‘The Walking Dead’ Hints at Rick Grimes Surviving Andrew Lincoln’s Last Episode

Blues Saraceno’s “The River,” included in the preview for Andrew Lincoln’s last episode of The Walking Dead as Rick Grimes, could be a clue towards Rick’s ultimate fate.

Its lyrics are as follows:

Oh my lord / Take this soul / Lay me at the bottom of the river / The devil has come to carry me home / Lay me at the bottom / The bottom of the river / Oh my lord / Take this hand / Save me from the gallows / Hear this news / Bear my gold / Lay me in the shallows / Evil comes if you call my name / The wicked, they shall rise / The river sand’s gonna wash me clean / The river don’t run dry / Oh my lord / Hear my woe / There’s blood upon the valley / Deliver me from worry / The devil’s hand is gonna strike me down / Gut me to my grave / The river’s song is gonna pull me through / The river she can save

Lincoln’s penultimate episode ended with Rick gravely wounded, impaled on a protruding rebar and surrounded by a herd of walkers after being bucked off the back of a frightened horse.

Rick, bleeding out and delirious, can be seen making his last stand drawing the walkers away from the camp.

Despite Rick’s refusal to sacrifice the bridge — initially shooting down Daryl’s (Norman Reedus) suggestion to lure the walkers towards the unsteady bridge and force a collapse that would send the herd into the raging waters below — the trailer reveals a stumbling Rick crossing the bridge with the walkers in tow, hinting the risen wicked could be sent to the bottom of the river.

The Walking Dead 902, “The Bridge,” established the importance of the structure: the bridge will act as a literal and symbolic connection between the five communities and their respective survivors, linking Alexandria, Hilltop, the Kingdom, Oceanside, and the Sanctuary as they all move into a new beginning — together.

The bridge has since been at risk of being destroyed by the river, with engineer Eugene (Josh McDermitt) warning the structure is under extreme duress following an overnight deluge that makes construction on the project too dangerous to continue.

Despite its mentions of “the gallows” and being gutted to the grave, “The River” hints at salvation: “The river, she can save.”

Another hint at the events of 905 is spotted in the Season Nine trailer, which showed a bloody Rick at the bridge and nursing the injury sustained in 904, while members from all the communities — including Daryl, Carol (Melissa McBride), and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) — race towards, and then past, the wounded Rick.

Unless the cavalry is part of Rick’s many hallucinations he’ll experience in 905, Rick hasn’t yet seen the last of his people.

If the bridge gives way, destroyed by the trampling horde of walkers, Rick’s hopeful vision for the future is obliterated along with it — unless a new symbol meant to connect the survivors emerges: Rick himself.

If Rick makes a sacrificial play when saving everyone from the herd, his death — or perceived death — could be what it takes to unite the communities and their respective survivors in a way the bridge never could.

Both Lincoln and showrunner Angela Kang have hinted at Rick’s survival, which could be tied to the long-running helicopter mystery that has been quietly unfolding for years, with Rick even imagining a suspect swarm of helicopters during one of his hallucinatory visions.

Lincoln told ComicBook.com his relationship with Rick Grimes “is far from over,” while Kang teased the door may not yet be closed on Lincoln’s return to the Walking Dead universe, suggesting Rick Grimes could resurface elsewhere in the future.

Rick Grimes’ last episode, “What Comes After,” premieres Sunday, November 4 at 9/8c on AMC.