AMC/The Walking Dead
Fans who watched the Comic-Con trailer for Season 8 of The Walking Dead were in for a big shock at the end. But now we’re still trying to figure out exactly what it means. Below we’ll have the top theories and explanations for the ending. When you finish reading this article, take our poll at the end of the story and let us know what you think the ending of the trailer meant.
WARNING: This post has potential spoilers for Season 8, depending on if the theories stemming from the comic book storyline are correct.
The Video & Screenshots
First, you’ll likely want to rewatch the Comic-Con trailer below:
That ending scene really took fans by surprise. If you stopped watching the video at the logo, you would have missed it. Here are some screenshots from the end:
AMC/The Walking Dead
The cane that we first see might be a hint that the show is going to follow a
AMC/The Walking Dead
But then the flowers show up, and that gives fans a different impression.
AMC/The Walking Dead
And then we see Rick. His hair and beard are completely grey now, which indicates that quite a bit of time has passed. But his skin isn’t significantly more wrinkled, so it hasn’t been long enough for him to be in the “elderly” category yet.
Theory 1: A Big Time Jump Will Happen After the War
The most popular theory among fans is that the show is going to do a big time jump that was seen in the comics. After the “all out war” with Negan in the comics, there was a time jump covering the span of several years, where Rick woke up much older and with grey hair.
It seems like it would be a cruel trick of the producers to record something that looked just like a time jump from the comics and then make it a dream. But trailers have been misleading before. It’s also possible that we won’t actually see this scene during the first half of the season, but it will be saved for much later.
Fans say that the presence of the cane implies that it is the time jump, because it parallels with an injury Rick got during the war in the storyline. But his hair appears much whiter in the trailer than it should be, if the show follows the span of the time jump in the comics.
Some clues that indicate this might not be the time jump is that Rick’s face appears to be missing his scars. So maybe Rick is dreaming that the whole walker virus never happened (which we’ll explore below.)
There’s also the possibility that this is a time jump, but not the one from the comics. Since the premiere is also the 100th episode, maybe we will jump briefly ahead to an “old man” Rick looking back on his life. But this seems unlikely, mostly because it would mean fans would no for absolute certain that Rick would never, ever be killed.
Theory 2: Rick Is Dreaming About Everyone Having a Happy Life
Some fans think this is just a screenshot of Rick dreaming about the future, imagining that everyone had a happy life. He’s either dreaming of some time long after the Negan war, or he’s dreaming about what life would be like if the virus that caused the walkers had never happened.
Some fans might be a bit annoyed by this outcome, if it happens, because they’re really wanting the time jump theory to be true. But it wouldn’t be unusual for The Walking Dead to have something a bit misleading in its trailer. And The Walking Dead has definitely done some dream sequences lately. Remember the finale for Season 7, when a great deal involved Sasha imagining talking to Abraham and imagining their last conversation as if it were happening right then? Or what about the Season 7 premiere dream sequence that involved everyone in the future, eating happily at a big table, while Glenn was alive with his child a few years down the line? Maybe this could even be a continuation of that dream sequence. (Except, from behind, Rick looks like his hair is normal-colored and not grey.)
Here it is:
Theory 3: It’s *ALL* a Dream
Then there’s the theory from more skeptical fans, who think this means everything has been a dream and Rick is waking up from a coma in the hospital many years later. They point to the flowers near his bedside as an example, because there were flowers by his hospital bed when he woke up in the Season 1 premiere.
Here’s that scene. Interestingly, Shane was the one who brought him the flowers:
This theory is less likely to be true, as it would pretty much end the show, and we know the producers aren’t ready to do that yet. But the flowers we see in the trailer could hold a connection. Maybe he’s dreaming that Shane kept bringing him flowers all those years. Wouldn’t it be great to have a Shane cameo in a Rick dream?
AMC/The Walking Dead
AMC/The Walking Dead
POLL: Which Theory Do You Believe?
So now that you’ve read all the theories, let us know in the poll which one you believe.