Why Did Rick Grimes Lose His Hand So Late in “The Walking Dead” Series?
The original “Walking Dead” teases Rick Grimes’ hand loss multiple times. Most notably, Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) indicates that he might chop off Rick’s hand in Season 7’s “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” only for him to turn his attention to Rick’s son, Carl (Chandler Riggs). With tears in his eyes, Rick prepares to go through with it at Negan’s command to save his group before Negan stops him. Of course, if the series was so willing to overtly tease Rick losing his hand, why did it take until “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” for it to happen?
Andrew Lincoln’s Campaign for Rick Losing His Hand
Andrew Lincoln shared that he tried to make the moment happen when the Governor was still at the forefront of the show. The actor recalled in an interview with ComicBook.com, “You know, I campaigned two seasons ago when the Governor was around…I was saying, ‘You’ve gotta do the hand guys!'” Unfortunately, the special effects costs would’ve been too high to make it happen at that juncture. As for the Season 7 tease, “Walking Dead” producer Gale Anne Hurd told Entertainment Tonight that it was a mere Negan fear tactic. “The truth is it was the mind game that Negan is playing with them. It’s much more brutal mentally for Negan to threaten Carl — to threaten Rick’s son — than it was to threaten Rick himself,” she said.
Comic-Accurate Circumstances
At long last, the TV version of Rick is now lacking a hand, just like his comic counterpart. Still, the belief that it should’ve happened sooner and under more comic-accurate circumstances is justified. One has to imagine that without budgetary limitations, fans would’ve seen the Governor go through with the act long ago.