6 Reasons Rick Could — and Should — Die on The Walking Dead

This is the first official image of the season eight premiere. Viewers don't realize this at the time because the camera remains tight on Rick's tear-stained eyes — and of course, the expectation is that the story would start with the present rather than a flash-forward, which becomes clear by the middle of the episode. What we don't learn until later is the full context of the image. That information doesn't surface until episode nine, as Rick kneels beside his dying son in the sewers of Alexandria. At that time, we experience the full version of Rick beaten and bloodied under the tree and realize that everything that unfolds throughout the season leads to this moment.

The worrisome aspect of this image comes from its positioning at the beginning, middle, and (presumably) end of the season. Imagery repeated in this pattern is a "framing device," often used in literature as the companion element to a story-within-a-story. The introductory narrative sets the stage for a larger, more nuanced storyline. What does that mean for our hero? To paraphrase one of my favorite movie quotes, "Ricky, you in danger girl."

The Walking Dead has set out to test how well we listen to Rick this season. While many may remember that Rick utters these words under his breath as Carl takes his last breaths, they probably don't remember that Rick first intones these words in the season opener as the wounded Rick sitting under the tree. As with the imagery, we are unaware of the time and context, but the clues are there in the lighting and the sound of the wind in the leaves. In many ways, the words are more troubling than the defeat in Rick's eyes because the phrase confirms from the start that Rick does not fulfill his promise to Carl nor himself.

In the 14th episode, "Still Gotta Mean Something," Rick approaches Alden, one of the Savior prisoners who chooses to stay behind after Simon's raid on the Hilltop, and asks where he should look for the escapees. Alden, wanting to gain the trust, gives Rick a lead but asks that he grant a bit of mercy. Rick rebuffs Alden and struts into the woods ready to kill everyone. Along the way, he meets Morgan who agrees to help, but the mission falls apart when the escapees capture our dynamic duo.

The tricky thing about this episode is that Rick uses the phrase "A man is only as good as his word" to gain the Saviors' trust, the same tactic used in the third episode to gain information from a young Savior attempting to flee his captors. In the initial use, Rick's body language conveys that he intends to hold up his end of the deal even if that isn't exactly how the scenario unfolds. In the instance of this later episode, Rick's line has devolved into pure manipulation. This fundamental shift in Rick's philosophy makes him as dangerous as Negan and calls into question his intentions.

Although Rick's judgment has been dubious since the events of the prison in season four — and more recently, with the heinous sixth-season decision to attack a Savior outpost — the audience always has reason to forgive Rick because of the redemptive qualities of the people around him or the amends Rick makes when his wrongs become exposed. Season eight has not tempered Rick's actions as they have in the past, and I wonder if he's moved past the possibility of atonement.

We start the penultimate episode with Rick finally reading Carl's letter. As expected, Carl pleads for peace, but we spend most of the episode with Negan, who is hell-bent on doing the opposite despite his own special delivery from Carl. This does not bode well for Rick, whom Negan has outwitted at every turn.

This is the promise Rick makes to Carl before he dies, the implication being that Rick will make the dream of a united people and a new Alexandria a reality. Yet every decision Rick makes following the burial of his son leads to the death of innocent lives.

AMC recently posted five minutes of the eighth season finale. In the scene, newest Hilltop resident Siddiq explains the circumstances surrounding Carl's infection then offers Rick a bit of advice, "All that's left of the people we lose that was theirs are their ideas." Rick nods in response and leaves the room, but the fact that he ignores another opportunity to accept Carl's vision for a new world highlights a pattern of recklessness that could lead to Rick's death.