While it is no secret that the show ‘The Walking Dead‘ has taken serious liberties in choosing to diverge its stories from its comic book counterpart, there are some aspects of the comic that fans have always hoped would one day be incorporated back into the show, as they were iconic to the series. When the Governor showed up on the TV series, fans held their breath for that fateful moment when Rick Grimes would lose his hand to the villain, but that moment never happened, despite actor Andrew Lincoln pushing for it. In his words, while speaking to Comicbook.com:
“You know, I campaigned two seasons ago when the Governor was around… I was saying, ‘You’ve gotta do the hand guys!…And Victor [Scalise], who was in charge of special effects, just said, ‘No, no no no. Anybody else but not you. It’ll cost a fortune with green screen and blue screen.”
But now it seems that the time may, at last, have come. The first clip released from the season premiere during New York Comic Con features a tense scene where Negan is asking Rick pointed questions about his recent victim (the unknown death the premiere will begin with), questioning whether it was Rick’s “right hand man.” Negan then asks his own right-hand man, Simon, to hand him Rick’s hatchet, right before yanking Rick into the RV, all of which seems to be hinting at the loss of that hand at long last.
According to producer Greg Nicotero:
“I think it’s safe to say that the axe could play a prominent part in the episode.”
When asked whether Rick losing his hand will “out-do” the shock of losing one of the core characters, Nicotero responded with:
“I don’t know if shocking is the right word, but the episode is a roller coaster of emotions. I can tell you that.”
What are your thoughts here? Do you think Rick will finally lose that hand as a way to further demoralize him and the group? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below!
Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.
