Rick Grimes-Part two: #3

Rick Grimes continued

*Spoilers ahead*

Loss of sanity

Over the course of the show from season one to three, Rick's mental stability begins to become unhinged. There have been many deaths and losses that would weigh heavy on anyone's heart, but especially Rick's because as the leader he puts all the blame on himself.

Some of these tragedies include the death of his longtime best friend, Shane, the death of a young girl, Sophia, and the death of his wife, Lori. 
The death of Shane was a huge blow to Rick. The two had been best friends for their entire lives. What made the death worse for Rick than it already was, was that he himself killed Shane. Granted, Rick only did it in self-defense, but it was still hard on him. Rick was forced to do it because he discovered that Shane planned to kill him and the only way to prevent it was to kill Shane first. In a way, by killing Shane, Rick was killing part of himself; the part that was left from before the Apocalypse. Shane was one of the last connections he had to the world before, and now he was gone.

The second death that deeply affected Rick was the death of Sophia. When the group was searching through abandoned cars along a highway, they came upon an enormous herd of Walkers. In the wild frenzy of escaping them, Sophia ran off the road into the forest next to it. After the group realized she was gone, Rick set off into the forest after her. Hours later, Rick returned to the group empty handed. Over the next few weeks, Rick remained hopeful that they would find Sophia and organized search parties to go out looking for her. When the group finally found her, she was a Walker. This young, innocent girl had been bitten. Rick was devastated and took the blame for the failure. He made it his duty to put her out of her misery. 

Rick is devastated when he finds out that Sophia was bitten.

 When he shot her, something died in him. Throughout the weeks of searching, Rick never gave up hope. He felt, no, he knew, that she would be saved. Having to put her down was a huge shock and a real wakeup call for Rick. The guilt of his failure has remained with him ever since.

In the third season, Rick seems to have found his breaking point. The death of his wife, Lori, seems to have completely destroyed him. Lori's death was one of the most emotional episodes I have ever watched on television. The group was staying in an abandoned prison and had plans to start a new life there. Lori had been pregnant for about eight and a half months and was due to give birth soon. As luck would have it, she went into labour right when Walkers broke through the prison's defenses. Lori, along with her son Carl and a young woman named Maggie, became separated from the rest of the group. When Lori first gave birth to Carl, a C-section was required. With this new baby, it was required yet again. Maggie was unsurprisingly inexperienced with delivering babies. Lori lost too much blood and died in childbirth. 

Rick realizes that he won't be seeing his wife alive again.

When Rick found Carl and Maggie and he asked where Lori was, the only answer he received was the cries of a newborn baby. Understanding dawned on Rick and he broke down in tears.

After Lori's death, Rick seems unable to cope. The fabric of his sanity begins to tear away. While alone in one of the far reaches of the prison, Rick hears a phone ringing and picks it up. Phones have not worked in over a year, yet the one next to Rick does. When he picks up, he discovers that Lori is on the other line. Rick has begun experiencing hallucinations of Lori, but it does not stop with a "simple" phone call. 
Rick starts seeing Lori in the flesh everywhere he goes. He becomes obsessed with these visions and tries to find them as much as he can. He distances himself from the rest of the group, often going out beyond the protective barrier of the prison in hopes of finding her.

Rick sees hallucinations of his dead wife, Lori.

The latest episode has left us still wondering, what will become of Rick Grimes?

Rick's loss of sanity shows that although he is the main protagonist in the show, he is not perfect and has faults, just like the rest of us. Everyone has a breaking point, even the heroes.

Strengths and Faults

Strengths

- He is just. Rick has held onto the values he had as a police officer before the apocalypse.

-He is a good friend and father and cares for all members of the group.

-He is a charismatic leader. This strength, as well as the one above, make his friends and family extremely loyal to him and they trust him implicitly.

-Rick is also an extremely capable fighter.

Faults

- Places too much responsibility on his own shoulders. he takes too much of the blame when things go wrong.

- Sets goals for himself that are often impossible to reach, such as finding Sophia and bringing her back safely. 

Quote
"I'm just a man looking for his wife and son. Anyone who gets in the way is going to lose"

-Rick Grimes

If you are still dying for more information about Rick, enjoy this video where Andrew Lincoln discusses he character. Credit for the video goes to amc.  -->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLgoTTQTDkY


Thanks for reading,
 Ben Ferguson