Rick Grimes (TV Series)

"How you live and how you die, it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor."

- Rick to the group.

Rick Grimes is the main protagonist of The Walking Dead. He is a former police officer of the King County sheriff's deputy who was shot in the line of duty and fell into a coma only to wake up and find himself in the middle of an undead apocalypse. He travels to Atlanta, Georgia searching for his family, Lori, his wife, and Carl, his son, who have traveled to Atlanta with his best friend, Shane Walsh, in search of a safe-haven.

Overview
Rick worked as a King County Sheriff's Department deputy in King County, Georgia, along with his partner and long-time best friend, Shane Walsh. Wounded in the line of duty, he was in a coma when the apocalypse occurred. When he awoke alone, he set off in search of his wife Lori and young son Carl, and along the way discovered what happened to the world.

Appearance
Rick is a fairly tall Caucasian man with a slim figure, and although his age is unspecified, he appears to be around his mid to late 30's. He has dark brown wavy hair, and through the first three seasons keeps facial stubble and eventually a small beard. His apparel and clothing changes throughout the seasons, but is most notably identified with his beige and brown police uniform, along with his brown US Cavalry/Sheriff's hat (which is later given to his son, Carl). He also keeps his brown police holster, which carries his favorite side-arm, his classic Colt Python .357 Magnum

Personality
Rick is typically calm, smart, just, a good friend and father, but will often stubbornly cling to his personal strong moral code which has resulted in numerous bad calls and extra stress within the group. In contrast to Shane, he is also a natural leader—a fact that caused frequent tension between the two. Rick's greatest fault, perhaps, is his uncanny ability to place responsibility on himself and set for himself goals that are impossible to reach. This has, on various occasions, put Rick at ends with both Lori and Shane, and often weighs heavily on his mind. Despite his faults, his combat skill and general care for all members of the group have led him to be looked up to, and allowed him to take the leadership role within the group. He is shown to be incredibly protective of his group and their well-being, having engaged numerous threats, even other living people to keep them safe. Rick's mental stability begins to become unhinged, particularly following Shane's death. His moral compass is challenged in many ways and he, in an attempt to prevent more death and loss, begins to shut everybody else out. Despite this, Rick was able to use his leadership skills and combat abilities to keep the group alive for many months following the destruction of the farm, and lead the group in taking the prison; using seemingly desperate survival tactics they had come to learn on the road all winter. After the death of Lori, Rick becomes very emotionally unstable, and it is not until just before the group learns of the Woodbury threat that Rick comes back to his senses, although evidently Rick has become a ruthless, uncompromising leader of survivors, contrasting his high moral code and values in the previous seasons. Following Andrea's death Rick seems to have regained some of his old self.

King County, Georgia
Rick and Shane were childhood friends, with Rick being the more subdued individual. He had few girlfriends during his years of high school, in contrast to Shane who was always the center of attraction to girls. He and Shane both went to college together for police administration and became sheriff deputies at the King County Sheriff's Department. He and Lori met at a young age and after dating for a short amount of time, married and had a son named Carl. They lived as a family in a typical suburban neighborhood.

As their son grew older, his and Lori's marriage became increasingly strained. He constantly distanced himself from her, hesitating to open up and absorbing himself in his work.

"Days Gone Bye"
While on patrol one day, Rick tells Shane about how his relationship with Lori is going bad since the two don't communicate too much. They receive a call from another patrol car from a nearby town that are pursuing two criminals heading into King County. Rick and Shane, with the help of Leon Basset and Lambert Kendal, block the road that leads to King County.

They get into a shootout with the criminals as they crash their car before the roadblock, Rick is almost shot, but they manage to kill the two criminals. Due to miscommunication, they weren't aware that there was a third criminal inside the car, who manages to shoot Rick in the back. Shane instantly shoots the criminal dead, and then tells Leon to call an ambulance as he assists Rick. Some time later, Shane visits Rick in the hospital as he is still in a coma. He delivers flowers, but Rick's not conscious enough to be fully aware of what's going on.

"TS-19"
In the first days of the apocalypse, Shane goes to the hospital where Rick is to rescue him. He enters Rick's room and looks around for something he can use to carry Rick but an explosion occurs, prompting the lights to go out. As the devices shut off, Shane puts his head to Rick's chest and realizes he is not breathing anymore. Shane cries at the loss of his best friend, and after barricading the door, leaves the hospital without knowing that Rick is actually still alive.

"Days Gone Bye"
Rick regains consciousness in an abandoned hospital. He investigates the building and encounters his first undead group of zombies barred into a locked room, which is the hospital's cafeteria—as well as rows of bodies in body bags, in which some are on flatbed trucks. Having seen this, Rick is horrified and flees the hospital. In a nearby park, he encounters a severely deteriorated zombie with nothing left of her lower body but trailing bones and organs. Shaken, he returns to his home to look for his family. Unable to find any sign of them, he sits outside and is suddenly hit in the face with a shovel by a kid—Duane Jones—who initially mistakes him for a zombie.

Rick later wakes up tied to a bed. The kid's father, Morgan Jones, checks Rick for zombie bites or a fever, either of which could indicate that he is turning into a zombie himself. After deciding Rick is not a threat, Morgan frees him and shares what information he has regarding the zombie apocalypse. The following day, Rick tells Morgan that his family are missing and that they are most likely alive (based on family photos that had been taken from the house). Morgan and Duane tell Rick that they might have set off to Atlanta where the CDC has set up a quarantine zone. Rick takes Morgan and his son to his former Sheriff's headquarters, where the trio use the emergency generator to power up the station. They take hot showers and clean out the armory. As they depart, with Rick heading off to Atlanta while Morgan and Duane stay behind, Rick gives Morgan a rifle and a walkie-talkie and says he will broadcast every morning. Before he leaves, he encounters fellow officer Leon Basset a zombie and dispatches him. He then returns to the park where he encountered the badly decayed zombie, apologizes to it, and shoots it in the head.

While on his way to Atlanta, Rick sends out a broadcast via his radio. The transmissions are received by a camp located just outside the city, but they are unable to send a response to warn him of the situation in the city. Among the survivors are Rick's partner Shane, his wife Lori, and Carl. Rick later runs out of gasoline; he approaches an abandoned gas station, where he encounters a pre-adolescent female zombie, the zombie walks towards Rick so Rick shoots her. Unable to find any gas, he abandons his car on the highway and heads out on foot. He approaches a farmhouse, where the occupants are dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Rick finds a horse nearby and rides it to Atlanta, carrying the sack of guns from the police armory.

Rick arrives in Atlanta and finds the city in an extreme state of devastation. He then searches the streets on horseback, finding an overrun military blockade. Rick hears a helicopter pass overhead and tries to follow it, but rides straight into a horde of walkers. The undead swarm Rick's horse, toppling Rick and making him drop the sack of guns. While many of the zombies swarm around the horse, tearing it apart and eating it, Rick scrambles underneath an abandoned tank. With zombies crawling after him on both sides, Rick shoots several of them, then places the gun to his temple. Looking up, he sees an open hatch underneath the tank and crawls inside. The walkers surround the tank as Rick seals himself inside. After firing his revolver into the head of an undead tank crewman; therefore deafening him due to the confines of the M1 tank and then sealing the top hatch, Rick is safe—but trapped—in the tank. A voice comes over the radio sarcastically calling him, "dumbass."

"Guts"
The voice on the radio advises him to make a run for it while they are distracted eating Rick’s horse. Rick takes a gun and a grenade off the dead soldier in the tank then opens the hatch. He jumps from the tank and runs down an alley, shooting walkers as he goes. Quickly, he meets up with the person who radioed instructions named Glenn. Rick follows him to a ladder, which they climb to safety, and then down a staircase to an alley, which is free of all but a few walkers thanks to a bus blockade. When the two reach street-level, two other people wearing riot gear emerge and beat down the walkers. The group rushes inside a Bradbury’s department store, where Rick meets other survivors: Andrea, Jacqui, T-Dog and Morales. Outside, walkers press against the store’s front doors and the glass begins to crack

On the roof, Rick and the group find Merle Dixon — a middle-aged redneck—firing at walkers with a rifle. T-Dog chastises Merle for wasting bullets and attracting more walkers. Merle scoffs at him by saying taking orders from a “nigger” which sets off a fight between the two. Merle beats T-Dog then presses a handgun to his forehead, but Rick intervenes, hitting Merle with the butt of the rifle and handcuffing him to a pipe. “Things are different now,” Rick tells Merle. “There are no 'niggers' anymore, No dumb-as-shit white trash fools either; there's only white meat and dark meat it's US and the dead; we survive this by pulling together, not apart.” Morales tells Rick there is no refugee center, which was “a pipe dream.” They are with a small group of survivors staying outside the city, but T-Dog cannot reach them on the radio. With the streets no longer safe, Rick suggests they try to escape underground. Jacqui, who formerly worked in the city zoning office, says that the building might have access to the sewers.

Glenn and Morales head to the basement while Rick and Andrea stand guard at the front of the store. Andrea spots a necklace with a mermaid pendant. Rick encourages her to take it. As Andrea pockets the necklace, walkers break through the exterior glass doors and begin pounding on the interior doors. Morales and Glenn arrive to report that the sewer is not an option because of a walker feasting on a rat and the tunnel is barricaded by bars they can't get past.

Back on the roof, Rick spots a cube van at a nearby construction site. The ignition keys should be nearby, Rick theorizes, but they need to get past the walkers undetected. The group explains that if they hear you, see you or smell you, they eat you. Rick latches on to the scent idea. Wearing rubber gloves and rain jackets, Rick and Morales drag a dead walker in from the alley. After acknowledging the man’s lost humanity, that he used to be just like the rest of them, Rick grabs an axe and hacks apart the body. He and Glenn then smear the corpse’s guts on their jackets. Before leaving, Rick tosses T-Dog the key to Merle’s handcuffs.

Outside, Rick and Glenn shuffle through crowds of walkers unnoticed. A rainstorm then passes over them, washing the guts off their jackets. Their human smell unmasked, walkers immediately attack the two. Fighting them off, Rick and Glenn run to the construction site, hopping a fence that is blocking access. Once Glenn tracks down the key, he and Rick speed away in the van. Rick orders Glenn to radio the group to get ready for pick-up. To lure the walkers away, Glenn drives off in a red sports car, which Rick has hot wired after setting off its alarm. With the walkers lured away by Glenn, The group heads down while T-Dog debates reluctantly decides to try to free Merle but slips due to the wet roof. With nothing else he can do and Merle angry due to T-Dog dropping the key, T-Dog again reluctantly puts a heavy chain lock on the doors so the walkers won't get at him. T-Dog runs downstairs just as the walkers break through the glass doors of the department store. Rick pulls the van up and the group piles in just as walkers make their way through.Having escaped the chaos at the store,T-Dog admits to the others he dropped the key, leaving Merle trapped on the roof.

"Tell It to the Frogs"
Morales advises Rick not to dwell on Merle’s abandonment. When the van arrives at the camp, the group embraces with their families while Rick hesitantly stays in the car for a few moments. He later emerges, seeing Lori and Carl and the three of them share a tearful reunion.

Later, around a campfire, Rick describes the disorientation he felt waking up in the hospital. Lori explains she was told Rick would be transported to Atlanta, but it never happened. Rick thanks Shane for saving them. He volunteers to deliver the news to Daryl Dixon about his brother, as does T-Dog, who is wracked with guilt for dropping the key. Later on in their tent, Rick tucks Carl in and then crawls into bed with Lori. They reflect on past mistakes and the second chance they have been given. Lori returns Rick’s wedding ring, and the two make love.

The next morning, Rick tells Lori he plans to return to Atlanta for Merle. Lori is shocked, but they are interrupted by Carl’s screams. Finding Carl unscathed, Rick, Shane, Jim and Glenn run past him to a clearing where a walker is devouring a deer with crossbow bolts sticking out of it. The four men beat on the walker until Dale arrives and decapitates it. Daryl then emerges from the woods and laments that the walker ate his hunted dear. Finding the walker head still alive, Daryl fires his crossbow at it, then heads into camp looking for Merle. Shane tells Daryl that Merle did not make it back, Rick chimes in, confessing he left Merle handcuffed to the roof. Daryl pulls a knife, but Rick disarms him with the help of Shane who puts him in a sleeper-hold to restrain the violent hunter. With the door to the roof chained securely shut, Rick tells Daryl, Merle is likely alive, Lori then states that Rick is going back to Merle.

Back in his uniform, Rick prepares to leave with Daryl. Shane questions his decision to risk his life for Merle. Shane argues that they need everybody to protect the camp in case more walkers show up. What they really need, Rick contends, are more guns, which he would be able to retrieve from his dropped bag. Rick also needs to collect his walkie-talkie from the bag so he can warn Morgan away from the city. Shane gives Rick the last of his bullets for Rick’s revolver.

In Atlanta, Rick, Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog return to the department store. They cut through the chain on the stairwell door and emerge onto the roof. On the ground, a hacksaw sits beside a severed hand. Bloodied handcuffs hang from the pipe above.

"Vatos"
An enraged Daryl points his crossbow at T-Dog, but relents when Rick pulls his revolver. They then follow Merle’s trail of blood to a kitchen, where Sterno cans burn next to an iron steak weight crusted with skin—the result of Merle cauterizing his stump. Rick agrees to help Daryl search the streets for his brother. “Only if we get those guns first,” T-Dog says. Glenn outlines a plan to retrieve Rick’s bag: Daryl will watch his back from the store’s alley, while Rick and T-Dog cover a second alley two blocks away.

On the street, Glenn runs toward the tank. Back in the alley, a teenager named Miguel approaches Daryl. Daryl trains his crossbow on Miguel, who begins screaming. Glenn grabs the bag of guns—and Rick’s hat—then runs back toward Daryl. Rick and T-Dog, hearing Miguel’s screams, also head for the alley. Two men named Jorge and Felipe, who have also come for the guns, then jump Daryl. The men turn to Glenn and start beating him. Daryl then fires an arrow in Felipe’s butt. They throw Glenn in a car and drive off—leaving Miguel and the guns behind. Rick then takes Miguel and asks him about the men that he was with, Miguel refuses to speak to Rick. Daryl tries to tell Miguel that his brother's hand was a result of "the last guy who pissed him off" and throws the hand on Miguel as he starts to panic. Daryl then threatens to cut off his feet by telling he is "going to start with the feet this time". Rick fends Daryl off and asks Miguel that all he wants to do is work something out with his gang. Later on Miguel leads Rick, Daryl and T-Dog to an abandoned factory, where the leader of the group called “G” emerges. Rick proposes trading Miguel for Glenn. G demands the bag of guns, threatening to kill Glenn if they do not hand it over.

Rick then escorts Miguel into the warehouse carrying the guns on his back. Rick cuts Miguel loose and demands G hand over Glenn. Felipe and Miguel’s grandmother shuffles into the middle of the stand-off, asking Felipe for help with “Mr. Gilbert.” She notices Rick’s uniform and begs him not to take Felipe away. Rick tells Felipe’s grandmother that Felipe is helping him find a missing person. Abuela leads Rick into a nursing home auditorium, where several elderly people—and Glenn—are grouped around an asthmatic man. Felipe helps the man with an inhaler.

After giving them a few rifles, Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl walk back to the cube van, but find it missing. Back at the RV, a walker tears into Amy’s neck. Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog arrive and quickly shoot the remaining walkers.

"Wildfire"
Rick stares at a sunrise over Atlanta as he tries to reach Morgan on the walkie-talkie, discussing what has happened to him ever since they departed from one another. Rick, Lori, and Shane discuss how to handle Andrea as she continues to cradle Amy’s body. Rick tries to approach Andrea but she pulls a gun on him. Around the same time, Jim reveals his bite wound to the group. Rick thinks the CDC might be able to help Jim, and suggests relocating there. Shane however thinks the Army base in Fort Benning — 125 miles in the opposite direction—is a safer bet. Daryl heads toward Jim with his pickaxe and tries to take a swing. Rick points his gun at Daryl’s head and prevents him from taking action. Rick and Shane later dig graves near the campsite. A deeply frustrated Shane reminds Rick that he and the others who accompanied him to Atlanta to find Merle should've stayed so they wouldn't have lost so many people. Rick counters that without the guns he brought back, the losses might have been worse.

The survivors stage a funeral. Privately, Rick asks Lori if she blames him for not being there when the camp was attacked, and to support his decision to head for the CDC. She does not blame him exactly—not like Shane does—but she does not know if she can follow him to the CDC on blind faith. In the RV, Rick tells a feverish Jim they are going to get him help, but Jim is delirious. Outside, Shane asks Lori to convince Rick the CDC is a bad decision, cautioning her about choosing her marriage over peoples’ safety. When Rick emerges, Lori announces that they should follow Rick’s plan.

Rick, Shane and Dale depart to sweep the forest for walkers. Alone, Shane tries to convince Rick to change his mind. He's outraged when Rick appears to show a lack of compassion and gratitude for all he's done over the past few days, and for a brief few moments, aims his gun at Rick who's wandered off into the woods. Glaring, he drops the gun, and then notices Dale watching him. “Jesus,” whispers Dale. Back at camp, Shane announces that he thinks they should trust Rick’s instincts and those that agree would be leaving for the CDC in the morning. At dawn, Rick tries to reach Morgan to advise him of their plan. En route to the CDC, the RV’s radiator hose bursts. While Shane and T-Dog drive ahead to find a replacement, Rick checks on Jim, who is in agony. They say their goodbyes and leave him to die next to a tree at his request.

Rick’s caravan approaches the CDC, where hundreds of bodies lay dead on the ground. The group quietly approaches the building, which is locked and shuttered. As night time approaches the group begins to panic and Lori says that they can't be that close to the city after dark as walkers begin to rise. Rick catches sight of the security camera's movement but Dale thinks he "imagined it" and slams on the shutters, screaming for help as Shane drags him away. The shutters open at the last minute and drown everyone in light.

"TS-19"
Rick and the other survivors file into the CDC lobby as Dr. Edwin Jenner meets them at the door. Jenner agrees to allow them in—provided they all submit to a blood test. Rick agrees, and they follow Jenner to the building's basement control center. Later, the group feasts in the CDC cafeteria, jovially drinking wine and liquor, jubilant about finding a safe place. Jenner shows the group around the building, directing the children toward the rec room and imploring everyone not to waste electricity. Rick stumbles drunkenly into the control room, where Jenner is working. Rick thanks Jenner again. He admits to Jenner that he never let on to the others what he really thought, but he knew they were running out of options. Rick stumbles into bed with Lori and sees that she is been crying. He assures her she doesn't need to be afraid.

The next morning, when Jenner arrives, he leads the group to the control center, where he displays brain scans from "Test Subject 19," who was infected and allowed the process to be recorded. Jenner admits he does not know what the disease is or how to treat it, and that he's lost contact with other facilities. Rick, Shane, T-Dog and Glenn head to inspect the generators while upstairs, the building's air cuts off. In his office, Jenner stares at a photograph of a woman, asking her to understand that he did the best he could and hopes she would be proud of him. The panicked survivors confront Jenner, who explains the building is shutting itself down.

When the building runs out of power it will self-destruct—a "decontamination" protocol to keep dangerous infectious diseases from escaping. Jenner tries to convince Rick to accept his fate. Rick demands to know why Jenner stayed if he did not think there was any hope. "I made a promise," Jenner says, to his wife—Test Subject 19—to keep going as long as he could. She was one of the finest scientists in the world, if anyone could have done something about this, it was her. Jenner eventually opens the door, but maintains that they still won't be able to get past the lock-down upstairs. He shakes Rick's hand, pulls him close, and whispers into Rick's ear.

In the CDC lobby, the group finds the doors locked and pounds helplessly on the windows. Carol pulls the hand grenade that Rick found in the tank from her bag. Rick detonates the grenade, blasting out one of the glass windows. The survivors run to the cars. From inside the RV, Lori sees Dale and Andrea emerge from the building. Jenner and Jacqui hold hands and watch the others evacuate on the security monitor. The CDC erupts in a fiery explosion. Dale and Andrea rush to the RV. Shaken, Rick starts the engine, and the caravan drives away from the smoldering rubble.

"What Lies Ahead"
Rick stands atop a roof in Atlanta, talking into his radio, addressing the static as if Morgan Jones is actually there, he tells Morgan how Atlanta isn't safe and the CDC was a dead end. The group is now heading for Fort Benning, he then signs off. The group finally leaves Atlanta, starting a new journey. As they continue South of Atlanta, they come across a large sum of parked and crashed cars, blocking their path, just as they begin navigating through, the radiator in the RV is blown. At first, everybody is concerned about being left in the middle of the nowhere, but soon they realize that they can scavenge supplies from the abandoned cars and also find a new radiator for the RV.

Rick and Dale keep watch as the group starts to find supplies. Dale spots a walker approaching from behind the cars, Rick prepares to shoot it with a sniper, but they soon realize that it's actually an herd of more than thirty walkers approaching. In danger, Rick silently orders the group to hide under the cars. After the herd pass, Sophia is attacked by two walkers and then runs into the wild forest, Rick in hurry runs after her, he tracks these walkers and finally reaches Sophia. He then tells her to hide in a tree and wait for him there, "If I don't come back, head back to the highway the same way we came, keep the sun on your left shoulder". Rick moved the walkers away from Sophia and then ended up killing them. After finding no Sophia under the tree, Rick head back to the highway, and much for his disgust, he discovers that Sophia didn't came back either, so she is lost in the woods.

Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn decide to investigate the area. Daryl is an expert tracker, so Rick decides to try to find Sophia with him while Shane and Glenn distract the rest of the group with simple tasks at the highway. Rick and Daryl keep tracking Sophia through the wildness, but they end up losing her trail. They came upon a walker, after killing it, Rick notices that it fed recently, so they decide to open his stomach to make sure he didn't bit Sophia. They return to the highway by the sunset, Carol curses Rick for leaving her daughter alone in the woods. By the next day, Rick and the rest of the group go tracking Sophia once again. They find a tent in the middle of the forest, but no signs of Sophia nowhere near it, a bell began to ring nearby, the group decide to follow the sound and they soon find a church. Yet again, no signs of Sophia, the sound of the bell was actually a timer.

Rick doubting his leadership and father-ship. He decides to split the group, Daryl leads a group back to the highway while Rick, Carl and Shane kept investigating the area for a little longer. Rick does something he admits he never done before, he enters the church and asks God to send him a sign that he will be able to find Sophia. Soon after Rick, Carl and Shane are in the forest once again, they find a deer and Rick tells Carl to go touch it. As Carl approaches it, they all hear a loud gun shot, and a bullet going through the deer and hitting Carl's chest.

"Bloodletting"
Rick runs with Shane and Otis through a field, he carries a shot and unconscious Carl in his arms. Otis tells Rick to keep running in this direction and he will find the Greene Family Farm, and he has to talk to a man named Hershel Greene. After reaching the farm, Hershel and his daughters put Carl on a bed and start to give him medical treatment. After explaining everything that happened, Rick decides he needs to get to Lori, to tell her what has happened, but Maggie Greene volunteers to find her and bring her to the farm instead. After removing one of the bullet fragments from Carl, Hershel informs that he needs medical supplies so he can remove the remaining fragments and close the bleeding, or Carl will soon die from blood loss. Rick volunteers to find the necessary supplies, but is replaced by Shane, who tells Rick that he needs to stay put for Carl. Otis also volunteers to go with Shane, trying to redeem himself to Rick and Carl. Later on, Rick and Hershel are having a conversation about the apocalypse, when Maggie arrives with Lori, who is shocked to see her son lying in a bed unconscious from a gunshot. Rick apologizes for letting this happen. After calming down, Rick and Lori have a conversation with Hershel about his experience to perform the surgery on Carl, but they are shocked when Hershel reveals that he is actually an veterinarian.

"Save the Last One"
By the evening, Rick and Lori meet with Glenn and T-Dog as they arrive at the farm, they give their regards to Carl. Having a discussion with Lori about their situation, Lori wonders whether Carl should even live, saying that it's better for him to leave this world instead of watching more people die, while Rick becomes deeply upset and wants a future for his son. They are happy when Carl finally awakens but soon goes into a seizure and their fear returns. Hershel gives them an ultimatum, Carl doesn't have more time left and they need to perform the surgery urgently. Shane miraculously returns with the supplies needed in time, but Otis didn't make it back. Rick is very grateful, unaware of Shane's lies about what truly happened to Otis. Hershel is able to perform the surgery and Carl is finally safe. After the moment of relief, Rick and Hershel comforts Patricia, Otis's wife, as Shane watches them from the hallway.

"Cherokee Rose"
Rick sits by Carl, and Carl wakes up, only to ask about Sophia. Rick tells him she's okay, even though she still is missing. Maggie shows Rick and Shane a map of the area, and Rick is happy that they finally can organize the search for Sophia. Hershel tells Rick that he donated too much blood for Carl and needs to rest, Shane also can't go around for too long since he is injured from his trip for the medical supplies. They decide to wait a day before going back to the search. Hershel and Rick are talking later on, and Hershel says he expects the Atlanta Survivors will leave once Carl is in fit condition and they find Sophia. Later on, Rick and Hershel are seen once again, having a discussion as to whether Hershel will reconsider. Hershel also reassures Rick that he is a commendable father after Rick confesses to having lied to Carl. Rick is at Carl's side at the end of the day again as he awakens, and they share some conversation. Rick reveals that he lied about Sophia being okay, and Carl forgives him. Carl jokes about being happy that he and Rick have been shot. Rick gives him his sheriff hat and tells him to rest some more as Lori walks in. They hug as Rick puts away his police uniform and badges.

"Chupacabra"
Rick is seen continuing the search for Sophia, laying out a map of the terrain and setting the group up in parties to go and continue looking for her. Jimmy approaches Rick and tells him that he wants to help and claimed that Hershel said it was okay for him to do so. He also allows Daryl to borrow one of Hershel's horses to help cover more ground to look for Sophia. Later, he and Shane are seen continuing searching the woods for her while discussing their old high school days and girls they liked. Shane then changes the subject and says that they are wasting time trying to look for Sophia since it's been several days since she was first originally lost and as a police officer, after 72 hours, the case gets colder (less likely to find the missing person). Rick and Shane head back to the farm where Rick asks Lori if Shane is correct in stopping the search. Lori convinces Rick otherwise comparing Sophia to if it were Carl that was missing and Rick decides to keep on searching, however, he is approached by Beth Greene, she says that Hershel wants to talk to him.

Rick talks to Hershel, who complains about Rick taking the young Jimmy out in the woods and also taking one of his horses without his permission, they agreed that Rick needs to control his people while Hershel controls his since Rick and his group won't be staying at the farm for very long anymore. Later, Andrea spots a walker approaching the farm and everyone is alerted and prepared to go kill it, when in fact they discover it was Daryl, covered in mud and blood after an accident with Hershel's horse; Andrea didn't notice it was him though, and shoots him anyway, grazing Daryl with a bullet. Rick and Shane helps Daryl back to the house and gets him medical attention from Hershel. Daryl reveals that he found Sophia's doll by the river, giving Rick even more hope of finding Sophia. After he joins everyone for a well prepared meal and has a quiet and awkward dinner with both his group and Hershel's group of people.

"Secrets"
Rick and Shane both continue to plan for the search for Sophia as he allows the training of the Atlanta survivors and Hershel's people with the usage of guns and weapons. He and Lori decide that Carl should begin to learn how to shoot now and joins everyone with practice. Lori later confronts Rick about how Hershel still wants everyone to leave the farm soon and begs him to get Hershel to change his mind. Later, Rick finds abortion pills in his tent, fearing for the worst, he goes in search of Lori and finds her by the dirt road. The two have another argument after Rick finds out that Lori is pregnant and how she tried to get it aborted. They argue and Rick tries to convince her that the baby is worth keeping and knows about her relationship with Shane, but he forgives her since at the time she thought he was dead.

"Pretty Much Dead Already"
During breakfast, Rick and the group finds out from Glenn that there are walkers locked in the barn. Rick is concerned about their safety, he wants to talk to Hershel about this, but Shane suggests that they open the barn and kill every single walker. After calming everyone down, Rick convinces the group to wait for him to negotiate with Hershel. Rick talks to Hershel about the barn and the possibility about having his group stay at the farm, during the conversation, Hershel says that he is not changing his mind about Rick leaving the farm, Rick responds that Lori is pregnant and they can't leave the farm, Hershel needs to reconsider. After leaving the house, Rick notices Shane inspecting the barn and tries to tell him that they just need more time to make a decision but Shane is insistent on either they clear out the barn to stay or let it be and leave the farm. Later, Rick and Andrea plan yet another search for Sophia when they are interrupted by Hershel when he asks for Rick's help with something.

While walking into the forest, with Hershel and Jimmy, Hershel says that if Rick and his group intend to stay, they have to handle walkers in his special way which is to trap and escort them back to the barn at the farm. Two walkers are stuck in the mud and Rick agrees and helps escort the two walkers back to the farm. As they approach the barn, Shane (who was giving the group weapons against Hershel's rules and preparing to kill the walkers in the barn) spots them, he explodes with anger and frustration and shoots the walker that Hershel is holding. Rick can't stop Shane because he is holding another walker, Shane opens the barn and release the walkers inside. The Atlanta group get in line with him to kill all the walkers as they pour out from the barn, Shane shoots the walker Rick is holding in the process.

As the Greene Family watches in horror, a last walker leaves the barn, and it's the reanimated Sophia. Everyone is shocked and saddened until Rick realizes what has to be done; he gets his gun, points it at Sophia's head and pulls the trigger.

"Nebraska"
After the barn massacre, Shane starts yelling at Hershel, blaming him about Sophia, Rick tries to stop him. Hershel tells the group to leave the farm immediately. Rick then becomes angry at Shane, because Rick had been handling the situation well before Shane ruined it, Shane calls Rick delusional and storms off. The group decides to bury Sophia, Annette Greene and Shawn Greene and burn the other walkers. Rick is disappointed since he got the group in danger looking for Sophia while she was inside the barn all the time. Everyone, except Carol, attends to the funeral of Sophia, Annette and Shawn. Later, after Beth goes into shock, the group discovers that Hershel is gone and finding his flask in his bedroom, Maggie suggests that he is at a local bar in town, Rick and Glenn decide to look for him. Rick has a conversation with Glenn about his romance with Maggie, telling him not to be afraid of telling her how much he likes her. As the night falls, they arrive at the town and find that Hershel is indeed drinking at the bar.

Rick tries to convince Hershel to go back to the farm because his daughter needs him, but he refuses, having lost all hope after the barn massacre. Hershel explains that he spent his whole life trying to raise his daughters to his beliefs only for Rick to show up and destroy everything. He says that Rick and his group are like a plague, and Rick insists that Hershel can't have lose all of his faith. After the conversation calm down, Hershel decides to go back to the farm with them. As the three are about to leave, two survivors, Dave and Tony, walk into the bar. They share a drink as Dave tells them of his journey across the country looking for a safe place, having found Fort Benning destroyed and mentions that Nebraska is a possible safe place. Dave tries to convince Rick and Hershel to let him and Tony move to the farm but they don't agree. The tensions begin to rise, Dave, after numerous failed attempts to convince Rick to let them join his group, draws his pistol. Rick quickly kills him with a shot to the head, and then turns and kills Tony.

"Triggerfinger"
After the killing Dave and Tony, Rick, Hershel, and Glenn are about to leave but instead get pinned down in the bar by three members of Dave and Tony's group: Nate, Randall, and Sean. Rick tells them that Dave and Tony pulled their guns out on them first, but the group begin to shoot. Rick tells Glenn to check the back exit. After hearing shots coming from the back, Rick asks Hershel to cover Glenn as they leave through the back door. Sean spots Glenn and starts shooting, just to get shot by Hershel in the chest, Rick and Hershel notice that Glenn is not moving, he says he thinks Glenn was hit. Rick finds out that Glenn is just frozen behind a dumpster and approaches him. Randall spots them from a roof and starts shooting at them. While they take cover, Nate appears in the street inside his car and tells Randall that the gunfire attracted walkers into the town, Randall tries to jump from the roof but fails, Nate apologizes and leaves town, leaving his friend behind. Rick decides to investigate and he discovers that Randall accidentally fell and impaled his leg on a fence spike. Rick, Hershel, and Glenn argue about saving him and how to do so. Hershel suggests to put him down from misery.

The walkers slowly begin to close in on them so they decide to try to amputate his leg, but do not have enough time. Before the walkers can devour Randall, Rick lifts Randall's leg off of the spike, tearing his calf muscle. Rick, Hershel and Glenn returns to the farm by the morning, with Randall blind folded in the backseat as a hostage. The group argues on what to do with Randall, Rick says that they will fix him up, wait for him to heal and then drop him off to defend himself. Shane thinks that he will tell his group where the farm is and this will start a war. Hershel reminds Shane that it is his farm and while he is there he needs to keep his mouth shut. While Lori and Rick are in a tent Lori tells Rick that she thinks Shane killed Otis, that he is dangerous and if Rick doesn't do something about it they may all be in danger.

"18 Miles Out"
One week after the events of the previous episode, Rick and Shane drive down a country road. Rick stops the car short of their destination — 18 miles away from the farm — to confront Shane: Rick knows what happened with Otis, and he knows about Shane's affair with Lori. Rick asks Shane if he believes Rick is unable to keep his family safe. "You can't just be the good guy and expect to live," Shane replies, "That is my wife, that is my son, that is my unborn child," Rick says. He would do anything for them. Rick opens the SUV to check on Randall, who's bound, gagged and blindfolded in the trunk.

Back on the road, Rick makes plans for the coming winter, explaining that they have to conserve ammunition and stockpile food. Shane listens passively, staring out the window at a lone walker ambling through a field. Rick drives past the 18-mile mark, looking to leave Randall somewhere he'll have a chance. He pulls up to a public works station surrounded by a fence. A walker in police uniform approaches. Shane draws his gun but Rick stops him. Rick cuts his finger and wipes blood on the fence. When the walker presses his face against it, Rick stabs it in the head. "Gun's quick, easy," Rick says, "but there are other ways to do this." A second walker in uniform approaches, and Shane follows suit.

After checking if the place is secure, Rick siphons gas as Shane examines the policeman's bodies, noticing they haven't been bitten. Rick points to scratches that likely caused their transformation. Rick and Shane drag Randall to the pavement. Rick drops a knife on the ground as he and Shane walk away, Randall begs them not to abandon him, trying to explain he's a normal guy. "I went to school with Maggie for God's sake!" he screams. Rick and Shane freeze. "He knows where the farm is," Shane speculates, drawing his gun. Rick tackles Shane as he pulls the trigger, forcing Shane to miss Randall. Rick argues he needs time to think about what to do. Shane counters that Randall could lead his people to the farm and accuses Rick of putting Lori and Carl in danger by sparing him. "I don't think you can keep them safe," Shane concludes. The two best friends begin brawling. Shane topples a motorcycle onto Rick, briefly trapping him. He goes to Randall and aims his gun, but Rick tackles Shane before he can fire. Frustrated, Shane grabs a wrench and hurls it at Rick. Rick dodges the wrench but it goes through a building window which causes dozens of walkers to begin pouring out through the broken window. Rick hides under a corpse as Shane flees the onslaught.

Rick empties his gun as walkers pile on top of him. Shane barricades himself in a school bus against the walkers. After getting the bodies off of him, Rick finds Randall trying to escape, they notice Shane trapped in the school bus, Randall complains that Rick can't save him after the beating they gave each other, Rick agrees and decides to leave Shane for the dead and he drags Randall to the SUV. From the school bus, Shane watches as his partner abandons him. Rick stops to take the weapons off the two dead policemen, but after looking at the corpses, he remembers about him and Shane being best friends before the apocalypse.

In the bus, Shane is losing ground to the walkers when the SUV bursts through a nearby gate. As Randall drives, Rick leans out the window telling Shane to run to the back of the bus as he shoots the walkers. Shane runs to the back of the bus and dives into the SUV, the three finally escape the public station. Back on the road, Rick and Shane restrain Randall and toss him in the trunk once again. Alone, Rick admits he'll likely kill Randall — but he's still going to think it over. "That is my wife, that is my son, that is my child," Rick repeats. "You wanna be with us, you gotta follow my lead." Rick returns Shane's gun to him. "It's time for you to come back," Rick says.

"Judge, Jury, Executioner"
After Daryl reports back to the rest of the group that Randall's group is well armed and in large number, Rick declares Randall a threat, and that he must be killed. "You can't just decide on your own to take someone's life," Dale objects, begging Rick to give him time to talk to the group and find another way. Rick agrees to give Dale the rest of the day, if he manages to convince everyone that this is the best idea, they will let Randall live. Lori finds Rick tying a noose in the barn. He asks if she supports his decision. "If you think it's best," she says, asking what happened on the road with Shane. "He won't be a problem anymore," Rick answers. Carol comes in informing them that Carl was arrogant with her. Rick chastises Carl for talking back to Carol about how people who believe in heaven are idiots, Rick then says "Don't talk, think.". As the sun sets, Rick again asks Lori if she thinks he's doing the right thing. Lori nods. The group gathers in the house. Rick asks if anyone thinks Randall should be spared. Dale is disappointed that nobody, except for Andrea, agreed with giving Randall a chance. While holding his tears, he says that Rick and the group completely lost their humanity, on his way out, Dale tells Daryl that this group is broken.

By the evening, Rick, Shane and Daryl bring Randall to the barn and put him on his knees. Rick asks if he has any final words. Randall cries, begging for his life. As Rick raises his gun, Carl enters the barn. "Do it Dad," he says. Shocked, Rick lowers his gun and orders Randall taken away and Shane storms out of the barn. Rick brings Carl back to the camp and tells Lori what happened. "He wanted to watch," Rick says. "I couldn't." A scream is heard from the field and everybody is alerted, Rick orders Carl to go inside as he and the others run to investigate what's happening. Daryl gets to the scene first, where a walker is on top of Dale, tearing into his stomach. Daryl stabs the walker in the head, then shouts for help. Dale's intestines are spilling out of his body; he goes into shock. When Hershel arrives, he reports that Dale can't be saved. As Dale writhes on the ground, Andrea begs Rick to put him out of his misery, and Rick takes out his gun, but can't bring himself to shoot Dale. Daryl takes the weapon, aims it at Dale's head and shoots him, saying "Sorry brother."

"Better Angels"
By the morning, the group hold a funeral for Dale and Rick announces that they are going to prove him wrong by showing that the group is not broken and they can still work together. Rick and Daryl plan to take Randall to the nearby town and leave him there. Shane approaches Rick saying that he needs to have a word with Carl, but Rick declares that his main concern is disposing of Randall. Shane tells Rick that Carl told him that he saw the walker that killed Dale earlier the previous day, but was too afraid to get into trouble and didn't tell anybody. Carl also gave Shane a gun that he stole from Daryl's bike, Shane storms off complaining that Randall is more important to Rick than Carl. Rick goes to the barn and talks to Carl, he encourages him to keep hold of the gun, as they no longer can live without taking action, "I am going to die. Mom. There's no way you can ever be ready for it." When Rick and Daryl prepare to leave, T-Dog is sent to get Randall but discovers that the barn is empty and Randall is missing. While investigating the scene, Shane arrives with his nose bleeding, stating that Randall broke out of the barn and hit him with a rock while he was taking watch.

Rick assembles a group of four which included Glenn, Daryl, Shane and himself to go out in search for Randall, he orders everybody else to lock themselves inside the house and wait for them to come back. While in the woods, Rick and Daryl notice that Shane is strangely agitated, Shane insists that they need to split into teams and search through the forest for Randall. Rick and Shane end up splitting from Daryl and Glenn. As the night fell, Rick notices the strange behavior from Shane and picks apart his story, he comes to the conclusion this was a ruse to lure him out into the field, where Shane would kill him. Rick turns around and tells Shane that nobody will believe him if he goes back to the farm without him and without Randall. Shane explains that he killed Randall earlier and have everything planned to fool the rest of the group into believing that Randall actually killed Rick. He tells Rick he is a better father than he is and that him returning only messed things up. Shane orders Rick to raise his gun so they can end this once for all.

Rick refuses to defend himself, telling Shane that he's going have to kill an unnarmed man. Rick makes it seem as though he's handing Shane his weapon, once his gun is in Shane's hand, Rick pulls out his knife and stabs Shane in his heart, "This is on you, not me! You did this to us, not me!" Rick screams. Shane then dies in his arms. As Rick tries to cope with what just happened, Carl appears, shocked to see Shane dead. He aims his gun at what at first we assume to be Rick, but is actually a now zombified Shane. Carl pulls the trigger, killing the reanimated Shane. Rick looks back confused. The shot alerts a mass herd of walkers, Rick and Carl bend over to check the corpse of Shane while not noticing the wave of zombies approaching in the horizon.

"Beside the Dying Fire"
After killing Shane, Carl asks Rick what exactly happened. Before he can answer, Rick notices the herd of walkers approaching and tells Carl to run to the barn. They lure the walkers there and set fire to the barn, killing many. From the roof, they are able to signalize to Jimmy as he drives the RV so they can jump on it. After getting down from the RV, Jimmy is killed by walkers, Rick and Carl are forced to run into the forest. Later, they arrive back to the farm, saving Hershel as walkers were closing in on him. Rick asks where the rest of the group is, Hershel answers that everybody left the farm. They decide to also flee the farm, as it is swarming with hundreds of walkers; Hershel initially wanted to stay, stating that he is not going to leave his farm behind, but eventually leaves with Rick and Carl.

As the sun rises, they reach the vehicle jammed highway from the beginning of the season, they notice no one else has returned. Carl fiercely demands that they go back to find Lori, but Hershel says that keeping Carl alive is more important. As Rick weighs each option, Lori, Glenn and the other survivors arrive. Everybody is happy to see each other alive, they go to the body count: Jimmy died in the RV, Patricia died while trying to leave the house, Shane was killed by walkers (as far as Rick told the group) and Andrea was caught by walkers while saving Carol, but they don't know if she was indeed bitten. When Daryl suggests going back to find Andrea, Rick immediately shoots it down immediately claiming that "we're not splitting up again." The group decide to depart from this area, try to look for another safe heaven where they can live. As the sun sets, Rick's vehicle runs out of gas, prompting him to suggest to the group that they spend the night in some ruins nearby. Everybody starts to panic, saying that is not safe to spend a night on the road, Daryl tells Rick that he and Glenn found Randall reanimated in the forest when they split up from him and Shane. They ask what happened during the last night.

Rick reveals the secret Jenner told him back at the CDC: everyone is infected. Many of the group are angry with Rick, notably Glenn and Carol, for keeping this hidden from them. The revelation of Jenner's secret leaves many of the group having a distrust with Rick (except for Hershel and Daryl, who still trust Rick's judgement). He later tells Lori exactly what happened to Shane, horrifying her. She refuses to let him get near of her and Carl. During the night, while sitting around a campfire by the road, the group is talking about going their separate ways, a noise in the forest startles everyone, they start to complain with Rick about camping in this place, prompting Rick to finally snap and reveal that he killed Shane at cold blood to save the group. He offers anyone who doesn't want to go with him are free to leave. He waits, and when no one gets up to leave, Rick snarls "You stay, get one thing straight: This isn't a democracy anymore." Rick then leaves to investigate the noise. Unknown to any of them, a prison complex looms in the horizon.

"Seed"
Eight months have passed since the final events of the second season, Rick has seemingly been forgiven by the group after the events that transpired, and once again, earns their trust. He has also seemingly taken charge of the group. Rick and the group stumble upon an abandoned house, killing all of the walkers inside and deciding to stay there for a while, Lori's pregnancy is already in an advanced state. The group sit down in silence in the living room but this is short lived when another group of walkers begins to approach the house, causing the group to flee. On the road, Rick discusses with Hershel that they need a place to stay for a few weeks, so Lori can delivery the baby without many problems. They decide to leave this area of Georgia since it's swarming with walkers. While going hunting with Daryl, they stumble upon an overrun prison. Rick realizes it's the perfect place to stay. The group head to the prison entrance, noticing that there are not too many walkers on the field, they can stay there for the night if they close the courtyard gate. Rick manages to shut the gate while the rest of the group distracts and kills the walkers. The group camps in the secure prison yard for the night, Rick reveals his plans to take over the prison, since the place must be stocked with food, weapons and medicine. Lori pleads with Rick to let the group rest for a few days; Rick rebuffs Lori, revealing that while Lori has forgiven her husband, Rick is still bitter towards her.

The next day, Rick and the rest of the group clear out the remaining walkers in the courtyard, cleaning out the entrance to the prison. They find a secure cell block inside, called Cell Block C. Once again, Rick rebuffs Lori when she tries to thank him. The group finds riot gear, flash grenades, and other useful equipment. Rick, Maggie, Glenn, Hershel, and Daryl decide to explore the prison even deeper, to look for the cafeteria and infirmary. They make their way through several corridors only to be ambushed by a group of walkers. Glenn and Maggie are split from the group, but Hershel insists on going back for his daughter. Hershel finds Glenn and Maggie, but is bitten in the lower right calf by a stray walker in the hallway. The group tries to takes Hershel to somewhere safe, and they end up finding the locked cafeteria and break in. Acting quickly, Rick amputates the lower portion of Hershel's right leg to keep the infection from spreading. Noticing that they need to stop the bleeding quickly, Daryl spots five figures watching them and he points his flash-light at them, revealing that they are actually living prisoners.

"Sick"
While Maggie works to stop the bleeding, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog quickly put Hershel onto a gurney and take him back to Cell Block C, ignoring the five prisoners (Axel, Tomas, Big Tiny, Oscar, and Andrew). However, the prisoners follow them to the cell block and a stand off occurs between the prisoners, T-Dog, and Daryl with Rick intervening. Rick tells them about how the world has been completely overrun by walkers (as the prisoners had no knowledge of the outside world). Outside, a stand off occurs between Tomas and Rick because Tomas wants him and the other survivors to leave, seeing that the prison belongs to the prisoners, not them. Rick cuts a deal to help the prisoners secure a separate cell block in exchange for half of the prisoner's food. While bringing the food the Cell Block C, Rick notices that Hershel is still out, he pulls Glenn aside and tells him to act quickly in case Hershel dies. While Rick, T-Dog and Daryl are taking the prisoners to another cell block, they are forced to fight their way through a small group of walkers, Big Tiny is scratched on his back. Rick tells him that there is nothing he can do to help Big Tiny with this infection, and then shortly, Big Tiny is killed by Tomas.

Rick gets unnerved when a blood-spattered Tomas gives Rick an icy stare. Once they reach the room before the cell block, Tomas ignores Rick's warning and opens up both doors, causing a herd of walkers to rush in. During the fight, Tomas tries to kill Rick twice by swinging his weapon too close to him and pushing a walker towards him. After the walkers are cleared, Rick confronts Tomas once again. He mocks Tomas by saying that "shit happens", and slams his machete on Tomas' head, killing him instantly. Andrew runs away, but Rick catches him and locks him on the outside where walkers are roaming. Rick decides to let Axel and Oscar (the last of the prison survivors) live, they leave them at Cell Block B and goes back to Cell Block C. Rick holds Hershel's hand as he awakens and thanks Lori for saving Hershel's life. He meets up with Lori outside and touches her shoulder, being the first time in months that he touches her. He then claims that the group is grateful for her saving Hershel, and walks away without making eye contact.

"Walk With Me"
Rick does not appear in this episode, but is mentioned by Andrea when she talks with Merle Dixon about how he escaped Atlanta.

"Killer Within"
While planning to burn all the corpses from walkers the group killed inside the prison, Rick and the others receive an unexpected visit from Axel and Oscar. The two prisoners tells them that Cell Block B is a haunted place and they rather leave the prison than live in that place. After consulting Daryl, Rick decides to let the prisoners leave, as it was part of their agreement, even though T-Dog is against this decision, saying that kicking them out of the prison is a death sentence. While Rick, Daryl, and Glenn went out to get wood to burn the corpses, walkers start to invade the prison courtyard, forcing the group to split up. Rick and the others recruit Axel and Oscar to help them kill the walkers and they found out that someone broke the latch on the gate that protected the group from walkers getting in. He thinks that either Axel or Oscar committed the crime, which allowed walkers to enter. Soon after, a loud prison alarm is heard and Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and the two inmates make their way to the generator room to shut off the walker-attracting sound. Rick is then attacked by Andrew, the inmate that Rick left out in the prison yard to be devoured by walkers, but somehow managed to survive. Andrew is then shot in the head by Oscar. On the way back to the courtyard, they find T-Dog's corpse being devoured by two walkers, which Rick can barely look at. After regrouping and realizing that there are still people missing, Rick demands to search for Lori, but hears an infant crying, which is Lori's newborn. As Rick notices that Lori did not return with Maggie and Carl, he predicts the worse and sobs over the loss of his wife.

"Say the Word"
Rick appears to be furious and mentally deranged as he picks up an ax lying in the prison's courtyard. He heads into the prison to find Lori's body, and slaughters "a dozen, two dozen" walkers along the way. Glenn follows Rick inside and attempts to convince Rick to rejoin the group outside, saying that Rick doesn't need to do this alone. Rick is unresponsive until Glenn touches him, and then Rick slams Glenn against the wall. Rick calms down, whips Glenn away, and then walks off without saying a word. When Rick reaches the boiler room, he discovers that Lori's body is gone, sees a knife, and picks up a bullet. He follows a blood streak to find a seated, bloated walker in a stupor from overeating. Rick shoots the walker in the head before stabbing its stomach multiple times. While collapsed in a daze on the floor of the boiler room, he distantly hears a baby wail and a phone ring. Confused, Rick notices a phone nearby and goes to answer it.

"Hounded"
Rick picks up the phone receiver and hears a woman's voice on the other end. He is told that she is part of a large group who haven't experienced any walkers or deaths and are safe. When Rick pressures her to reveal more, she hangs up. Rick then reunites with the rest of the group to check up on Carl. When Glenn volunteers to assist Rick in dragging bodies out of the boiler room, Rick walks away. He is later confronted by Hershel, who offers his condolences to Rick about Lori's death. Rick tells him about the woman on the phone and says she'd call back in two hours after talking with the others in her group; Hershel offers to wait with him, but Rick declines. When the phone rings once again, a man from the group asks how many people Rick has killed; he answers four. After asking why he let Lori die, Rick refused to answer. The man hangs up, leaving Rick confused and enraged. Later, a third person is on the line and calls Rick by name. Scared, Rick immediately hangs up and back away from the phone. Later, another person calls, Rick hesitates, but answers it anyway. The person reveals herself to be Lori and all the others who had previously called were Amy, Jim, and Jacqui. Rick breaks down and tells Lori that he had never stopped loving her and says he didn't want her to die. Realizing this was all part of an hallucination, Rick hangs up the phone. Later on, he goes back to the cafeteria and holds his newborn daughter for the first time. He goes outside to get some fresh air, but witnesses a strange figure approaching the prison along a bunch of walkers. As he takes a better look, he realizes that it's a woman covered in walker's guts outside the Prison gates and carrying the supplies from Glenn and Maggie.

"When the Dead Come Knocking"
Rick is staring at Michonne outside of their fence, surrounded by walkers. Undeterred, Michonne takes out a few walkers when her scent is exposed, but Carl and Rick assist in taking out the rest, as she passes out. After hoisting her over his shoulder and carrying her inside the prison, he lays her down and provides her with medical treatment from Hershel. He questions her over Glenn and Maggie's whereabouts, and she explains that they were taken by one of The Governor's henchman and that The Governor is the sick leader of a town nearby called Woodbury. Later, Rick formulates a plan to attack Woodbury and retrieve Glenn and Maggie. On the way out of the prison, he and Carl decide on the name Judith for the baby. Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Oscar then commence their journey to Woodbury. However, on the way, they are overtaken by walkers on foot and are forced to take shelter inside the home of a hermit. The hermit, apparently unaware of the apocalypse, bolts for the door, but is run through by Michonne, before being tossed to the walkers as a distraction while the group made their escape. Later on, at night, they finally came upon Woodbury's gate, crouched behind crashed cars, and surveyed the area.

"Made to Suffer"
With the help of Michonne, Rick leads the group into Woodbury to recover Maggie and Glenn from their confinement. They manage to silently capture and interrogate one of the guards, but he is unaware of what's happening. After hearing gunshots, Rick and the group head to the sound's source, finding Glenn and Maggie about to be executed. They throw in flash grenades from the prison, blinding all of the henchmen and during the confusion, they manage to take Glenn and Maggie to a safe place. However, Michonne leaves the group and wanders into Woodbury by herself. When Daryl learns that his brother Merle is a resident of Woodbury after Glenn reveals that Merle was the one responsible for kidnapping and brutally beating him, Daryl yearns to speak with his brother. Rick refuses, as it is too risky to make contact with any resident. They decide to leave and another shootout between the Woodbury soldiers and the group ensues. During the shootout, Rick notices an hallucination of "Shane" walking through the smoke and Rick stares, transfixed. "Shane" fatally shoots Oscar, and Rick retaliates, shooting him in the head. Upon inspection, Rick discovers that it was just an ordinary Woodbury soldier. The group moves to escape, but notice that Daryl has fallen behind. While waiting for him outside, an injured Michonne arrives after ditching the group during the rescue mission. They hold her at gunpoint, asking her what was she doing, but she offers to help locate Daryl.

"The Suicide King"
Rick and Maggie once again break in and attack Woodbury, successfully rescuing Daryl and Merle as they were forced to fight each other in a death match. After escaping and reuniting with Glenn and Michonne, Merle begins insulting the group, but Rick pistol-whips him unconscious. They decide not to bring back Merle because of his attitude, and also decide not to include Michonne because she is too much of a loose cannon. Daryl refuses to leave Merle behind and, despite Rick's protests, abandons the group. Glenn is also angered at Rick for not killing The Governor during the attack and focusing more on rescuing Daryl, who abandoned them. Rick informs Glenn that rescuing Daryl was the main priority. Rick also informs Michonne that once she is patched up, she is on her own. Back at The Prison, Rick has to decide the fate of Tyreese's group, who offer to do anything to help and agree to stay out of Rick's hair. Rick rejects the idea, but Hershel argues that it might be the best decision to include them since they are short on manpower (following Oscar's death and Daryl's absence). While Rick is deciding their fate, he starts hallucinating once again. He witnesses a vision of Lori, causing him to lash out at it. Everyone there believes he is yelling at Tyreese's group to leave, prompting Glenn to rush them out before Rick attacks them.

"Home"
By the next day, Rick is still in a deranged state, witnessing multiple visions of Lori. He leaves The Prison and follows his dead wife, with Michonne standing by and watching him. He is then confronted by Hershel, who asks him to come back and bring order and stability, since Glenn is not in the best state of mind to take control of the group. Rick declines, heading back into the woods. The Governor and his group ambushes him and opens fire on The Prison. Rick is forced to take cover, returning fire to the attackers. A truck full of walkers run down the prison's gates and fill the yard with walkers, putting Hershel's life in danger. Rick tries to go around the gate to save him, but walkers attracted by the gunfire surround Rick before he can make it to the entrance. Out of ammo, he is pinned to the fence by three walkers, but before they could infect him, the Dixon brothers return and save his life. Noticing that Michonne and Glenn managed to save Hershel's life, Rick stares darkly at the prison's yard, once again overrun by walkers.

"I Ain't a Judas"
The group discusses what to do about Woodbury following the attack. Rick tries to wander outside, but Hershel yells at him to get his head clear and do something instead of simply walking away. Listening to Merle's advice that The Governor must have soldiers watching the prison, Rick goes out and scouts The Prison's yard, finding out that there is in fact Woodbury soldiers watching them from behind the trees. Carl comes out and advises Rick to stop being the leader for now because he deserves a rest and suggests letting Hershel and Daryl lead for a while. When Andrea shows up at The Prison, Rick lets her in, and them slams her against the fence and searches her while demanding to know if she came alone. Andrea tries to make peace to avoid any more bloodshed, but Rick and the others make it clear that they want revenge against both The Governor and Woodbury. Andrea says that The Governor wanted to negotiate and Rick and the others fired at them, but Rick reveals that The Governor indeed attacked the prison first, exposing the lie that he had told her about Rick's group attacking them. The negotiation ends when Rick storms off after Andrea refuses to allow them inside of Woodbury. Andrea then departs in a prison car given to her by the group. Rick also gives her a handgun and a knife before she leaves should she decide to murder The Governor herself. Later that night, while Beth is singing by candlelight, Rick tells Hershel that he is going on a weapons run and wants to bring Michonne and Carl along with him.

"Clear"
Rick goes on a run with Carl and Michonne, which leads them into Rick's hometown. On the way, they notice a man by the road begging them to stop the car, but they simply ignore him. Carl shows that he's concerned about bringing Michonne with them, since she is not part of the group. They arrive in King County and enter the armory of the Sheriff's Department, only to find out that all the weapons were taken. Rick knows where to find more guns in the main street. To their surprise, the main street has a strange set of traps, when a walker is shot in the head. They look up to find that a stranger on a roof has them at gunpoint. They have a short shootout, Rick orders Carl to get to the car and wait for him, Michonne tries to sneak upon the mysterious man, but he disappeared. Rick is confused when the man shows up again in the street, shooting at Rick while he takes cover. Carl ultimately shoots the stranger in the chest. Rick pulls off his shirt, which reveals he was wearing body armor. He then pulls off the stranger's helmet, revealing that it's Morgan Jones. They take him inside the building, while avoiding booby traps. The three notice that Morgan has an immense stockpile of weapons and begin to put them in bags to take them to the prison. While Rick is reading several sentences Morgan wrote on the walls, he finds the walkie-talkie he gave Morgan when he left King County. Rick remembers about his intentions of finding Lori, but soon he notices a writing on the wall that says, "DUANE TURNED". Rick decides to stay and wait for Morgan to wake up and check if he's okay.

While Michonne and Carl go on a run to find a crib for Judith, Rick apologizes to the unconscious Morgan. During a moment of distraction, Morgan wakes up and takes a knife taped to the side of the bed. He attacks Rick and ultimately stabs him in the upper-left chest. Rick points his gun at Morgan's head, and the man begs Rick to kill him, Rick realizes that Morgan is not in a sane state. Rick ties up Morgan and tries to remind Morgan that he knows him, while the latter yells out "you're wearing the skin of a dead man" over and over. While Rick bandages himself up, Morgan repeatedly asks Rick to kill him. Rick proceeds to hold up the walkie-talkie to jog Morgan's memory and he begins to remember. He immediately lashes out at Rick for not using the radio every morning like he promised, while Rick insists that his group kept being pushed inland and thus unable to constantly maintain contact. Morgan bitterly tells Rick what happened to Duane. Rick tries to convince Morgan to go to the prison with them, where it's safe, but Morgan notices that they are taking a lot of guns, meaning that someone else wants the prison. Rick states that they are going to win this war, but Morgan refuses to join them, saying that Rick and everyone in his group will die "by either teeth or bullets."

While putting the guns in the trunk of the car, Rick asks Carl how it went with Michonne, Carl answers that "she might be one of us". Rick, Carl and Michonne leave King County, as Rick watches Morgan preparing to burn the corpse of walkers caught on his booby traps. On the way back, they notice the remains of the man they had seen earlier by the road, they stop to pick up his backpack and move on.

"Arrow on the Doorpost"
After a meeting being set up by Andrea, Rick rides out with Daryl and Hershel to an abandoned farm store to discuss peace terms. Rick and The Governor finally meet face-to-face for the first time. The Governor assures that he only wants to talk and in a gesture of good faith, he removes his pistol, hangs the holster up out of arm's reach and calmly sits in a chair; he invites Rick to do the same, but Rick just holsters his gun and continues to glare. Unknown to Rick, The Governor has taped a gun under his side of the table. Andrea storms into the barn, complaining that The Governor started the meeting without her; Rick says that he knows everything about The Governor: the raids, the heads in fish tanks and that he attempted to rape Maggie. The Governor asks Rick for his terms, and he hands The Governor a map of the area: Woodbury takes west of the river, the Prison takes the east and the two groups will not interact or trade with each other. The Governor scoffs at the offer and says that he wants the Prison survivors to surrender to him. Rick says that if he wants a surrender, then "come and get it". Andrea interferes telling both men to calm down, but The Governor asks her to leave him and Rick to discuss this privately. As Andrea leaves the barn, one of The Governor's henchman, Martinez (who is waiting outside), closes the door.

Rick and The Governor start to insult one another about their respective positions as leaders. Incredibly they show some level of respect for each other, although Rick calls him a town drunk for killing Axel and running down the Prison's gates. The Governor asks if Rick ever misjudged someone, and says that he knows about the possibility of Judith being someone else's daughter. He says that if he just leaves Rick's group alone, his people are going to think he is weak. "That's your problem", Rick says. The Governor shares a story about the day his wife died: he was at work when he received a call from the hospital telling him that she died in a car accident. He muses that earlier in the day, his wife left him a message asking him to call her back but he never managed to do so. "What did she want?", The Governor asks. Rick remembers about Lori's death and becomes visibly rattled; The Governor notices this and smirks. He gets up and tells Rick that this fight will go down to the last man, but tells Rick that there is a way out: he promises Rick can have anything he wants if he gives up Michonne.

Rick tries to talk The Governor out of this idea, saying that he is called "The Governor", but he worries about some vendetta and that this is beneath his level. And even if he gives up Michonne, he doesn't trust that The Governor will keep his word about leaving them alone. Nevertheless, The Governor tells Rick to think about it, giving him two days to decide what to do. Rick, Daryl and Hershel head back to the prison. After reuniting the whole group inside the cell block, Rick gives the word, "I met this Governor, [...] He wants the prison, wants us gone, dead. [...] We're going to war". Rick heads outside, Hershel follows him and Rick reveals that he lied to the group; The Governor wants Michonne, but he doesn't trust the they will be left alone after giving her up. Rick asks Hershel if he is willing to sacrifice his daughter's life for Michonne; a confused Hershel asks him why he is asking that. Rick says that he's waiting for Hershel to try to talk him out of this.

"Prey"
Rick is seen keeping watch in the guard tower of the prison. When Andrea tries signalling Rick, The Governor tackles her. Rick notices a strange movement in the woods and looks over with his sniper rifle, but after further investigation, he dismisses it.

"This Sorrowful Life"
While outside with Hershel and Daryl, Rick informs the latter about The Governor's offer. They both try to dissuade Rick from giving up Michonne, but Rick insists it's their best shot at saving lives. He decides to ask Merle what he thinks of the offer and finds him inside Cell Block B looking for drugs. Merle scoffs after hearing Rick will hand Michonne over and suggests that he use a thick cord or cable to tie her up with, "something that she can't bite or wriggle her way out of." He questions Rick about giving up Michonne without knowing if The Governor will even leave them alone, and mocks Rick for not having guts to do the job himself. While wandering outside, Rick finds a cable to bind Michonne when Lori appears on the catwalk. "You're not there," he mutters, cradling his head. When he looks up, Lori is still there. Realizing that he can't go through with it, Rick throws the cable away and leaves. He goes inside and tells Hershel that "the deal is off."

After looking around the Prison with Daryl and not finding either Michonne or Merle, they realize that Merle took Michonne to The Governor as per the deal and goes to bring them back; Daryl stops Rick and says that he's a much better tracker and goes alone, telling Rick to have everyone ready for war when he comes back. Rick then sets up a meeting with the entire group inside the prison, where he tells them the truth about the deal of giving up Michonne. He says that he changed his mind, but Merle already took Michonne and Daryl went off to stop them but admits that he doesn't know if it's too late. He recounts about what he said after the destruction of the farm: "It's not my call. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good," he says. "I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together." Rick then goes to the guard tower and while looking through the sniper rifle, spots a figure approaching the gates. He sees that it's Michonne coming back alone without Daryl or Merle.

"Welcome to the Tombs"
Rick and the survivors are seen packing up their supplies and loading it into several vehicles, Glenn approaches Rick and tells him about Carl being upset with their plan, but Rick tells Glenn that Carl is just a kid and he will understand it. While doing a final sweep of the cell block, Michonne comes up and thanks Rick for allowing her into the group. Rick and the rest of the group hide as The Governor and the Woodbury Army arrive at the prison well armed and in large numbers. The Governor notices that the prison seems to be empty and he leads his army into the tombs. There they trigger several flash grenade traps as well as the Prison's alarm system, attracting walkers to flood the corridor. As they flee the tombs and head outside to regroup, Glenn and Maggie ambush them, catching the Woodbury Army by surprise and forcing them to flee.

Rick and the others celebrate as their plan to scare off The Governor worked, but since the possibility of The Governor returning still exists, they decide to chase him down. As they check on the rest of the group, Rick is told by Hershel that Carl killed a Woodbury soldier after he had surrendered his weapon; Carl assures Rick that the soldier attacked them, but Hershel insists that he saw that Carl shot the soldier in cold blood, causing Rick to worry. As they prepare to pursue The Governor, Rick sees another vision of Lori up on the catwalk. He then asks Carl about the shooting. Carl admits the Woodbury soldier had indeed surrendered his weapon before being shot. Still, he says, "I couldn't take the chance," pointing out that Rick's choices of letting people live constantly caused the death of many people in the group, such as letting Andrew and The Governor live, which caused the deaths of Lori and Merle respectively. Carl says that he did what he had to do and walks off; Rick hears something hit the ground and notices that Carl dropped his old sheriff's badge.

Rick, Michonne and Daryl leave the prison in pursuit of The Governor. They eventually come across the entire Woodbury Army dead by the road next to their vehicles. As they look around, they discover Karen, the lone survivor, hiding in one of the assault vehicles. She reveals that The Governor murdered everyone for no reason whatsoever, and they decide to go after him in Woodbury. They arrive there at nightfall, encountering Tyreese and Sasha and laying down their weapons. Rick and Karen explain that The Governor killed everyone and they came to end this war, but Tyreese says that The Governor didn't return to Woodbury.

When hearing from Tyreese that Andrea successfully escaped from Woodbury, Rick mentions that she never made it to the prison and suggests she could still be in the town. They head to the interrogation room where Glenn and Maggie were kept and notice a pool of blood under the door. They find a walker dead and Andrea fatally bitten. When she asks if Judith, Carl, and the rest of them are alive, Rick replies "Us. The rest of us." She asks Rick to hand over his gun so she can kill herself, saying "I know how the safety works"; after some hesitation, Rick hands her his revolver. Michonne stays with Andrea as Rick, Tyreese and Daryl head outside and wait for her to commit suicide. In the morning, Rick and the group return to the prison along with with a school bus filled with the eighteen remaining Woodbury survivors, including Tyreese, Sasha and Karen. Carl approaches Rick and asks what is this about. "They're gonna join us," Rick replies as Carl walks off. Rick then looks up at the catwalk and Lori is nowhere to be seen, signifying that he believes he made the right decision.

Season 4
Rick will appear in Season 4, along with all the other prison survivors.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Rick has killed:
 * Leon Basset (Zombified)
 * Hannah (Zombified)
 * Summer (Zombified)
 * Sophia Peletier (Zombified)
 * Dave
 * Tony
 * Shane Walsh
 * Tomas
 * Erin (Zombified)
 * Unnamed Woodbury Soldiers
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Carl Grimes
"No more kid stuff."

- Rick to Carl before handing him back Daryl's gun.

Rick completely loves his son Carl and does whatever is necessary to protect him. He shows a desire to shield Carl from the difficulties of the world, when he says to Shane that he and Lori should not argue in front of Carl, he also shows this when he lies to Carl about Sophia being lost in the woods. This changes when he decides Carl needs to be able to protect himself. He trains Carl in the use of a gun, and readies him for the possibility of either of his parents dying. Right after Rick kills Shane, Carl saves Rick's life by killing the undead Shane. The two then escape the overrun farm together.

Over the time lapse between seasons 2 and 3, Carl becomes extremely proficient as a fighter, earning Rick's respect enough that he is allowed to participate in combat against walkers with the adults and guard the group. Rick shows a desire to prove his capability to care for Carl when, in the opening of the Season 3 premiere, he takes a can of dog food away from Carl, ashamed that his son is being reduced to eating it. After Lori dies, he immediately looks to Carl, to see how he is dealing with the loss. It is possible that part of his reaction to her death was based upon Carl no longer having a mother.

Lori Grimes
"I loved you, I loved you, I couldn't put it back together, I couldn't put it back together. I made a deal with myself. I will keep you alive, I will find you a place, I will fix that. I couldn't open that door, I couldn't risk it. I was going to keep you alive; Carl; the baby. And then I thought there'd be time. There's never time. I loved you. I love you. I couldn't put it back together. I should've said it, should've said it."

- Rick to Lori during their "phone conversation".

Lori was Rick's wife and the mother of his child, Carl. Rick and Lori married at a young age, which, according to Lori, could have contributed to their marital problems in later years. They had many problems and argued frequently. This is seen clearly in two different flashbacks, one in the episode "Days Gone Bye" and the other in "Bloodletting". At one point, Lori even questioned whether or not she still loved Rick.

After the outbreak, Shane, Rick's best friend, told Lori that Rick was dead and began to have an affair with her. However, when Rick arrived at the Atlanta camp, Lori immediately broke off her relationship with Shane. She gave him back his wedding ring and the two began to reconnect as husband and wife. She disagreed with some of the decisions he made but saw it her duty as his wife to stand by his side and support him. Rick quickly found out that Lori had an affair with Shane but is able to control his anger. It is clear that Lori remains remorseful over her relationship with Shane during Rick's absence, which she reveals to Rick in episode, "Secrets". Rick and Lori's relationship is often tested and challenged by Rick's decisions as the leader of the group, in addition to the friction between Rick and Shane, who Lori knowingly placed at odds.

Their relationship seems to be more or less okay until Rick kills Shane. At first, Lori is furious at Rick for killing him but eventually understands and forgives him. Rick, however, shuns her away. Despite this, he tries to find a safe place for the group and more specifically, Lori to have her baby. When Lori dies, Rick is completely shocked and devastated. He becomes more aggressive and his sanity, regard for humanity, and morality starts to become questionable.

As he is grieving for Lori's death, he hallucinates hearing her talking to him through a phone. He reveals that he thought there would be time to rebuild their relationship after they found a safe place and the baby was born. He tells her that he loves her multiple times and apologetically tells her that he should have told her that before she died.

In the episode "Home", Rick witnesses multiple sightings of Lori, eventually "embracing" her outside of the prison.

However, the visions of Lori reappear frequently, serving as a moral compass for Rick to do the right thing (ex. She appears on the prison catwalk when Rick looks for wire to bind Michonne's hands with. Rick drops the wire and changes his mind, refusing to hand over Michonne to The Governor).

Judith Grimes
"Hey."

- Rick to Judith when holding her for the first time.

Judith is Carl's sister and Rick's possible daughter. It is unknown who her biological father is but Rick is determined to keep her alive and safe. She reminds him of Lori and protecting her is what she would have wanted.

Shane Walsh
"I killed him. I killed Shane. He came at me. He killed Randall to get me in the woods. He planned it. I had - I had no choice. I gave him every chance... and he kept leading me further out. He pushed me, and I let him. After awhile, I knew - I knew what he was doing, what he was up to. And I kept going. I didn't stop. I could have, but... I just wanted it over. Dogging me every step of the way. Acting like I stole you and Carl, like... like I was in the way. I just wanted it over. I wanted him dead. I killed him."

- Rick revealing to Lori that he killed Shane.

Rick was Shane's partner and were best friends ever since high school. They were practically brothers. Rick often turned to him when he faced problems concerning his marriage to Lori. The outbreak, however, had put a strain on their good relationship. Believing Rick was dead when he did not wake up from his coma, Shane started an affair with his wife. Rick quickly realized what happened but concealed his anger. Shane was extremely jealous of Rick because Lori still loved him. He believed that he was better for Lori and Carl and that Rick was weak.

In "18 Miles Out", their relationship begins to spiral out of control when Rick and Shane physically fight each other, with Shane triggering a swarm of walkers that attacked them. In the end Shane decides that it would be best to get rid of Rick because, in his mind, Rick was weaker and unable to make tough decisions and therefore unfit to lead the survivors (despite the fact that Rick saved his life when he was trapped in a school bus). Shane's ruthless behavior and dislike of Rick's leadership eventually caused his demise.

Shane appears briefly as a hallucination to Rick in the heat of a vicious gunfight, to which Rick promptly shoots and kills him, later realizing it was a Woodbury soldier. The hallucination reveals that killing Shane still weighs heavily on his conscience.

Glenn Rhee
"Call it a foolish naive hope that if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same thing for me. Guess I'm an even bigger dumbass than you."

- Glenn to Rick when he asks why he saved his life.

Rick and Glenn seem to hold a level of respect for each other. The two have saved each others lives on a couple of occasions, such as when Glenn saved Rick in Atlanta and Rick went after Glenn after he was kidnapped by the Vatos gang. They work well alongside each other, but their relationship became rocky after Glenn scolded Rick for not telling the group about Jenner's secret. In Season 3 however, Rick is shown to have gained Glenn's trust again with his leadership skills after Rick kept the group alive on the road for the past 8 months. Rick recently risked his life to infiltrate Woodbury and in turn saved Glenn from being executed by the Woodbury soldiers along with Maggie.

Daryl Dixon
"I know what you did for me, for my baby while I was...working things out. Thank you."

- Rick thanking Daryl for taking care of his newborn daughter.

Daryl at first didn't share a liking towards Rick, as he was responsible for Merle being left behind in Atlanta. Rick and Daryl's relationship grows stronger in Season 2. This is noticeably seen when Daryl takes Rick's gun from him and shoots the dying Dale, as Rick can not bring himself to do it. As Rick's relationship with Shane grew more and more tense, Daryl started becoming his right hand man.

By the start of Season 3, Rick and Daryl have become very close and protect each other on multiple occasions. They are able to communicate very easily, not even needing words. After the death of Lori, Daryl helped take care of Judith while Rick was mentally unavailable. Afterwards, Rick thanked him for what he did.

In "Made to Suffer", Daryl and Rick argue over Merle, Daryl stating he needs to see him. Rick asks him where his loyalties lie, Daryl confirming he is loyal to Rick. However, in "The Suicide King", when Rick does not allow Merle to join the group, Daryl leaves with Merle, telling Rick if Merle doesn't come back, neither does he.

After discovering that his brother was alive, Daryl's loyalty to Rick was tested, yet confirmed that he was still loyal to him as shown once he returned to the prison after shortly leaving with Merle. In "This Sorrowful Life", Daryl says to Rick "You're family, too." before leaving to track Michonne and Merle. This shows that he cares for Rick just as much as he does for his own brother.

Andrea
"Us. The rest of us."

- Rick reaffirming Andrea as a member of the group, moments before her death

Rick met Andrea when he was searching for Lori and Carl in Atlanta. At first she assaulted him when he alerted a large group of walkers to their location, but later apologized. Rick and Andrea didn't interact much until later on in season 2 when he asks Andrea to keep an eye on Randall. When the farm is attacked, Andrea is left behind unbeknownst to Rick. When the group notices her absence, Rick refuses to allow anyone to look for her as "She's gone, or she's dead---there's no way to find her." Much later in the episode The Suicide King, Rick learns that Andrea is in Woodbury. When she visits the prison, he is very aggressive towards her and makes it clear that he wants The Governor dead. Upon leaving, he gives her a gun and a knife, and says, "Be careful." When The Governor and Rick meet to try and create a peace treaty per Andrea's request, the two kick her out of the discussion to settle matters privately. Rick does not see Andrea again until he infiltrates Woodbury in Welcome to the Tombs. When he learns Andrea has been bit, she asks for Rick's gun to prevent reanimation, reminding him that she knows how the safety works (Him being the one who taught her). Her last words to Rick are, "I tried," to which he tearfully replies, "You did."

Hershel Greene
"Don't feel sorry about my leg. You saved my life Rick, and I'm grateful for that."

- Hershel thanking Rick for amputating his bitten limb, and saving his life.

Rick first met the Greene family after his son Carl was accidentally shot by their neighbor Otis, who offered the medical assistance of the family patriarch, Hershel. Rick was grateful for Hershel ultimately saving his son and allowing the group to stay on his farm while Carl healed, though they came at odds when the group discovered that Hershel had been hoarding his undead family and neighbors in his barn thinking they could be cured. Rick slowly attempted to show Hershel the truth of the living dead, but to no avail. He eventually cooperated with Hershel, even going as far as to aide him in bringing two new walkers to the barn.

After facing a divine intervention following the barn shootout, Hershel relapsed into his alcoholism and was confronted in a bar by Rick who convinced him that what had happened needed to be done, as the undead were no longer the people they were before. Following this revelation, Hershel saw the spirit in Rick's leadership and has since become one of his most devoted followers, standing by his side and knowing that he had his family's safety at heart along with the rest of the group. Despite this notion, Hershel continued persistently in voicing his concerns over Shane Walsh until the latter's death.

Occasionally, Hershel will try and mentor Rick's troubles and offer advice as often as he possibly can. Despite these attempts usually being rebuffed, Hershel never takes it to heart and feels that Rick is competent enough to overcome anything. This is most positively seen when Rick pulls Hershel away from defending his farm against an overwhelming herd and into the arms of his surviving daughters. Rick knew that not only did the man have his own family to protect, he also provided his pregnant wife and the group with a crucial medical role. After abandoning the farm, Rick assumed command over the entire group, which united them all as one unit. While living as transient scavengers during the winter, Hershel followed Rick's leadership and did not question him.

When Hershel was bitten while the group cleared the prison, Rick immediately hacked off his leg to prevent the infection from killing him, which eventually led to a full recovery minus the amputation. Hershel continues to follow Rick's leadership and is saddened by Lori's death and Rick's devastation. He is shown mentoring Rick both during and after his breakdown. While Rick is busy recovering and coming to terms with what broke him, Hershel has acted as a surrogate father to Judith and spends the majority of his time taking care of her.

The two have become very close friends following Hershel's recovery from his amputation. Recently, Hershel has been seen on several occasions giving advice to Rick on how best to handle things and voices his opinion to Rick when he has doubts or questions his decisions. It is obvious that Rick has a very high level of personal trust in Hershel, as he was the sole group member that Rick confided in regarding the hallucinations he's been having. Knowing that Rick told him in confidence and did not want the others to know, Hershel kept Rick's secret. Even after Rick's outburst upon seeing Lori's 'ghost' on the prison balcony and yelling at her, Hershel has respected Rick's privacy and kept the details about his friend's experiences to himself. Hershel is very understanding of what Rick is going through, does not blame or judge him for it, and has continued to be there for him. Although he is doing his best to help Rick mourn and get through this, Hershel keeps his friend in line as he refuses to let Rick be controlled by his condition or do anything that would put them all in danger.

Maggie Greene
Maggie yelled out to Hershel when Rick was carrying Carl after he was shot by accident by Otis. Maggie even offered to find Lori for Rick she can inform Lori that Carl has been shot. After Carl was saved by Hershel, Maggie offered her services to Rick and the Group by showing them a map of the entire Farm area of where Sophia might be hiding. Even after Rick and the group discovered the walker barn that Hershel kept and killed all the walkers in the barn, Maggie was concerned about Rick and the group leaving the farm (mostly Glenn due to his and Maggie's relationship). In season 3, after Rick and the group, (except Andrea, who got left behind) along with Maggie, Hershel, and Beth were forced to leave Hershel's farm, Maggie played a major part in the group when she, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog went inside the prison and killed most of the walkers in the courtyard. After Lori dies from childbirth due to Maggie being forced to give Lori a C-Section, Maggie promised that she will protect and take care of Lori's baby, Judith. She even goes on runs to get supplies for Judith. After Merle Dixon captures Maggie and Glenn, Rick, along with Michonne, Oscar, and Daryl went into Woodbury to free Maggie and Glenn from Merle and The Governor, which starts a war between Rick's group and Woodbury.

Carol Peletier
"Rick's gotten us a lot farther than I thought he would."

- Carol revealing her opinions on Rick

In Season 1, Carol ends up saving everyone's lives when she reveals that she found a grenade in Rick's clothes when she washed them. In "TS-19", with only a minute left on the clock and the CDC about to explode, Carol hands Rick the grenade so they can break the window and escape. During Season 2, Carol became one of the group's opposers of Rick's leadership, having stated that she doesn't trust Rick to lead them properly. This grudge may have developed when Rick failed to retrieve Sophia from the woods in "What Lies Ahead." As season 3 progresses, Carol admitted how Rick has done a good job and got them farther than Shane ever could have. Their close friendship is evident in "When the Dead Come Knocking" when Daryl brings her back to their cell block after the group believed her dead. Close to tears, the friends embrace as Rick can hardly believe her miraculous survival. When Carol learns of Lori's death, they again seek comfort with one another.

Merle Dixon
"You're cold as ice, Officer Friendly."

- Merle to Rick.

Rick showed an immediate dislike of Merle, handcuffing him to the roof of a building in Atlanta to prevent him from being a risk to the group. Rick showed a desire to make amends to Merle, by returning to Atlanta in the hopes of freeing him, though not before Merle removed his hand and escaped the roof, and Atlanta. In the episode "Walk With Me", Merle reveals that he has not forgotten what Rick had done to him and still despises him. It is likely that Merle will want revenge on Rick for leaving him behind. In the episode "The Suicide King", Rick still despises Merle and will not allow him to come back to the prison, triggering Daryl to leave. In the episode "Home", Daryl and Merle save Rick's life and it seems that he and Merle can put everything aside.

Later, Rick goes to Merle, asking for help to take Michonne to The Governor. They both start to talk, Merle noting that Rick is "Cold as ice".

T-Dog
"Are you serious, you want them living in a cell next to you, they'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons, you want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?"

- Rick questioning T-Dog's opinion on letting Axel and Oscar join the group.

Rick and T-Dog have little interaction in the series, but T-Dog was often at Rick's side through several ordeals and by Season 3, had become Rick's right-hand man alongside Daryl. Rick discovered T-Dog's body after it was devoured. He showed great disdain and quickly killed the walkers eating him, not being able to stand the sight.

Oscar
"You do what you gotta do."

- Oscar to Rick about deciding on whether or not to shoot him.

Oscar appeared to have a silent respect for Rick and understood his boundaries. He clearly understood his leadership and the actions he had to do in order to protect the group. This is notably seen in "Sick", when Rick points a gun at his head. Rather than plead for his life like Axel does, Oscar simply says, "You do what you gotta do." This shows that he understands the drastic measures Rick needs to go to in order to protect and keep his group safe. In the end, Rick doesn't kill him, but doesn't allow him to join the group either, revealing that he still doesn't trust him. When the prison alarm sounds, Rick enlists Oscar to help him, and Oscar eagerly complies in order to gain Rick's trust. Oscar's loyalty to Rick is tested when Andrew, a fellow prisoner of Oscar's, gets in a scuffle with Rick and Rick's gun falls into Oscar's hands. He has a moment in which he has to decide whether to shoot Rick or Andrew, but decisively shoots Andrew in the head and returns the gun to Rick. This successfully gains Rick's trust and marks the beginning of Oscar's addition to the group. Later on, he attempts to prove his worth to Rick once again by going on a rescue mission along with Rick, Daryl, and Michonne to save Glenn and Maggie. The rescue group get involved in a gunfight with Woodbury, and Oscar ends up being the sole causality. After returning to the prison in "The Suicide King", when Axel mentions Oscar, Rick states that "He went out fighting". When a member of the group brings up Axel and Oscar's successful addition to the group as leverage to allow Tyreese's group in, Rick angrily shouts: "And where's Oscar now?!" hinting that he felt some amount of guilt or responsibility for Oscar's death.

Axel
At first, Rick showed a great distrust towards all the prisoners and was responsible for killing one and leaving another to be eaten by walkers. When Rick began to interrogate Axel and Oscar, Axel began to weep and beg for his life to Rick, which led Rick to feel a great amount of sympathy for the man, sparing his life along with Oscar's. The two prisoners were given their own cell block and were even given supplies, as originally agreed upon. After the deaths of Lori and T-Dog, it appears that Axel had worked his way into the group and became a member.

Morgan Jones
"You see the good people, the people like you, they always die."

- Morgan to Rick.

Rick met Morgan when Morgan's son Duane hit Rick with a shovel, mistaking him for a walker. The Jones then took Rick and went into a nearby house. Later, Morgan told Rick about the pandemic and what's been happening while Rick was in a coma. The next day Rick along with Morgan and Duane go to the Police Station and get any weapons that were left in the station. Rick then gave Morgan a walkie talkie and Rick lets Morgan know that as soon as he finds his wife, Lori, and his son, Carl, that he will contact Morgan and Duane and try to meet up. Morgan wished Rick the best of luck before he departed. When Rick eventually finds Carl and Lori, he tries to contact Morgan and Duane twice but heard nothing from them. Rick tries to contact Morgan again for several minutes after leaving the CDC but once again hears nothing from Morgan. Rick says that he hopes to see Morgan and Duane again some day.

In the episode Clear, Rick meets up with Morgan back in King County for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak. After attacking Rick and stabbing him with a hidden knife, Rick holds up the walkie-talkie that he gave Morgan and the latter then recognizes Rick. He lashes out at Rick for not using the radio every morning like he promised and is seen to have become somewhat bitter towards his former friend. Morgan allows Rick, Carl and Michonne to take the guns he's stockpiled but refuses to come back with them to the Prison.

When Rick sees Morgan again, he realizes that he's not too far away from what Morgan has become. Morgan is growing psychotic, and Rick knows this. If he continues on this path, then Rick will become what Morgan is now.

Dr. Edwin Jenner
"You don't know what's it's like out there...you may think you do but you don't."

- Rick to Jenner

Rick was grateful to Jenner for letting him and the group into the CDC, to escape the horrors of the outside. Rick told Jenner that he didn't know what it was like outside and it was only a matter of time before everyone he loved was dead in "Wildfire". The following day, Jenner revealed a video of a test subject (Who later was revealed to be Jenner's wife, Candace) on how the virus kills a person, and the reanimation process.The group then discovered that CDC's lack of fuel had activated a self destruction time bomb, which would destroy the entire CDC and everything in it, and locked the group in in order to offer them a way out of the infected world. Rick prevent both Daryl and Shane from harming Jenner, and finally convinced him to let them escape and keep thriving outside for as long as they could, in which Jenner agreed. Everyone, expect Jacqui, who stayed behind, escaped in "TS-19". However, before departing, Jenner whispered something to Rick. Jenner's last words would later be revealed by Rick in "Beside the Dying Fire": Every living person is a carrier of the mysterious virus, and upon dying, they will reanimate as a walker.

Dale Horvath
"Dale could - could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us - the truth who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives... our safety...our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on...we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."

- Rick talking about Dale.

Rick and Dale didn't interact much until late into Season 2, when Rick, Hershel and Glenn brought Randall to the farm after being attacked by his group in "Triggerfinger". Rick along with Shane decided it was best that Randall needed to be executed, claiming he was a grave threat to the security of the group. Dale disagreed with Rick about wanting to kill Randall, claiming that it was sending Carl a wrong message on how to deal with problems in "Judge, Jury, Executioner". Later on, inside Hershel's house, Rick and Dale argued along with the group of what to do with Randall. It was then decided that Randall was to be executed. Later on in the night, Rick was ready to kill Randall but Carl was watching and telling Rick to kill him. Rick changed his mind but shortly after Dale was attacked by a walker, lured by Carl earlier in the day to the farm. Rick was ready to kill Dale to end his suffering, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Daryl then took Rick's gun, and executed Dale as an act of mercy. In "Better Angels", Rick wanted to fulfil Dale's wish of releasing Randall, but Shane then took Randall into the woods and killed him.

Sophia Peletier
Rick and Sophia did not interact much in Season 1. At the beginning of Season 2, Sophia went missing as she was being chased by two walkers in the woods. Rick told Sophia to hide by the creek in order to draw the two walkers away from her, giving her a chance to make it back to the group on the highway. When Rick returned to the creek, Sophia was gone. Rick and the group then conducted a long, painful search for her. In "Pretty Much Dead Already", after discovering a walker-filled barn on Hershel's farm, and Shane opening the doors, the group proceed to massacre the undead family and friends of the Greene family. Then to everyone's horror, the last walker to emerge was Sophia. As Sophia got closer and closer to the group Rick was forced to step forward and shoot Sophia in the head, killing her for good. This had a lasting effect on Rick and caused him to become a more hardened leader.

Randall
"He's a threat; we have to eliminate the threat."

- Rick to the group about killing Randall.

Randall was one of the members of Dave and Tony's group that attacked Rick, Glenn, and Hershel in "Triggerfinger". After impaling his leg on a fence spike, Rick refused to leave him behind to die and managed to free Randall at the last minute. 1 week later in "18 Miles Out", Rick and Shane traveled to a works station to leave Randall and give him a chance to survive. However, Randall revealed that he knew Maggie and who her father was, making Rick realize he was a grave threat to the group's security. Shane then wanted to kill Randall but Rick stopped him, prompting a savage fight between the two. After learning of the dangerous nature of Randall's group, Rick then felt like he had to kill Randall claiming he was a threat. Rick almost executed Randall in "Judge, Jury, Executioner" but Carl wanted to watch, and Rick decided not to kill him. After Dale's death, Rick wanted to grant his last wish and set Randall free but never got the chance due to Shane killing him.

Otis
Rick initially hated Otis for shooting Carl in a hunting accident in "Bloodletting", but learned to forgive him when Otis offered to go on a supply run to save Carl's life. Rick did not learn the full nature of Otis' death until "Triggerfinger", making him realize that Shane was dangerous.

Tomas
"If we see you out here, anywhere near our people - if I so much as catch a whiff of your scent, I will kill you!"

- Rick to Tomas.

After discovering the prison survivors in a cafeteria, a conflict between the two groups immediately started. Rick would not allow Tomas and his group to reclaim their cell block, due to it being occupied by his group. Rick then told Tomas the prison belonged to him and his group, as they had taken out all the walkers occupying it. When the prisoners refused to leave, Rick agreed that he and his group would help them clear out a new cell block to live in, but warned Tomas that if he and his came anywhere near his group, he would kill them. After witnessing Tomas brutally murder Big Tiny, Rick realized he was dangerous. Tomas tried to kill Rick twice in the prison's laundry room, prompting Rick to drive a machete into his head.

Andrew
"You better run."

- Rick to Andrew after trapping him in a courtyard full of walkers.

After Rick murdered Tomas, Andrew tried to kill Rick, but Rick dodged his attack, prompting Andrew to flee, eventually winding up in a courtyard full of walkers. Rick then locked Andrew in the courtyard, telling him to run. After shutting the door, and hearing Andrew's screams, Rick assumed he was eaten alive. However, Andrew survived and lured walkers into the prison in "Killer Within", in the hopes of Rick's group being killed, allowing him and his fellow prisoners to reclaim the prison for themselves. Andrew tried once again to kill Rick, but was stopped and killed by Oscar. Rick's decision to not kill Andrew directly haunts him as it eventually caused Lori to die in childbirth.

Lambert Kendal
Not much is known of the two's relationship other than they were colleagues. However, Lambert was seen in the background in the episode, "Bloodletting", of Shane giving the bad news to Lori.

Duane Jones
Though Rick and Duane do not interact much, Duane knocked out Rick assuming he was a walker. After being tied down and explained what is going on with the world, Rick takes Morgan and Duane to the police station. While there, Rick gives Morgan weapons and a hot shower. Rick hands Duane a pistol and Morgan takes it away swiftly. Rick then tells Duane to take care of Morgan and Duane replies with "yes sir".

Later on when he is looking throughout Morgans house months after, he eventually finds out Duane turned as of what was written on the wall. Rick seemed saddened afterwards.

Michonne
"I know you see things. I used to talk to my dead boyfriend."

- Michonne to Rick.

Rick is initially strongly suspicious of Michonne, but after she helps him getting into Woodbury, and after she saves Hershel's life in the Prison attack, he starts to slowly trust her. In "Clear" she reveals that she's aware of Rick's situation; seeing Lori, and reveals she used to talk to her dead boyfriend, presumably boosting their relationship and level of understanding for one another.

Beth Greene
Not much interaction is shown between Beth and Rick, but she seems to have a lot of respect for him, when he returns at the prison with Maggie, Beth sweetly hugs Rick and gives him a kiss on the cheek to thank him for what he did for her sister, which seems to slightly surprise him. Later as Rick walks in, she gives him Judith, and she comments that she has her mother's eyes. Beth is often seen happily babysitting Judith.

Tyreese
"We'll go out and get our own food, stay out of your hair. You got a problem with another group we'll help with that too - anything to contribute..."

- Tyreese to Rick.

When Rick returns from Woodbury, Tyreese introduces himself and says he'll do anything to help. When Hershel tells Rick that he needs to give people a chance, Rick begins to hallucinate and sees a vision of Lori. He yells and Tyreese believes he was yelling at him. At Woodbury, while Allen says that Rick is a "whack job" to The Governor, Tyreese seemed to understand why Rick was a little unhinged.

Appearances
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Trivia

 * His signature weapon is the Colt Python, which has been seen in most of the TV Series episodes.
 * Recently he has grown accustomed to using an assault rifle.
 * Rick has killed the third most humans, with the most being The Governor, and second most being Merle. This was referenced in the episode "Hounded."
 * In the episode "Hounded," Rick mentioned that he had killed four people, indicating that he had not killed any person before the apocalypse while on duty.
 * Rick is the first character in the TV Series to directly kill a living person (notably Dave) after the apocalypse. Shane was the first character, overall, who caused the death of a living character (Otis).
 * Only four character's deaths have caused Rick to cry in the TV Series: Dale, Shane, Lori, and Andrea.
 * In "18 Miles Out," Rick mentions that he has a male cousin who was stuck for 24 hours in the snow while driving on Highway 85 during the winter.
 * During a banter with Shane, Rick confesses that he had few (if any) lovers in high school.
 * Rick's story (waking from a coma to the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse) is very similar to that of Jim from Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later.
 * In an interview, Andrew Lincoln states that he had remained tight-lipped about Jenner's secret - even to his own parents and wife.
 * Rick has stated that his blood type is A+.
 * Rick was indirectly mentioned in the second season of the Webisode, Cold Storage, where pictures of him and his family are seen.
 * The family picture seen in the first episode, "Days Gone Bye," when Rick is in his police cruiser searching for his family, is also seen at the storage facility by Chase. Another picture of Rick, Shane, Diane, and Don is also present.
 * "Walk With Me" is the first episode in the TV Series in which Rick does not appear at all. However, he is mentioned by Merle during a conversation with Andrea.
 * Rick questioned his belief of God in the episode, "What Lies Ahead."
 * Rick has caused the amputations of limbs of two characters: Merle (by handcuffing him to a rooftop in Atlanta and leaving him behind, forcing him to amputate his hand to escape) and Hershel (by chopping his leg off after being bitten by a walker to prevent infection).
 * Rick is one of two characters to appear on a promotional Season poster, the other character being The Governor. Rick is the only character to appear on all five promotional Season posters.
 * Rick has either been seen or mentioned in every episode of the TV Series to date.
 * Rick is also one of the three remaining living characters that made an appearance in the very first episode of the series, the others being Carl and Morgan.
 * Rick currently has the most episode appearances in the series, with the second being his son.

Comparison to the Comic

 * Rick is either the same age, or fairly older than his Comic Series counterpart. Being somewhere in his mid-30's, while in the Comic Series, he is 31.
 * In the Comics, Rick was the one who originally went to Woodbury, along with Michonne and Glenn. and Rick lost his right hand in the process. In the TV Series, Michonne and Andrea were the first ones to reach Woodbury, and Rick still has both of his hands.