The dossier
Leadership at the end of the world
Andrew Lincoln brings a ragged, desperate intensity to Rick Grimes. He begins as a man trying to enforce the law in a lawless world, but the trauma of the apocalypse rapidly strips away his illusions. His decisions become increasingly brutal, driven by the absolute necessity of survival.
The Walking Dead uses Rick to explore the corrosion of morality. His conflict is rarely just about killing the dead; it is about what he must do to the living. The tragedy of Rick Grimes is that he successfully builds a community, but the violence required to secure it permanently costs him a part of his soul.