‘The Walking Dead’s Cliffhanger Ending Scene Released Online

AMC has officially released the closing scene from The Walking Dead 904, “The Obliged,” which sees Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) sustain a grisly injury, ending his penultimate episode of the series.

Rick received his gory wound when trying to lead an overwhelming horde of walkers away from the nearby camp acting as the hub to the five communities the Alexandrian leader has spent the past 19 months working to unite.

The moment came after Rick and estranged best friend-slash-brother Daryl (Norman Reedus) had an explosive confrontation over Rick’s unilateral decision to spare and jail former Savior leader Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Daryl’s detouring Rick as Hilltop leader Maggie (Lauren Cohan) journeys to Alexandria to kill the villain.

A scuffle saw Rick and Daryl tumble into a nearby pit, which soon found itself nearly overflowing with walkers. When gunfire from the camp added to their urgency to escape, lest the noises draw the herd its way, Rick and Daryl worked together to fight and free themselves from the pit.

Rick then opted to stay behind, mounting a horse and electing to draw the walkers away from the camp. Daryl protested, but ultimately begrudgingly chose not to stand in Rick’s way.

Daryl wanted the walkers led to the already-strained bridge, on the verge of collapse, suggesting the weakened structure would send the herds into the sea below. Rick, refusing to sacrifice the bridge and risk destroying the future he promised late son Carl (Chandler Riggs), instead set off alone and shepherd the herd away at a safe distance.

But the herd quickly proved overwhelming, and Rick’s frightened horse knocked Rick directly into the path of a standing piece of rebar. The metal pole impaled Rick, who screamed in anguish before passing out — leaving him helplessly vulnerable to the approaching sea of the undead.

Andrew Lincoln and Rick Grimes’ final episode will be filled with easter eggs and callbacks paying tribute to Lincoln’s eight-year tenure on the series.

That episode, “What Comes After,” airs Sunday, November 4 at 9/8c on AMC.