If there's one thing The Walking Dead has proven over its run, it's that no one is safe.
From Lori's disturbing demise to the gruesome fates of Abraham and Glenn, the AMC series
has made it pretty clear that in Robert Kirkman's zombie apocalypse, the stakes are high.
One character that has felt untouchable through all of it has been Rick Grimes.
From the day he woke up in that Georgia hospital, Rick has beaten the odds quite a bit.
On the heels of Carl's passing, though, it looks like the show on the verge of an overhaul,
and now it's been reported that after season 9, Andrew Lincoln will leave the series that
made him a household name.
So, how might the end of the Ricktatorship impact the show moving forward?
Here's what Lincoln's departure probably means for The Walking Dead.
New leadership
Viewership for The Walking Dead has been on a steady decline since the show hit its peak
in Season 5, and one of the reasons may be Rick himself.
Over the past few years, we've watched as Rick repeatedly led the group from one new
home to another, only to find that the humans there are more dangerous than zombies.
Along the way, he's had some very repetitive struggles with morality that saw him make
terrible choices, then redeem himself, and eventually do it all over again.
At this point, it's pretty predictable, and some viewers also think it's a little boring.
Rick's primary motivation to stay in charge has always been to protect Carl, so now that
he's out of the picture, it's only natural that the sheriff might finally step aside
and let someone else take point and that person might just be Daryl Dixon.
AMC may be positioning the crossbow-wielding motorcycle enthusiast to take over as top
dog.
Reports say that actor Norman Reedus is negotiating a sweet new deal with the network that'll
give him top billing for the series as a whole.
Daryl has long been a reliable, capable fan favorite on the show, and since he never appeared
in Robert Kirkman's comics, the sky's the limit as to what he can achieve.
Of course, it may be hard to imagine how a character who's been so quiet and restrained
for all this time can start barking orders at everybody, but maybe he'll be the kind
of guy who leads by example instead.
Fractured group
As the bloody battle between Rick and Negan came to its long-awaited conclusion, a new
conflict emerged: Maggie, Daryl, and Jesus had formed a secret alliance with the
end goal of taking down Negan, against Rick's wishes.
"Rick was wrong to do what he did.
Michonne, too."
Alexandria and its allies will be dealing with a fair share of internal conflict in
the coming episodes, with Negan smiling and swearing on the sidelines.
What role he'll play during this civil war remains to be seen, but it may be the catalyst
to both Rick and Maggie leaving, since Lauren Cohan is expected to leave the series in the
coming season as well.
With both of the show's de facto leaders on their way out, and Negan still around causing
everyone problems, we can expect the culmination of this growing family feud to be pretty spectacular.
Unless…
New baddies
In the finale's final moments, after showing leniency to Negan and his Saviors, Rick spoke
of "a new beginning."
Die-hard comic fans know that means a new threat is probably on its way.
Next season is expected to begin after a two-year time jump, and if it's anything like Kirkman's
"A New Beginning" comics arc, we can expect to meet the Whisperers sooner than later.
Negan's violent acts pushed the envelope for what can be done on TV, but his brutality
may be nothing compared to these people.
And their introduction might just give Negan the opportunity to redeem himself.
If season 9 does end up delivering on the civil war storyline, it may be possible that
Negan could prove himself useful.
Is it possible that Negan could team up with Rick, or even Daryl once these Whisperers
make themselves known?
Stranger things have happened.
Lone wolf
Another consequence of the potential "New Beginning" storyline is that Michonne may
start going it alone again in the new episodes.
In the comics, following the All-Out War with Negan, Michonne pretty much ran away from
the group to live out in Oceanside.
While that sounds like more of a Carol move, it's not out of the question that Michonne
could separate herself from the rest of the Alexandria gang if Rick is gone.
After all, when we first met her, the only company she kept was a pair of jawless walkers.
Rick is the first person she's been romantically involved with since the trauma of losing her
boyfriend and son.
Their relationship added new layers to the series, giving them both a welcome sense of
hope and purpose.
Without Carl to mother, or Rick to comfort, we might just see Michonne trade in her samurai
sword for a fishing rod after all.
Rebrand time
After eight seasons, a lot of viewers have tuned out simply because there's only so much
misery and grief a person can take from their entertainment.
The network may finally be catching on to that because losing Carl didn't just spark
the events that transpired in the back half of season 8, it also set up The Walking Dead
for a major rebrand effort.
Writer Scott Gimple told The Hollywood Reporter:
"Story-wise, we knew we were going to be here.
[...] It allows for a new voice to be telling new stories, and really resets the show in
a lot of ways."
The voice he's referring to is incoming showrunner Angela Kang, who'll take over in the new season.
Gimple's pivot from showrunner to chief content officer is not only a change of the guard
behind the camera, it alludes to a new look, feel, and strategy for the long-running series.
"You have to write a character point of view as if you absolutely believe that to be the
truth."
So, perhaps the new creative direction will also mean the mood will swing in a direction
more fans can stomach every week.
We'll see.
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