Warning: spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead season 11Sebastian Milton’s The Walking Dead death means Rick Grimes’ final comic scene cannot happen on TV. Despite years of zombie apocalypse heroics, Rick Grimes’ death in The Walking Dead‘s original comic series wasn’t the epic blaze of glory you’d expect. Rick and his people (non-violently) usher in a regime change at the Commonwealth, replacing Pamela Milton’s rule with a more democratic system. This vexes Pamela’s spoiled son, Sebastian, greatly. The Commonwealth’s deposed heir sneaks into Rick’s bedroom and shoots him in cold blood, leaving Carl to find his zombified father the next morning.
The Walking Dead season 11, episode 18 confirms that won’t be happening in AMC’s TV series. An imprisoned Lance Hornsby orders his loyal agents to kill a group of clean-up workers on the bottom rung of the Commonwealth’s social ladder. Their corpses are left to reanimate, resulting in a rare case of zombies behind Commonwealth walls. Sebastian tries exploiting the situation to quietly kill Stephanie in revenge for her secret tape sabotage, but Eugene intervenes, ensuring it’s Sebastian the undead end up munching on.
Rick’s Comic Death Doesn’t Work Without Sebastian
Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes obviously hasn’t been involved with The Walking Dead‘s main cast since season 9, and there’s no guarantee he’ll return before the confirmed spinoff series with Michonne begins. Nevertheless, Rick’s comic death could’ve passed to another character. The Walking Dead has made a habit of recycling unused comic arcs, such as Henry taking Carl’s romance with Lydia. Sebastian could’ve easily sneaked into another popular hero’s room and killed them as he does Rick in the comics – Eugene, Aaron, Carol, Ezekiel, Dog…
Any chance of a murder switcheroo has now been dashed by Sebastian’s death. Replacing Rick with a different victim is one thing – they only need to stand there and get shot, after all – but no villain currently in The Walking Dead is as hateful, cowardly and juvenile as Sebastian Milton. Wicked though Pamela and Lance may be, the storyline simply doesn’t work without an idiot antagonist as sniveling and entitled as Sebastian. It’s now very difficult to see any version of Rick Grimes’ comic death happening in live-action.
Sebastian’s Death Worsens The Walking Dead Season 11’s Stakes Problem
The Walking Dead season 11 faces an unavoidable stakes problem. AMC’s zombie apocalypse is renowned for its ruthlessness, and as The Walking Dead winds towards a conclusion, you’d expect the death toll to start getting steeper. A slew of announced spinoffs has put paid to that. Rick Grimes, Michonne, Daryl Dixon, Negan, Maggie Rhee and (possibly) Carol Peletier are all ring-fenced, which raises the question of whether The Walking Dead‘s ending will bother killing off any major characters at all.
The presence of Sebastian Milton offered a slither of hope that someone was heading for a dark ending once the Commonwealth arc was over. Sebastian’s presence hovered like a ghost over The Walking Dead‘s main cast – who would he gun down instead of Rick? Nobody, apparently. By losing Sebastian, The Walking Dead has ruled out the one obvious comic-accurate way a main character could’ve died dramatically in season 11. That’s not to say major kills won’t happen, of course, but without Sebastian lurking through the Commonwealth’s corridors, everyone’s chances of survival just went way up.
The Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.
