A surprising detail in the new The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live trailer appears to prove that Rick Grimes will lose a hand in his new show.
Summary
- The new trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live suggests that Rick may lose his hand in the show’s story.
- This loss of hand would be a recent event, as Rick had both hands in his cameo in the series finale.
- The show’s decision to have Rick keep his hand, unlike in the comics, was due to the challenges it would present in terms of action and storytelling.
A huge detail in The Walking Dead: The One Who Live trailer appears to give away the loss of Rick’s hand at some point in the show. Much of what will transpire during Rick and Michonne’s new Walking Dead adventure has been kept under wraps, but footage from the new series has offered some clues as to what challenges they’ll be put through. And if a particular show is any indication, Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes is about to endure an unexpected, life-changing development.
What shows like Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: The World Beyond were able to establish about the Civic Republic Military helped paint a picture of what Rick is up against. Years after being handed over to them by Jadis in The Walking Dead season 9, Rick will have to break away from the evil organization. Their willingness to massacre entire settlements in The World Beyond, among other atrocities, is a testament to the danger they pose to Rick. Clearly, the stakes will be quite high when his story continues.
Rick Grimes Appears To Lose His Hand In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
At 0:31 in the new The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live trailer, a hook can be seen gripping the end of Rick’s weapon where his hand would normally be. Though incredibly brief, this moment is clear enough to serve as evidence that Rick will lose a hand over the course of the show’s story. Rick notably had both hands in his cameo in The Walking Dead series finale, meaning that whatever happens to it will be a recent event, rather than something he experienced years ago.
Interestingly, this was already a subject of speculation even before the new trailer; though Rick looked to have both hands in some scenes in the first trailer, there were shots that seemed to hide one of them, such as the part where RIck is shown sitting against a wall with one arm at his side. The framing of the scenes naturally furthered speculation about the possibility, but thanks to the new The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live trailer, any doubts about it have been significantly allayed.
Rick Lost His Hand In The Walking Dead Comics (But Not The TV Show)
While surprising, Rick losing a hand wouldn’t be without precedent. In fact, it was integral to The Walking Dead comics, in that Rick was without his right hand for much of the story. During the Woodbury arc, Rick wound up at odds with the Governor, who tried to force Rick into giving up his group’s hideout, the prison. Severing his hand was a means of torture meant to make Rick talk, but it didn’t work. Like his comic counterpart, the TV version of Rick also had to conceal the location of the prison, with the main difference being that he was able to keep his hand.
Due to the timing, this amounted to a significant difference in the two iterations of Rick Grimes’ Walking Dead journey. Had this twist occurred at such an early point in the story, Rick would have only had one hand for several crucial battles, including those with Terminus and the Saviors. Of course, it goes without saying that this would have been a massive disadvantage to the character across all of these stories, from season 3 and onward.
That aspect of it factors into why it ultimately didn’t happen in the show. Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman has acknowledged that Rick losing a hand heavily influenced the handling of the action, as he was constantly forced to write around it. This challenge would have translated to the show as well, simply because Rick would have to accomplish numerous tasks very differently with only one hand, whether it be killing walkers, shooting a two-handed gun like a rifle, or winning a fist fight. It was for this reason that the show avoiding taking the same course as the comics.
What Rick Losing A Hand Would Mean For The Ones Who Live
From the looks of things, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is prepared to deal with the difficulties that’ll come with one of its two main protagonists being one-handed in the series. While adapting them to the small screen may be challenging, it also presents the show with character-driven storytelling opportunities. Seeing Rick adjust to this change in his way of life, on top of all the problems he’s facing in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, can lead to a deeply emotional storyline for the character that pushes him to his limit.
As for where this moment will fit into the narrative, it’s possible that losing a hand will be a punishment for escaping. Rick suffering this loss in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live would act as a constant reminder of the risk he’d be taking if he tries to break away from the CRM. Rick having obedience forced on him, not unlike his conflict with Negan in The Walking Dead season 7, could be a big part of his upcoming arc.
