WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 9 episode "What Comes After," which premiered Sunday on AMC.
During a visit to the set of The Walking Dead weeks before the Season 9 premiere, new showrunner Angela Kang was asked, if it had been up to her, whether she would've announced star Andrew Lincoln was leaving the AMC drama. "All I can say is it's out there, I kind of came at it from, 'Everything gets spoiled,'" she replied. "I don't know who the mole is, but there's a mole. Everybody knows everything, and it's like we all have to sort of pretend like the information isn't out there."
Taken in the context of Sunday’s episode, and its unprecedented twist, it’s easy for viewers to feel manipulated, and that’s because we were – quite effectively. Instead of the death of Rick Grimes, which previously appear to be the only way to explain Lincoln’s exit, at the last moment he’s rescued by Jadis and her mysterious helicopter, and heading off to parts unknown to the tune of Wang Chung's "Space Jump." It conveyed Rick's ascent to a different plane of existence, and -- as we learned moments after the episode ended -- to three Walking Dead television movies. It was a rare broad-scope look at a series known for focusing on the immediate. And it was one of the best long-form Rickrolls we’ve ever seen.
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Despite that there had been no confirmation Lincoln’s departure from The Walking Dead after eight years the spelled death for Rick, there didn’t seem to be any way to keep the character alive and away from his immediate and extended families. It’s not difficult to envision Maggie taking young Hershel and heading off to join Georgie – of all people, she deserves a fresh start, if there’s one available. But Rick had already laid down his life repeatedly for his family and the society they were building, so short of him getting knocked into a coma and The Walking Dead turning into Guiding Light, killing him off seemed like the only option to account for Lincoln's absence. Or so we thought …
With about five minutes remaining in the episode after Rick blew up the bridge, it was anybody’s guess what else would happen, but we doubt anyone guessed Jadis picking him up downstream and whisking him off to elsewhere. For a show to retain the ability to surprise its audience this far into its run is commendable, and probably only able to be executed under these specific conditions.
Lincoln has left The Walking Dead -- series, that is -- for at least the foreseeable future, so when nearly every cast member has gone on in interviews about how much they’ll miss him and how emotional it was to watch him go, it felt permanent. It also necessitated the kind of poignant homage and send-off that was the bulk of “What Comes After.” Rick attempting to find his way to some enlightenment while simultaneously scrambling for survival stood as a perfect metaphor for his arc: The conflict between his survival and his humanity is one that's repeatedly dogged him, so it's particularly effective to have them in parallel positions for once.
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Rick choosing to offer up his own life by blowing up the bridge and wiping out the walker herd ultimately means his humanity won out. The execution of this twist depended entirely on Rick getting the send-off he deserved, and it was only because that part of the episode was such a good foundation that his rescue felt joyful instead of contrived.
At the end of the day, part of what made The Walking Dead so frightening and compelling in the first place is the unexpected. As far as they’ve come, there’s still so much the communities don’t, and can’t, know about the world around them. Rick’s rescue, in addition to erasing the horrific trauma of his excruciating day, reminded us that The Walking Dead can still surprise. And there are infinite possibilities -- and dangers -- on the horizon.
Airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC, The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.