RJ getting his dad's hat.

Did you hear what I was saying? One of our generation's defining television shows ended this past weekend. The big reveal was something our own Rob Bricken described as "all that anyone still watching the show wanted to see" The end you saw wasn't always a sure thing. An alternate, more comic book-inspired ending was filmed before it was cut from the show.

Image for article titled The Walking Dead Finale Originally Had a Different Ending

The return of Rick and Michonne was the big finale of The Walking Dead. In very mysterious individual circumstances which will be explained in the Rick and Michonne TV show. As a cover, the filmmakers shot a different ending that didn't make sense with the crowd-pleasing Rick and Michonne ending.

Is that the end? It would have picked up with Judith and Rick Jr. in the same place where we first saw Rick in the pilot. The breakdown is listed here.

After Daryl rode off, we cut forward to the Freedom Parkway, outside Atlanta — where the iconic shot of Rick rode down from the pilot. See an ethanol-modified van, with a young woman and man in the front seats (in their twenties). And through the scene, we come to realize it’s adult RJ and Judith. Other adult versions of the kids are in the back — Coco, Gracie, etc. They’re out there, looking to escort any survivors back to their communities. Continuing the legacy of their parents. As RJ speaks over the radio, he finishes with: “If you can hear me, answer back. This is Rick Grimes.” (Which, of course, is his name — and the line Rick said in the pilot.) Then we end with the voice of a survivor answering back: “...Hello?”

Robert Kirkman ended his comic book series with a mirror on the first episode of The Walking Dead. After Lincoln and Gurira came back, the grown up kids ended up being cut. It was thought that seeing new actors in those roles would make them feel disconnected.

Is that the right choice? Is it more important to show the fan favorites or to have a more emotional beat? We want to hear what you think.

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