Written by guest author Joshua Turkin
The Walking Dead has become one of television’s top shows and for good reason. In the history of television, there has never been another show like it to air. The premise behind it is absolutely amazing as the central point of the show is people who live in a society where there are no order or laws. The writers of the show really allow viewers to see the psychological aspects as to how people would cope if this actually were to happen. Instead of fearing the dead, characters on the show fear the living and society as a whole.
The Trials and Tribulations of Rick
The main character, Rick Grimes, has been fascinating viewers for many seasons. In the beginning, his character wasn’t that interesting and it’s only been in the last several years that we’ve seen him flourish as he goes through many psychological and physical struggles. As the story-lines of Rick have grown and he’s had to deal with some outrageous circumstances, viewers have seen how he has been able to adapt to a variety of situations by using various strategies. This is what has made his plot-lines so interesting and what keeps viewers coming back each week for more. In this article, we are going to focus on the complete timeline of how Rick Grimes went from Descent into Madness on ‘The Walking Dead’.
How Long Before Recklessness Takes Over
After a while, many viewers started to realize that Rick was just teetering on the edge of recklessness. His paranoia and anger had caused him to go on a destructive wrath in many episodes and although he was trying to protect people, it was pretty clear that his actions were probably going to cause him more grief in the end. It seemed that it would be only a short amount of time until he became more of creature that can handle all of the chaos in the world but would need to become less of a rational person in the end. This once small town cop started to show signs that he was becoming a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off at the wrong moment.
Rick’s First Human Kills
In Season 2 viewers got to see Rick’s first human kills in the episode “Nebraska”. Travelers Dave and Tony didn’t have the best intentions for either Rick or Hershel’s group. After Dave drew a gun on Rick, he took out both him and Tony and this was the first time that Rick got to experience what it was like to take someone’s life in order to protect himself in this new world. This was no doubt a turning point for Rick’s character.
The Ricktatorship
Viewers also got to see some of Rick’s anger when he killed his best friend Shane. He first confessed that he wanted to kill him to his wife, Lori. However, this caused her to not want to be close to Rick and it also made the group at Hershel farm lose respect for him. They began to see Rick as a dictator instead of a leader, hence the name “Ricktatorship.”
Prison Wasn’t a Good Look for Rick
After Rick went to prison, he discovered a group of inmates that didn’t care for him. Among them were Tomas and Andrew. They tried to kill Rick, but it backfired on them. Rick ended up killing Tomas with a hatchet and then chased Andrew and trapped him. Viewers got to see how Rick isn’t very forgiving and wasn’t just about to let others get away with things that he doesn’t think is right. That’s a lesson that both Tomas and Andrew probably wished that they had of learned a long time ago before crossing Rick.
Lori’s Death and The Phone
After Lori died, Rick went through a dark time and it didn’t help his already dark state of mind. He seemed to lose touch with reality. He talked to Lori on the phone, despite that fact that she was dead, and he saw visions of both her and Shane. Many viewers felt that it was only a matter of time before Rick snapped.
The Gutting of An Associate
This is probably one of the most gruesome things that Rick has done. Because of Joe, Carl, Daryl, and Michonne are in danger. Rick takes his anger out by severely biting Joe’s neck and gutting him. This scene was so brutal that many viewers had to turn away. It’s the moment, that is thought, to change Rick’s character forever and leave him completely detached from the old world.
Justice in A Way That Only Rick Could Do
There was no way that Rick was going to let Gareth and his Terminus flunkies get away with cannibalism any longer. Rick took them out without so much as a conversation. Many viewers were happy to see this as their wickedness shouldn’t be tolerated and the cannibalism scenes weren’t exactly pleasant.
And We Arrive at Alexandria
Rick wanted to take over here after his arrival and it was not sitting well with many. It’s wasn’t just all about Jesse either as he was ready to take what, or who, he wanted by force no matter what it entailed. In a recent episode, viewers got to see Rick bring all of his claws, I mean guns, out. He believed that salvation only came through him and he was going to do whatever it took to convince others. Although, it’s probably fairly difficult to do so with a gun being wielded at you. Viewers were left wondering what path Deanna would take and whether or not Rick could trust anyone at this point. It will be interesting to see if Rick can get it together and figure out how to balance his normal and psychotic sides as it seems that his feral state is currently winning and is affecting his judgment. Hopefully, the season finale will show some insight as to what Rick will do next and whether he can cope with the battle going on not only around him but inside his head as well.