All ‘The Walking Dead’ Easter Eggs in Rick’s Final Episode

Rick’s time on The Walking Dead has finally come to an end and, as you can probably imagine, the leading man’s final episode was absolutely PACKED with Easter eggs and callbacks to various moments from his eight-plus years on the show.

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for the latest episode of The Walking Dead! Continue reading at your own risk…

The most obvious Easter eggs in the episode came from the visions that Rick had of his friends that died before him. Shane, Herschel, and Sasha all appeared to offer him different advice about what to do next.

Outside of those cameos, the other Easter eggs were much harder to spot, especially if you were caught up in Rick’s pending exit.

Not to worry, though. If you missed some of these awesome nods in Rick’s final episode, we’ve got you covered. Here are all of the best Easter eggs and references from tonight’s new episode of The Walking Dead.

Rick’s Awakening

At the beginning ot the episode, The Walking Dead takes things back to the very beginning. Rick has a vision of himself, laying down in the same hospital bed where he was in a coma when the virus first broke out.

He had a conversation with himself, making sure he woke up and kept moving forward, just as he did when he first got out of the bed in the pilot.

This reference goes one step further when the the words “Don’t Open, Dead Inside” are shown. If you recall, these words were painted on the hospital doors in the very first episode. They were Rick’s first clue that something terrible had happened.

Helicopters

The use of helicopters have long been symbolic on this show, strictly because they’ve been teased since the original premiere. Towards the end of the pilot, Rick looks up to see a helicopter flying over Atlanta. 

This comes back around at the beginning of this episode when he sees all of the helicopters flying towards him. Then, at the end of the episode, he is taken away in one of them. 

Rick, Shane, and the Flipped Car

When Rick is first shot at the beginning of The Walking Dead, it was because of a criminal that he and Shane were chasing. The chase resulted in a car accident, with the perpetrator’s car flipped upside down.

In this episode, when Rick has his vision with Shane, they are looking out over the same flipped car. Rick even makes a comment about how there were only supposed to be two people in the car, but it turned out to be three.

The third criminal was the one who shot Rick and put him in a coma.

Shane’s Quotes

Speaking of Shane, Rick’s former best friend had multiple lines in this flashback that were references to earlier events on The Walking Dead. 

The first (and most notable) of these was the joke between them about Judith, where Shane told Rick that he knew the young girl was actually his daughter. 

Shane also mentioned “The asshole in the church with the red machete,” of course referring to Rick’s weapon of choice earlier in the series. 

Lastly, Shane makes a comment about biting out someone’s throat, and he’s talking about the time Rick had to save Carl from being taken by a group of men, so he bit his way through the one keeping him captive. 

Apologies

The relationship between Rick and Shane came to an end in the second season. Shane had taken things entirely too far, and Rick was worried he would never recover. This led to Rick killing his best friend.

During this flashback, Rick actually apologizes to Shane, something he never got the chance to do while Shane was alive.

“Space Junk”

If you noticed a familiar, upbeat song towards the end of this episode, it’s because you’ve definitely heard it before. 

During Rick’s last moments on The Walking Dead, the song “Space Junk” by Wang Chung played in the background. This is the same some that played at the very end of the pilot episode, when Rick is alone in Atlanta. 

It’s an obscure song, definitely. But it’s one that Walking Dead fans instantly recognize.

Herschel & Beth

During the scene where Rick is talking to Herschel in a vision, you may have noticed a very specific camera angle from earlier in the series.

Think back to when Beth was killed a couple of seasons ago. Remember the really unique camera angle that came from behind Dawn’s shoulder as she shot Beth? That angle returns here in this scene, when Rick and Herschel are having a conversation, a nice nod to Herschel’s family that has slowly dwindled throughout the series.

“I Found Them”

Rick’s entire journey in the first episode of The Walking Dead was his attempt at finding his family. His only goal was to reunite with the ones he loved and swore to protect. That came up big here in his final appearance.

This time, Rick has a new family. Carl and Lori have been gone for a while, but he’s got Michonne and Judith to worry about, as well as Daryl, Carol, and all of the other people he considers to be part of his family now. 

At the very end of his time on the show, Rick says, “I found them,” hinting that his mission is finally complete.