Over the course of 11 seasons, The Walking Dead has used Robert Kirkman’s comics as a roadmap for the TV show, sometimes staying loyal to the source material and other times going in its own direction. Perhaps the biggest deviation came when Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) left the show in season 9. And with the main protagonist away from the action — supposedly on his way to the big screen — the writers have had to adapt.
Rick’s early exit from the show stunned the fandom and left behind a huge void. Of course, in the comic book, Rick sticks around and is a key figure in the Commonwealth storyline, which is currently playing out onscreen. I’m sure the writers would’ve loved to have kept Lincoln on board until the end, but the actor wanted out.
“We’ve always tried to make the best version of the show that we could,” showrunner Angela Kang told NME about setting the series on a new path after Rick’s exit. “But sometimes circumstances that are out of your control – like the lead wanting to spend more time with his family – create a huge creative opportunity to just try something new. It can be energizing, because the vacuum left by that character leaving influenced the decisions made going forward.”
One such decision was finding a character who would take Rick’s place in the Commonwealth arc. And from what we’ve seen so far, the person to pick up the reins is Aaron.
Show-Aaron looks uncannily like comic book-Rick
Let’s start with the obvious: Aaron looks exactly like Rick in the comic books. It’s totally uncanny. They both have bushy beards and prosthetic arms.
When showrunner Kang spoke about the resemblance in season 9, she said that the similar appearance was coincidence. “It wasn’t fully intentional, but it’s kind of like a fun parallel.”
However, fast forward to season 11, and it feels abundantly clear that the team behind the show has taken inspiration from the comic book Rick. See for yourself:
The way Aaron looks like comic Rick Grimes #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/gYHCsCmQDz
— The Walking Dead News (@TWDUniverseNews) March 18, 2022
Spoiler alert: Aaron may have the same fate as Rick Grimes
Appearance is one thing, but what about the story? Both Aaron and Rick are leaders of Alexandria. The comparison is most obvious in the season 11 episode “The Lucky Ones,” where Commonwealth Governor Pamela Milton travels to Alexandria in an attempt to bring the community under the ever-growing Commonwealth umbrella. The episode is clearly inspired by The Walking Dead issue #180, where Rick gives Pamela a tour of Alexandria.
Fans have been pointing out the storyline parallels on social media. Recently, ComicBook.com spoke to Marquand himself and asked what he makes of the comparison. “I tend to stray away from the comparisons between Aaron and Rick, because I get the beard thing and the one arm thing are very obvious things to draw comparisons to,” he laughed. “But they’re such vastly different characters.”
"At the end of the day, I think they’re such vastly different characters that there’s no saying that this person’s going to get this person’s storyline just because there’s a few similarities here and there."
There’s always a chance he’s downplaying things because he doesn’t want to ruin Aaron’s potential fate in the show. Because if Aaron does fully take on Rick’s story (SPOILER incoming), he will be killed off later in the season. In the comics, Rick is ultimately killed by Sebastian, Pamela Milton’s son. If Aaron really is taking over Rick’s story, would Ross Marquand want to admit as much and potentially ruin the shock?
Aaron isn’t the only character who’s taking over the story of someone who’s left the show. We’re seeing a very similar thing being done with Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), who’s taking over the story of Michonne (Danai Gurira). Michonne left the show in season 10 to go search for Rick. But in the comics, she’s there when the gang encounters the Commonwealth, quickly climbing the social ladder and becoming a lawyer. She also finds her long-lost daughter Elodie within the community. On the show, Yumiko is now a lawyer within the Commonwealth and has found her brother Tomi (Ian Anthony Dale).
AMC airs new episodes of The Walking Dead season 11 on Sundays. Fans who subscribe to AMC+ get new episodes one week early. Will Aaron survive? If the comics are anything to go by, it’s not looking good.
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