(AMC/The Walking Dead)
Fans of The Walking Dead have long been wondering if Rick is ever going to lose his hand. And although it seems like the loss has been teased on the show, it hasn’t happened. But after Season 7 Episode 10, “New Best Friends,” the question is on the forefront of fans’ minds again. We’ll explore why fans are wondering this, along with just what happened to Rick in the comics.
This article will contain spoilers through Season 7 Episode 10 and spoilers about Rick’s hand in the comics.
Here’s what you need to know.
While trying to get on the good side of the scavenging group that’s living in a junkyard, Rick was shoved down a trash heap and ended up in a makeshift pit with a zombie that was covered in spikes. He had to defeat the zombie in hand-to-hand combat, which he did — but not before having a spike go straight through his hand.
This is not a sanitary environment. (AMC/The Walking Dead)
After the scene was over and Rick was victorious, he crawled out of the pit and limped through the scene, his leg and his hand injured from the battle. His hand looked especially bad, bleeding everywhere. Now fans are wondering if this could end in Rick finally losing his hand.
Here’s the moment when a zombie spike went straight through Rick’s hand:
(AMC)
Fans have been wondering for a while if Rick is ever going to lose his hand. In the comics, Rick lost his right hand a long time ago. In fact, the Governor chopped off Rick’s right hand in their first encounter. This was Issue #28, when Rick was captured by the Governor, similarly to how he was captured by Negan on the show. So when Negan captured Rick at the beginning of season 7, fans thought the scene might finally happen. Then when Negan threatened to make Rick chop off Carl’s hand, fans thought that maybe this time it was going to happen, or that perhaps Rick’s fate would be passed down to his son. (As if Carl hasn’t already suffered enough!) But once again, Rick emerged unscathed.
The plot armor is strong with him.
It’s possible that Rick will never lose his hand on the show, despite what happened in the comics. Robert Kirkman has said in the past that he regrets taking Rick’s hand in the comics, so he might decide not to make the same mistake on the show.
The scene in Season 7 Episode 10 certainly could turn into an incident that costs Rick his hand. He was fighting in a junkyard which is full of bacteria and germs. During his fight, he pushed the zombie’s head away and one of the zombie’s spikes pierced Rick’s hand. This would be an easy way to get tetanus, for which shots aren’t readily available in a post-apocalyptic world.
Could Rick get tetanus from this fight move? (AMC)
However, don’t forget that when the show first began, Rick was in the hospital after being in a coma from a gun shot wound. It’s typical to give tetanus shots to patients after they’ve been shot. So the chances that Rick doesn’t have an updated tetanus shot at this point are pretty slim.
But just because he doesn’t get tetanus doesn’t mean some other type of infection might not take away his hand.
Do you think Rick will lose his hand? Let us know in the comments below.