For those of you who don't know who Rick Grimes is, he happens to be the badass protagonist of AMC's "The Walking Dead." "The Walking Dead" is a television series based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman. It portrays the zombie apocalypse and former police officer Grimes who leads his family and a group of other survivors through the day-to-day obstacles that this cruel world of the zombie apocalypse brings. TWD is a show about survival against flesh-eating zombies, but more so the people who are still alive and surviving on their own terms.
TWD is now in its sixth season and Rick (played by actor Andrew Lincoln) has been through quite a lot and has gone through some major character development. These moments (not in order) are what I feel has had a huge impact on Rick's character development and helped him to turn into the lethal BAMF that he is!
1. Season 2, Episode 8 "Nebraska"
Rick's first self-defense kill(s) take place here. In the beginning of TWD "we don't kill the living, only the dead," was his motto, but in this case, Rick had no choice. Two strange men walk into an old deserted bar that Rick and two others from his group happened to be in, and demanded to know where Grimes and his group were staying. The situation was tense and Grimes had to kill a stranger and his wingman out of self-defense. This is the first time that Rick has had to make that choice, but it won't be his last.
2. Season 2, Episode 12 "Better Angels"
This moment forever changed Rick. His best friend Shane has tried to trick him into a situation to go searching for a missing hostage, only to find out that Shane actually killed the hostage and used this as a distraction to lure Rick away and kill him. Rick ends up putting the pieces together and does the unthinkable by killing his fellow partner and best friend.
3. Season 3, Episode 2 "Sick"
Rick and the group stumble upon a prison only to find out that there are still prisoners alive who have been holed up and surviving in there since the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Grimes and the group agree to clear out a cell block for the prisoners, but one prisoner in particular--Tomas--wasn't too happy with Rick making the decisions. As Rick and the group are helping to clear a cell block, Tomas tries to get Rick killed by a walker. Rick takes no chances and makes no hesitations--this ended with Tomas taking a machete to the head. "I get it, shit happens," said Grimes before he made his move.
4. Season 4, Episode 16 "A"
This is an intense and scary moment where Rick kills Joe, the leader of the "Claimers" group. Rick rips Joe's neck out with his teeth! Another one of the claimers got ahold of Ricks son Carl, and as Michonne was getting ready to shoot the claimer ... "No, he's mine," says Rick with a look of unyielding mercy on his face. He then proceeds to gut and stab the claimer repeatedly. The camera then focuses in on Carl's face, while we can still hear Rick stabbing the flesh of the claimer.
5. Season 5, Episode 3 "Four Walls and a Roof"
Lethal, merciless Rick has entered the church and cannot be removed. Rick slaughters the leader Gareth of the cannibal group Terminus. As the leader begs for his life Rick tells him, "I made you a promise," referring to "No Sanctuary" when he told Gareth that he's going to kill him with a red-handled machete. This is another moment where Rick continues to violently slash at the body until it's unrecognizable.
Bottom line, Rick Grimes is a BAMF! Lethal Rick is the best and it just goes to show what the world of the zombie apocalypse can do to a character. Rick's decisions are sometimes vague and he often questions his own leadership, but his judgments are always spot on.