Andrew Lincoln’s return means The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 will find it harder to ignore Rick Grimes than include him. Lincoln originally left The Walking Dead in season 9, but came back for a spinoff series, The Ones Who Live, along Danai Gurira’s Michonne. The Ones Who Live ended with the Grimes family reunited and safely home, and although the exact location was never specified it seemed to be either the Commonwealth or Alexandria.

Whereas The Ones Who Live took place shortly after The Walking Dead season 11’s ending, however, Maggie and Negan’s spinoff, Dead City, is set further ahead in time. As a result, the prospect of a Rick Grimes cameo in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 becomes a natural topic of conversation. While nobody involved with Dead City has overtly hinted towards Andrew Lincoln’s involvement, season 2’s premise provides an obvious gap where Rick Grimes could slot in. Indeed, it would almost be strange if Rick remained absent during the moment in question.

Rick Grimes Would Have Something To Say About Maggie’s Mission To Save Negan

Rick Grimes May Not Care About Negan, But He Does Care About Maggie

After betraying him in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1’s ending, season 2’s story is all about a remorseful Maggie attempting to make amends via a rescue mission. Maggie will abandon the safety of her community for the wilderness of New York City in a hopeful effort to rescue the man who brutally murdered her husband. Rick Grimes will undoubtedly have something to say about that. Irrespective of whether Rick agrees with the idea of saving Negan, The Walking Dead‘s original protagonist will never let Maggie, one of his oldest surviving friends, brave the horrors of New York alone.

Rick will likely know that changing Maggie’s mind or convincing her to stay is impossible, and he might not be in the mood for a dangerous excursion after the events of The Ones Who Live. Nevertheless, Maggie will face massive zombie hordes and multiple enemy settlements in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, and under no circumstances could Rick allow Maggie to enter that battle without backup, supplies, and a guarantee that the allied Commonwealth communities stand ready to assist if needed.

What If Rick Never Finds Out About Maggie Rescuing Negan In Dead City Season 2?

The Secret Is Surely Too Big For Maggie To Keep

The only reason for this conversation between Rick and Maggie not happening would be if Lauren Cohan’s character sneaks off to New York without anyone knowing her destination or intentions. In that scenario, however, one would have to question whether Rick has lost his touch after The Ones Who Live. Not only is Rick’s gut instinct notoriously sharp, but he knows Maggie better than most characters in The Walking Dead. Rick should be able to deduce where Maggie is going and why, even if she makes every effort to hide it.

Dead City season 2’s premiere is crying out for a scene where Rick and Maggie discuss Negan’s rescue.

Furthermore, Maggie taking on the Dama without Rick finding out would raise questions over whether The Walking Dead‘s various allied communities have grown distant after season 11’s ending. The likes of Alexandria and the Commonwealth were harmoniously united during the main show’s conclusion. Maggie waging a one-woman war against New York that doesn’t even register on Rick Grimes’ radar risks seriously undermining the togetherness and cooperation of The Walking Dead‘s final episode. Dead City season 2’s premiere is, therefore, crying out for a scene where Rick and Maggie discuss Negan’s rescue and figure out some way her allies can help.

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Can’t Avoid The Rick Grimes Issue

Avoiding The Rick-Shaped Elephant In The Room Won’t Work

The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1 narrowly got away with not mentioning Rick Grimes. Since The Ones Who Live had not yet aired, Rick’s ultimate fate was unknown, leaving audiences no reason to expect any kind of involvement from Andrew Lincoln. During season 2, however, viewers will be fully aware that Rick returned home sometime prior to Dead City.

Rick Grimes will surely be keeping a closer eye on the Rhee family moving forward.

In hindsight, that creates a problem for Dead City season 1. For one thing, Maggie and Negan went an entire season without ever mentioning their old friend who came back from the dead after joining a villainous military organization hellbent on committing genocide. Even if The Ones Who Live happened years earlier, that’s quite a big event to go unmentioned. Even worse, Rick made absolutely no contribution toward the rescue of Maggie and Glenn’s son, Hershel, which feels like a major plot hole for someone with such a heroic reputation.

The Walking Dead spinoffs

Fear The Walking Dead

World Beyond

Tales Of The Walking Dead

Dead City

Daryl Dixon

The Ones Who Live

Rick’s non-involvement in season 1 makes a Dead City season 2 cameo all the more important. After being unable to help Hershel when he was captured by the Croat, Rick Grimes will surely be keeping a closer eye on the Rhee family moving forward, which means not letting Maggie tackle perilous missions behind enemy lines alone. Should Rick once again be conspicuous by his absence in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, it could become difficult for audiences to suspend their disbelief, as there is no in-story reason for two of the franchise’s closest allies to avoid working together on the technicality of “this is a spinoff.“