The new The Walking Dead series doesn’t just bring back Rick Grimes. It differs from all other previous spin-offs in one important respect
The zombie series The Walking Dead may have long since ended, but the series universe continues with a whole host of spin-offs. Dead City and Daryl Dixon have already been released since the finale. In February, they will be joined by The Ones Who Live, whose ominous title is nothing less than the return of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).
Even if you haven’t seen any of the previous series spin-offs or turned your back on the original long before the end, there’s no way around the Rick series for The Walking Dead fans. The Ones Who Live isn’t just another spin-off, it’s the most important The Walking Dead series in years
The Rick series differs from the previous The Walking Dead spin-offs in one important respect
The two previous spin-offs not only brought back fan favorites like Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Daryl (Norman Reedus), but also built up their own and completely new stories. Dead City, for example, creates a post-apocalyptic microcosm in New York City, which is at the center of an impending resource war. The Daryl series also opens up a completely new narrative world with its French setting
(The new The Walking Dead series)
The advantage of both series: You don’t necessarily need to have seen the original, as their narratives largely work on their own. However, there is also a disadvantage if you know The Walking Dead inside out: both spin-offs focus on characters whose stories, conflicts and emotional developments were pretty much told in the original series.
Don’t get me wrong: Dead City is a successful extension of the zombie saga and, for me, Darly Dixon is currently the best of all 5 (!) spin-offs to date. But right after the end of the main series and before its release, they weren’t the series I was really euphorically looking forward to.
The Ones Who Live, on the other hand, is a completely different caliber. Unlike the (still) independent spin-offs Dead City and Daryl Dixon, the return of Rick Grimes and Michonne (Danai Gurira) is an elementary continuation of the main series, which I’ve been impatiently waiting for since 2018
The Ones Who Live is the missing piece of the puzzle that The Walking Dead fans are looking for
In the wake of Andrew Lincoln’s exit from the series in season 9, three movies were announced at once to continue his story. The trilogy ultimately became an event series. That doesn’t diminish my anticipation in the slightest.
After all, I – and I think most other fans as well – are tormented by many unanswered questions. For years, The Walking Dead has left us hanging in the air with the unfinished story of Rick and Michonne. Now, with The Ones Who Live, we get the most important missing piece of the zombie saga puzzle.
Watch the trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live here
Rick Grimes is the beating heart of The Walking Dead. The journey into the zombie apocalypse began with him over 13 years ago. After his surprising exit in season 9, The Walking Dead didn’t necessarily become a worse series, but it wasn’t the same without him. The emotional thread of the main story was suddenly torn away
Not even a short epilogue in the series finale could console us for the fact that The Walking Dead was no longer Rick’s story at the end – and that we were denied an emotional reunion with his two children. The Ones Who Live could now be the real series finale we never got. And those who dropped out of the original series at the beginning of season 9 along with Rick (or later) now get the chance to really finish with The Walking Dead.
Rick Grimes is The Walking Dead. And so I don’t see The Ones Who Live as a spin-off, but as a genuine sequel – just without most of the familiar supporting characters. Because the new series is not only a reunion with Rick and Michonne, but also a payoff for a mystery that has been built up over the years, which the original was unable to solve until the finale
With the Rick series, a mystery that has been built up over the years finally makes sense
Since a helicopter flew over Rick’s head in the pilot episode of The Walking Dead more than 13 years ago, it has been clear that beyond the story of the Grimes family and their comrades-in-arms, there are even bigger and more intangible things going on in the post-apocalyptic world
(Rick finally shows us what the CRM really is)
It wasn’t until many seasons later that this mystery became more concrete and we were introduced to an enigmatic fleet of helicopters that flew across several series. Little by little, The Walking Dead gave us tidbits of information and the Civic Republic Military (CRM) became a menacing presence in the post-apocalypse.
After 11 seasons and several series, we still don’t really know exactly what plans the zombie franchise has for the CRM. The Walking Dead has been building this up as a dangerous superpower for so long now. The fact that the biggest threat in the world of The Walking Dead played no role at all at the end of the original series was therefore really disappointing.
However, The Ones Who Live now (finally) takes us deep into the heart of the ominous mega-community of the Civic Republic and its autonomous military unit. This not only promises answers to the questions I’ve been asking myself over the years, but could also open up exciting new perspectives on the character Rick Grimes. Whether voluntarily or not, he himself is now part of this corrupt and deadly organization
