How does The Walking Dead end?

Image: The Walking Dead/AMC
Image: The Walking Dead/AMC

The Walking Dead is nearing the end of its epic run. With the announcement that the show will end with season 11 sometime in 2022, fans are wondering how all of the loose ends will be tied up. The comic book ending isn’t entirely possible anymore, so how will The Walking Dead end?

If you’re not familiar with The Walking Dead comics, it’s important to know that the show and the comics have their fair share of similarities but there are also quite a few differences. The show has added characters and stories, and it has also adapted comic book stories to fit after cast members left the show.

There will be big changes for The Walking Dead ending

The elephant in the room is Rick Grimes. In the comic book, he lives through everything that happens until he is shot one night. Carl comes in and finds his father after he’s turned and once again is forced to put a parent down. The comic book ends with a fully grown Carl telling his daughter about the exploits of her grandfather.

In the show’s canon, Rick Grimes is still alive, presumably, after being taken away by a Civic Republic Military helicopter. Carl Grimes is dead, having died from a walker bite in the season 8 mid-season finale.

With Rick gone and Carl dead, the comic book finale can’t happen for the show barring some kind of flashback or dream sequence.

The challenge will be bringing the show to a conclusion that satisfies fans while also ensuring that all of the characters have a chance to wrap up their stories. Rick’s story will continue in the upcoming Rick Grimes movies. Carol and Daryl will have a chance to continue their story in a new spinoff show all about their characters, and some characters could return in the planned Tales of the Walking Dead series.

But before we get to spinoffs, the show has to come to an end. Heading into season 11, the scouting party of Eugene, Yumiko, Ezekiel and Princess have found themselves prisoners of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth story is the final arc of the comics, and this vibrant community of 50,000 people has found a way to survive. But will they welcome the people of Alexandria? Just because it happened in the comics doesn’t mean it will happen on the show.

As we look ahead to the series finale of The Walking Dead, there are lots of possibilities as to how the show will end, and it’s important to note that there is no roadmap anymore. Just because it happened one way in the comics doesn’t mean it will happen on the show. No one is ever safe, and you can always count on TWD showrunners to surprise you.

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