In 2010,The Walking Deadpremiered on AMC with the story of Rick Grimes awaking from a coma to the zombie apocalypse, and the walkers, as they were called, weren’t even the biggest threat. The show became a huge hit for the network and ultimately ran for 11 seasons and over 150 episodes, and it was followed with multiple spin-offs exploring events in different places and points in time. It was based on a series of comic books of the same name written by Robert Kirkman.
Over its 11 seasons,The Walking Dead’s characters had a lot to say about everything from the decaying world around themand the effect it had on people to the hopeful possibilities, moving forward, and often, those observations were delivered in the form of a speech by Rick. But no matter who said them or under what circumstances, the best, most memorable quotes from the show didn’t just address their individual circumstances but also said something larger about the human condition.
The Walking Dead
15"I thought growing up was about getting a job and maybe a family, being an adult. But growing up is making yourself and the people you love safe."
Carl Grimes (Season 8, Episode 15)
Carl Grimes' sudden deathin Season 8 ofThe Walking Deadwas a shock to everyone, but the real emotional punch came when Rick read his late son’s letter in the season’s penultimate episode. In the letter, Carl reminisces on his pre-apocalypse time with his family, from “Friday night pizza” to feeling happy when holding hands as a child. It’s a special moment where we are reminded of the loss of innocence, especially as a child growing up during an era of walkers, but this quote in particular demonstrates a nuance in Carl’s apocalyptic coming-of-age.
While his musings about “making yourself and the people you love safe” can be applied to life in general, in this context,it is heartbreaking to be reminded of all the opportunities Carl missed out on. He never had the chance to stress out about going to college or asking the girl he liked to prom, and instead, through gory trials and immense loss, learned the value of family and safety in the most severe way. It’s a touching quote that officially resolves Carl’s mercurial arc throughout the show, leaving Rick with a reminder to keep his own priorities straight.—Jasneet Singh
Dale Horvath (Season 2, Episode 5)
In the Season 2 episode “Chupacabra,” flashbacks showed the early days of the apocalypse, while in the present day, the group continues to search for the missing Sophia and Daryl finds a possible clue. Meanwhile, Dale returned to his RV to find Glenn apologetically returning a book. “I’m sorry,” Dale replied, implying the book Glenn had borrowed wasn’t a very good one. “If I had known the world was ending, I would’ve brought better books.”
Dale’s quote about inadequate reading material during the apocalypsewas a lighthearted moment in line with his character. But it did manage to make a larger point about the apocalypse. It was unexpected, and the survivors either didn’t have time to prepare or didn’t expect things to get so bad so quickly. It also touched on what little the survivors had in the way of entertainment and how they spent their downtime.—Jasneet Singh
13"If I could do it all over again, I’d have killed every single one of you."
Negan Smith (Season 11, Episode 24)
While this was certainly notthe most egregious thing Negan has saidthroughout the show, it is definitely one of the most unexpected. When Maggie asked Negan if he would have done things differently in the past, with her late-husband Glenn in mind, his unfiltered response felt like a gut-punch. At this point in the show, the final season, Negan is a far cry from the merciless head-basher we met at the end of Season 6: relatively reformed and trying to earn his keep. But this quote keeps everything in perspective, reminding us of why Negan was so successful before meetingThe Walking Deadgroup.
He’d always had that pragmatic brutality that allowed him and those under him to survive, but it had quietened down enough to forget his previous actions. The quote doesn’t only capture the cruelty of Negan and the apocalypse, but is also an unnerving way to paint relationships in general. Maggie and Negan have always been an intriguing case study: forced to work together and trust each other’s skills, but the tenuous agreement can be disrupted by the slightest of reminders of the past.
12"If we start tomorrow right now, no matter what comes next, we’ve won."
Rick Grimes (Season 8, Episode 1)
Rick’s group, along with the Kingdom and Hilltop, prepared for war with the Saviors in the Season 8 premiere, “Wrath.” Negan was injured in the attack, and despite Rick’s insistence on killing him, he stuck to the established plan and left him behind. In the meantime, while on a refueling trek, Carl and Rick cross paths with a man in need, Siddiq, and although Rick was initially concerned he was part of the Saviors, he was ultimately welcomed in by the group.
With so much time in the series dedicated to Negan and the Saviors, it’s no wonder some of Rick’s most memorable lines come from their interactions.Rick’s speech in “Wrath” was an optimistic look forward, with hope for the future and commentary on what winning actually meant, and a reminder that that future was what they were fighting for. It also wasn’t the only motivational speech in the episode, as Ezekiel and Maggie also delivered their own.
Rick Grimes (Season 5, Episode 10)
In the Season 5 episode, “Them,” things kept getting worse for the survivors. After a series of setbacks and losses,including the deaths of Beth and Tyreese, many of them struggled to keep up hope, and on top of that, they were low on supplies and water due to a drought, and their vehicles ran out of gas, forcing them to continue on foot. As a result, morale was low when a much-needed severe storm forced them to seek shelter in an abandoned barn.
In the midst of the storm, Rick commented on the state of things: “We tell ourselves we are the walking dead,” he said.Not the literal dead roaming the earth as they decompose, but the ones left behind struggling to survive. It wasn’t one of his biggest motivational speeches, but it was still a nice moment amid the group’s struggles that highlighted the differences between them and the walkers and what made it worth it to keep going.
10"Someday this pain will be useful to you."
Deanna Monroe (Season 6, Episode 8)
During the group’s stay in Alexandria in Season 6, the leader of the community, Deanna, is bitten when a herd infiltrates the walls. Throughout her run in the show, she generally advocated for the group, realizing that they had the resilience, experience, and hard edge Alexandria would need to survive, and some of her final words to Michonne reflect this. She tells the samurai-wielding fighter that “someday, this pain will be useful to [her],” drawing on the timeless idea of hardship creating strength.
While the concept isn’t new, it does draw attention to many of the characters' journeys. In order for all of them to survive, especially psychologically, they have had to go through excruciating losses and trials that have shaped them into the hardened survivors we know. Though it came from a character who was around for just over one season,her words were a thoughtful moment of recognition for everything our favorite characters have been through.—Jasneet Singh
9"There’s gotta be something that comes after."
Rick Grimes (Season 8, Episode 16)
This quote goes hand in hand with Rick’s more iconic one to Negan, “my wrath prevails over my mercy.” He also says thisafter defeating the Saviors, and it has similar connotations—they cannot just survive the apocalypse, they need to retain their humanity too. While his words to Negan capture the more fighting side to this idea, “there’s gotta be something that comes after” relates to building a life for themselves. Running around on fumes, terrified of walkers and killing everything that moves isn’t really a life worth living;they need to make something worth living for too.
It is a sentiment that has been floated around throughoutThe Walking Dead, worded differently but encapsulating that same idea of creating a civilization. However, this had one of the more noteworthy impacts, as it created a truce between the communities as they tried to figure out the intricacies of a working society. It was an exciting shift for the show, as it felt like everything the group had been working towards was finally happening.—Jasneet Singh
8"My mercy prevails over my wrath."
In the Season 8 finale “Wrath,” Rick’s group, with the help of the other nearby communities, and the Saviors prepare to face off for the last time. Eugene made ammunition for the Saviors but rigged it so their guns would explode upon firing. In the end,Rick chose to spare Negan. The episode also marked the final regular appearance of Morgan and the final appearance of Dwight, both of whom moved to the spin-offFear the Walking Dead.
The phrase, “My mercy prevails over my wrath,” was spoken a few times inThe Walking Dead, but Rick’s use of it in “Wrath” was the most notable of them. Over the course of the series, Rick could be alternately cruel and forgiving, and his choice to spare Negan marked a new beginning for him, one with less violence.Rick tearfully whispering the line was one of the most poignant moments of the series.
7"We’ve all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We’re not too far gone. We get to come back. I know… we all can change."
Rick Grimes (Season 4, Episode 8)
With some of the group still recovering from a flu outbreak,Rick faced the Governor in Season 4’s mid-season finale“Too Far Gone.” The Governor held Michonne and Hershel hostage and hatched a plan to attack the prison, despite offers to peacefully live alongside Rick’s group and attempts from Hershel in particular to appeal to his humanity. The episode culminated in a violent showdown between the two groups, and the Governor decapitating Hershel with Michonne’s katana.
From the very beginning,The Walking Deadtouched on what the survivors of the zombie apocalypse had to do to stay alive. Almosteveryone had to resort to some of the worst things a person could do. But that didn’t make them bad people, and it didn’t mean they couldn’t do better going forward. Rick was often hopeful for a better future in the series, and his plea to the Governor was a perfect example.
6"As long as it’s all of us, we can do anything."
Rick Grimes (Season 6, Episode 16)
In the Season 6 finale “The Last Day on Earth,” some of the survivors set out to get Maggie, who was pregnant, to a doctor, only to find the Saviors blocking every route. Ultimately, Rick’s group finally meet their leader, the mysterious and brutal Negan, who terrorized them with his baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire called Lucille.
Rick gave a lot of motivational speeches in his time onThe Walking Dead, and his comments to Maggie in “The Last Day on Earth” touched on not only each individual’s role in the group and what they brought to it, but what they could accomplish when they worked together.It was a hopeful moment, and even though that hope ended up being short-lived, the quote still stands as one of the best, both from Rick and the show overall.
