of the walkers inside and deciding to stay there for a while, Lori's pregnancy is already in an advanced state. The group sit down in silence in the living room but this is short lived when another group of walkers begins to approach the house, causing the group to flee. On the road, Rick discusses with Hershel that they need a place to stay for a few weeks, so Lori can delivery the baby without many problems. They decide to leave this area of Georgia since it's swarming with walkers. While going hunting with Daryl, they stumble upon an overrun prison. Rick realizes it's the perfect place to stay. The group head to the prison entrance, noticing that there are not too many walkers on the field, they can stay there for the night if they close the courtyard gate. Rick manages to shut the gate while the rest of the group distracts and kills the walkers. The group camps in the secure prison yard for the night, Rick reveals his plans to take over the prison, since the place must be stocked with food, weapons and medicine. Lori pleads with Rick to let the group rest for a few days; Rick rebuffs Lori, revealing that while Lori has forgiven her husband, Rick is still bitter towards her because of her affair with Shane and the high probability that the baby could possibly be Shane's.

The next day, Rick and the rest of the group clear out the remaining walkers in the courtyard, cleaning out the entrance to the prison. They find a secure cell block inside, called Cell Block C. Once again, Rick rebuffs Lori when she tries to thank him. The group finds riot gear, flash grenades, and other useful equipment. Rick, Maggie, Glenn, Hershel, and Daryl decide to explore the prison even deeper, to look for the cafeteria and infirmary. They make their way through several corridors only to be ambushed by a group of walkers. Glenn and Maggie are split from the group, but Hershel insists on going back for his daughter. Hershel finds Glenn and Maggie, but is bitten in the lower right calf by a stray walker in the hallway. The group tries to takes Hershel to somewhere safe, and they end up finding the locked cafeteria and break in. Acting quickly, Rick amputates the lower portion of Hershel's right leg to keep the infection from spreading. Noticing that they need to stop the bleeding quickly, Daryl spots five figures watching them and he points his flash-light at them, revealing that they are actually living prisoners.

### Sick

While Maggie works to stop the bleeding, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog quickly put Hershel onto a gurney and take him back to Cell Block C, ignoring the five prisoners (Axel, Tomas, Big Tiny, Oscar, and Andrew). However, the prisoners follow them to the cell block and a stand off occurs between the prisoners, T-Dog, and Daryl with Rick intervening. Rick tells them about how the world has been completely overrun by walkers (as the prisoners had no knowledge of the outside world). Outside, a stand off occurs between Tomas and Rick because Tomas wants him and the other survivors to leave, seeing that the prison belongs to the prisoners, not them. Rick cuts a deal to help the prisoners secure a separate cell block in exchange for half of the prisoner's food. While bringing the food the Cell Block C, Rick notices that Hershel is still out, he pulls Glenn aside and tells him to act quickly in case Hershel dies. While Rick, T-Dog and Daryl are taking the prisoners to another cell block, they are forced to fight their way through a small group of walkers, Big Tiny is scratched on his back. Rick tells him that there is nothing he can do to help Big Tiny with this infection, and then shortly, Big Tiny is killed by Tomas.

Rick gets unnerved when a blood-spattered Tomas gives Rick an icy stare. Once they reach the room before the cell block, Tomas ignores Rick's warning and opens up both doors, causing a herd of walkers to rush in. During the fight, Tomas tries to kill Rick twice by swinging his weapon too close to him and pushing a walker towards him. After the walkers are cleared, Rick confronts Tomas once again. He mocks Tomas by saying that "shit happens," and slams his machete on Tomas' head, killing him instantly. Andrew runs away, but Rick catches him and locks him on the outside where walkers are roaming. Rick decides to let Axel and Oscar (the last of the prison survivors) live, they leave them at Cell Block B and goes back to Cell Block C. Rick holds Hershel's hand as he awakens and thanks Lori for saving Hershel's life. He meets up with Lori outside and touches her shoulder, being the first time in months that he touches her. He then claims that the group is grateful for her saving Hershel, and walks away without making eye contact.

### Killer Within

While planning to burn all the corpses from walkers the group killed inside the prison, Rick and the others receive an unexpected visit from Axel and Oscar. The two prisoners tells them that Cell Block B is a haunted place and they rather leave the prison than live in that place. After consulting Daryl, Rick decides to let the prisoners leave, as it was part of their agreement, even though T-Dog is against this decision, saying that kicking them out of the prison is a death sentence. While Rick, Daryl, and Glenn went out to get wood to burn the corpses, walkers start to invade the prison courtyard, forcing the group to split up.

Rick and the others recruit Axel and Oscar to help them kill the walkers and they found out that someone broke the latch on the gate that protected the group from walkers getting in. He thinks that either Axel or Oscar committed the crime, which allowed walkers to enter. Soon after, a loud prison alarm is heard and Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and the two inmates make their way to the generator room to shut off the walker-attracting sound. Rick is then attacked by Andrew, the inmate that Rick left out in the prison yard to be devoured by walkers, but somehow managed to survive. Andrew is then shot in the head by Oscar. On the way back to the courtyard, they find T-Dog's corpse being devoured by two walkers, which Rick can barely look at. After regrouping and realizing that there are still people missing, Rick demands to search for Lori, but hears an infant crying, which is Lori's newborn child; much to Rick's shock as he only sees Carl and Maggie returning with his newborn baby, but not Lori. Upon learning that Lori is dead, Rick sobs hysterically, before collapsing and releasing all his grief for the loss of his wife.

### Say the Word

Rick appears to be furious and mentally deranged as he picks up an axe lying in the prison's courtyard. He heads into the prison to find Lori's body, and slaughters "a dozen, two dozen" walkers along the way. Glenn follows Rick inside and attempts to convince Rick to rejoin the group outside, saying that Rick doesn't need to do this alone. Rick is unresponsive until Glenn touches him, and then Rick slams Glenn against the wall. Rick calms down, whips Glenn away, and then walks off without saying a word. When Rick reaches the boiler room, he discovers that Lori's body is gone, sees a knife, and picks up a bullet. He follows a blood streak to find a seated, bloated walker in a stupor from overeating. Rick shoots the walker in the head before stabbing its stomach multiple times. While collapsed in a daze on the floor of the boiler room, he distantly hears a baby wail and a phone ring. Confused, Rick notices a phone nearby and goes to answer it.

### Hounded

Rick picks up the phone receiver and hears a woman's voice on the other end. He is told that she is part of a large group who haven't experienced any walkers or deaths and are safe. When Rick pressures her to reveal more, she hangs up. Rick then reunites with the rest of the group to check up on Carl. When Glenn volunteers to assist Rick in dragging bodies out of the boiler room, Rick walks away. He is later confronted by Hershel, who offers his condolences to Rick about Lori's death. Rick tells him about the woman on the phone and says she'd call back in two hours after talking with the others in her group; Hershel offers to wait with him, but Rick declines. When the phone rings once again, a man from the group asks how many people Rick has killed; he answers four. After asking why he let Lori die, Rick refused to answer. The man hangs up, leaving Rick confused and enraged. Later, a third person is on the line and calls Rick by name. Scared, Rick immediately hangs up and back away from the phone. Later, another person calls, Rick hesitates, but answers it anyway. The person reveals herself to be Lori and all the others who had previously called were Amy, Jim, and Jacqui. Rick breaks down and tells Lori that he had never stopped loving her and says he didn't want her to die. Realizing this was all part of an hallucination, Rick hangs up the phone. Later on, he goes back to the cafeteria and holds his newborn daughter for the first time. He goes outside to get some fresh air, but witnesses a strange figure approaching the prison along a bunch of walkers. As he takes a better look, he realizes that it's a woman covered in walker's guts outside the Prison gates and carrying the supplies from Glenn and Maggie.

### When the Dead Come Knocking

Rick is staring at Michonne outside of their fence, surrounded by walkers. Undeterred, Michonne takes out a few walkers when her scent is exposed, but Carl and Rick assist in taking out the rest, as she passes out. After hoisting her over his shoulder and carrying her inside the prison, he lays her down and provides her with medical treatment from Hershel. He questions her over Glenn and Maggie's whereabouts, and she explains that they were taken by one of The Governor's henchman and that The Governor is the sick leader of a town nearby called Woodbury. Later, Rick formulates a plan to attack Woodbury and retrieve Glenn and Maggie. On the way out of the prison, he and Carl decide on the name Judith for the baby. Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Oscar then commence their journey to Woodbury. However, on the way, they are overtaken by walkers on foot and are forced to take shelter inside the home of a hermit. The hermit, apparently unaware of the apocalypse, bolts for the door, but is run through by Michonne, before being tossed to the walkers as a distraction while the group made their escape. Later on, at night, they finally came upon Woodbury's gate, crouched behind crashed cars, and surveyed the area.

### Made to Suffer

With the help of Michonne, Rick leads the group into Woodbury to recover Maggie and Glenn from their confinement. They manage to silently capture and interrogate one of the guards, but he is unaware of what's happening. After hearing gunshots, Rick and the group head to the sound's source, finding Glenn and Maggie about to be executed. They throw in flash grenades from the prison, blinding all of the henchmen and during the confusion, they manage to take Glenn and Maggie to a safe place. However, Michonne leaves the group and wanders into Woodbury by herself. When Daryl learns that his brother Merle is a resident of Woodbury after Glenn reveals that Merle was the one responsible for kidnapping and brutally beating him, Daryl yearns to speak with his brother. Rick refuses, as it is too risky to make contact with any resident. They decide to leave and another shootout between the Woodbury soldiers and the group ensues. During the shootout, Rick notices an hallucination of "Shane" walking through the smoke and Rick stares, transfixed. "Shane" fatally shoots Oscar, and Rick retaliates, shooting him in the head. Upon inspection, Rick discovers that it was just an ordinary Woodbury soldier. The group moves to escape, but notice that Daryl has fallen behind. While waiting for him outside, an injured Michonne arrives after ditching the group during the rescue mission. They hold her at gunpoint, asking her what was she doing, but she offers to help locate Daryl.