Summary
- Rick’s history with the CRM may go back further than initially thought, suggesting a longstanding connection between him and the organization.
- The CRM is interested in Rick because of his physical traits, resilience, and technical training, which make him a valuable subject for their research and testing.
- The hints and references to the CRM in past seasons, including the appearance of a helicopter in the pilot episode, foreshadow a storyline centered around the organization and Rick’s involvement with them.
The Walking Dead spans multiple years and spinoffs, some of which helped spark the theory that the Civic Republic Military (CRM) has had Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as a test subject since the very beginning of the TV franchise. With the recent Rick-centric spinoff announcement for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live following the surprise glimpse at Rick and Michonne (Danai Gurira) in the final season of the main show, fans are left speculating about the extent of Rick’s involvement with the CRM. This connection between Rick and the organization may be more longstanding than originally thought.
The walker population has been fairly standard across all the franchise’s shows. Some exceptions are Fear The Walking Dead‘s nuclear walkers and The Walking Dead: Dead City‘s multi-armed variant in the sewers of New York. But faster, more cognitively aware walkers were hinted at in The Walking Dead: World Beyond and teasers for Daryl Dixon. With the CRM’s confirmed scientific focus on research and lab work, and high-security secrecy about what they do, it’s no stretch to think their science is only centered around the virus itself, and by extension, any variant mutations. All mentions of Rick in relation to the CRM, as well as timeframe references scattered across some of the shows, open up suggestions that Rick and the CRM’s history may be as long as the show’s.
Rick Is Valuable To The CRM – But Why?
Rick is one of The Walking Dead‘s most dynamic protagonists. From a man of the law to a ruthless killer to a merciful leader, Rick shows astounding resilience throughout his time on the show. However, his knowledge of the CRM until now is, at best, wobbly. In season 7 and 8, Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), the leader of the Scavengers, forces Rick into combat with armored walkers, which could hint to further testing, this time of his strength and reflexes. After the war against the Saviors is over and Jadis’ Scavengers are all dead, she joins Rick’s group. Later, it’s revealed that she’s trading lives for supplies with the CRM, and had planned to do the same with Rick and Gabriel (Seth Gilliam).
The CRM’s interest in Rick may be because he is demonstrably strong, resourceful, and as mentioned before, resilient. All of these traits could easily be tested in the harsh conditions of an apocalyptic world, as seen by Rick’s walker showdowns in the Scavengers’ junkyard. But throw in virus mutation testing on humans, and it’s a whole other story. Because of his physical traits, Rick makes sense as an option for the CRM to test their scientific research in practice. Additionally, his technical training, being a deputy sheriff before the outbreak, may explain why they could have targeted him so early on.
The Walking Dead Hinted At The CRM In Season 1
When first meeting Officer Friendly himself, there’s a fragile, bewildered quality to him after he wakes up to find himself alone in an apocalypse. Within the first 15 minutes of the main show’s pilot, audiences get a potential first reference to the CRM—the helicopter Rick stumbles past as he wanders outside the hospital, then again the one that whirs overhead near the end of the episode when Rick’s riding horseback through the city. The latter is even more enticing since Rick sees its reflection in a skyscraper and tries to follow its direction, but gets ultimately stopped by herds of walkers.
At the time of the episode’s release in 2010, however, there was no clear sign that the show would be heading toward a CRM-centric storyline, but their possible intervention or doctors enlisted by them could be how Rick survived being in a coma for roughly a month while most people were turning. While the helicopter in the main show’s pilot does not have the official CRM logo, it’s arguably a subtle nod to the formidable antagonist organization when looked at retrospectively. Treating the helicopter as a clue foreshadows season 8 (where Rick sees a CRM helicopter in episode 5) and season 9 of the main show, season 5 and 6 (briefly) of Fear The Walking Dead, and both seasons of World Beyond when the CRM forms part of various storylines.
What The CRM Could’ve Done To Rick Before The Walking Dead
While Fear The Walking Dead and the main show teases fans with glimpses at the organization but no real follow-up, World Beyond provides the biggest evidence that can support the theory that Rick has been a CRM experiment all along. In the second season’s finale, a post-credit scene reveals the franchise’s first shift outside the U.S. A French doctor is seen watching a video message from Dr. Jenner (who appeared in season 1, episode 6 of the main show) when a man arrives, aiming a gun at her.
This exchange highlights how integral the French research team are to not only the supposed attempts at a cure for the virus but also to the spread in America and variant mutations. Theoretically, the Primrose team (mentioned by the gunman) might have joined forces with the CRM, who then utilized a “variant cohort” of the virus on Rick to test for any adverse reactions or even to trial a potential cure by infecting him first. If these tests proved successful, the CRM may have even used his blood to “store” a cure for retrieval at a later stage.
Rick As A CRM Subject Sets Up His Spinoff (& Changes His Past)
When Andrew Lincoln left The Walking Dead during season 9, Rick leaves in a CRM helicopter with Jadis, badly injured after being impaled then blasted in the notorious bridge explosion. Despite this, he is alive. This comes after Jadis makes a deal and tells the organization she “has a B.” However, in World Beyond, she confirms that Rick is an “A” and she lied to protect him from undergoing experimentation with test reanimation drugs.
But, sticking to the idea that the CRM had already started their experimenting on Rick in season 1 of the main show, Jadis’ attempt is futile. If Rick had been injected with a virus mutation and preliminary cure, this means his future in his and Michonne’s spinoff may include a much more unfamiliar version of him than fans are used to. This especially rings true if further testing occurred after Jadis’ confession from World Beyond. Or, perhaps, if Rick remained a “B,” he may have discovered the truth about the variants and testing, which could have played a part in his reasons for escaping (as seen in The Ones Who Live teaser at the end of season 11).
Ultimately, this theory that Rick may have been infected and cured already begs the question of what would have happened had he died or been bitten in past seasons. Additionally, any moments in his past where loved ones were lost, which is a common occurrence on The Walking Dead, he could have unknowingly had the answer to saving them all along. Most notably, when Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) dies after getting bitten. If Rick had a cure on him, literally, it’s no question he would’ve saved Carl. So, how The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live may go is still up in the air. But wherever the story takes Rick, what is confirmed is how deeply intertwined he is with the CRM and their scientific work.