Walking Dead Ultimately Acknowledges Rick’s CRM Fate (Why Is He So Valuable?)

Clues regarding Rick Grimes have finally emerged in The Walking Dead: World Beyond – but why is he so valuable to the CRM? When Andrew Lincoln quit his role as a full-time protagonist of the zombie apocalypse, The Walking Dead season 9 gave him the most mysterious exit possible. Badly injured after getting impaled and blown up (on the same day, no less) Rick’s ailing body was discovered by Jadis, who levied her working relationship with the Civic Republic Military to get them both a free ride to safety. For Jadis, Rick’s only hope of survival was a Civic Republic doctor.

Andrew Lincoln hasn’t appeared since, but The Walking Dead season 10 at least confirmed Rick survived, somehow. Michonne stumbled across an iPhone etched with an image of her and Judith. As well as proving her beloved was still alive, Michonne’s discovery meant Rick, for whatever reason, can’t return home to Alexandria, while also hinting toward his escape from the CRM. Frustratingly, The Walking Dead has offered no further information on Rick Grimes’ fate… until now. The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 2 boldly steps into CRM territory and reintroduces Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis, a full 6 years after she joined Rick on that fateful chopper.

Jadis only references Rick Grimes once in her Walking Dead: World Beyond comeback episode (“Who Are You?), but it’s a potentially vital clue nonetheless. Jadis tells Huck that when she left the junkyard and joined the CRM properly, she “gave the Civic Republic something very valuable.” The line nods toward Jadis “giving” the CRM Rick Grimes as her ticket into the community, and reveals significant details about Rick’s current status in The Walking Dead.

For starters, we now know Rick was gratefully received by the CRM. During their departure in The Walking Dead season 9, Jadis told the CRM Rick was a “B” despite previously mentioning he was an “A.” The Walking Dead showrunner, Angela Kang, subsequently intimated Jadis lied to ensure the helicopter picked them up. Deception or no, Jadis describing Rick as “valuable” means the Civic Republic deemed their wounded new guest a worthwhile acquisition for one reason or another. Secondly, Walking Dead: World Beyond’s Huck and Jadis conversation implies Rick is still connected to the CRM. Handing over Rick landed Jadis a prestigious job and comfortable life in the Civic Republic. If Rick had stirred up trouble or escaped, Jadis surely would’ve felt the CRM’s wrath, based on the ruthless approach to HR they’ve shown thus far.

The more important question is obviously why Rick is so important to the CRM, and one possibility connects to The Walking Dead’s lingering “A” and “B” mystery. Clues suggest CRM scientists are conducting zombie experiments on survivors with specific traits. Someone with the leadership skills, experience, determination, and bravery of Rick Grimes might be considered a valuable experiment subject. On the other hand, maybe Rick’s worth didn’t become clear straight away. When he first arrived with Jadis, the CRM might’ve underestimated Rick, only to realize their newcomer was a zombie-killing machine capable of inspiring survivors into unquestioned loyalty. Rick could be so valuable to CRM, he’s now attained an even higher military rank than Jadis.

These options don’t align with The Walking Dead season 10’s iPhone, which suggested Rick Grimes had managed to escape the CRM. How can one be “valuable” if they’ve already run away? Meeting Rick for the first time, maybe the CRM realized this man could cause them future trouble, but Jadis at least gave the Civic Republic pre-warning of Rick as a potential threat. The true value may not be Rick himself, but in the CRM knowing about Rick before he wages war against them. As a final possibility, Rick might’ve been interrogated and given the CRM key information. He wouldn’t risk his family by spilling the location of Alexandria, but maybe Rick shared other details – such as what he learned from Dr. Jenner at the CDC – that the CRM has used to scientifically progress over the past 6 years. Though the truth still seems far away, The Walking Dead: World Beyond gives the most revealing insight yet into the fate of Rick Grimes.