The latest spinoff series from about Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) has the chance to pay off an unseen villain from the original series. Throughout its 11 seasons, had Rick’s friends and allies face off against several antagonistic groups, from the Scavengers to the Whisperers. But between telling the group’s story and developing each member as they work to survive, not every villain from the comics could be included as they deserved. Now, as more spinoff shows are produced based on the apocalyptic series, showrunners can fully utilize a villain didn’t have time for in favor of focusing on the Commonwealth.
follows Rick Grimes as he faced off against other groups of humans during a zombie apocalypse. Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) is a member of one such group, for whom she was looking for a mysterious . This group is later known as the Civic Republic Military (CRM), the enforcement arm of the authoritarian Civic Republic. Later, Rick was flown away in a helicopter bearing the insignia of the group. The new miniseries itself promises to be a continuation of Rick and Michonne’s love story as they attempt to find each other again a long period apart, and promotional photos of the six-episode miniseries have depicted Rick wearing a uniform of the CRM.
While series finished its run similarly to the comics, it focused more on the threat of the undead in the wake of internal tensions in the Commonwealth. But in the original comics, the series' largest and final encounter is not combative at all but focuses on Rick diffusing a possible war between and another group of survivors. This tease of a potentially combative meeting between eastern and western alliances is close to what the new Rick spinoff is setting up with the CRM, especially as the miniseries is insinuating that the Commonwealth communities are facing off against a major force from elsewhere.
With the CRM still a major threat at the end of the original series, it makes all the more sense that they could be the prime antagonists to arrive en masse and marshal against the Commonwealth. This is especially true with Rick’s survival and presence in the CRM, all of which would allow the miniseries to give Rick a similar diplomatic victory that follows the precedent of the comics. Even more so, hinted that the Commonwealth train is connected to the Civic Republic, strengthening the connection and possibility that the will be a main feature in the spinoff.
With the potential for to be a full-fledged presence in the Rick spinoff series, this also presents the opportunity for ’s Western Alliance to appear as well. With a need for more allies to face off against the Civic Republic, this would be a prime time to introduce the Western Alliance, with the train connecting not just the Civic Republic and the Commonwealth, but the western groups as well. Either way, giving Rick the chance to truly face off against the CRM on-screen is sure to produce an exciting spinoff series for universe.
