‘Shame on You!’: Robert Kirkman Finally Admits This Walking Dead Moment Betrayed the Entire Series

Warning! Spoilers for The Walking Dead Deluxe #124 and Rick Grimes’ comic character arc ahead!

Robert Kirkman has arrived at a turning point in his Walking Dead retrospective, when it finally becomes impossible to ignore the fact that Rick Grimes was the protagonist of the series, giving him “

The Walking Dead Deluxe 

#124 was written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard. As the climactic battle against Negan’s Saviors continues, Rick is sidelined with a potentially fatal injury.

Or, at least, Kirkman wanted readers to think it could be fatal. Looking back now, he admits this “

The Walking Dead had an ensemble cast, but no character was essential the way Rick Grimes was. He was the first character 

The Walking Dead established a reputation for killing off major characters early and often. For much of its publication, there was at least a “kayfabe” (to appropriate wrestling terminology) commitment to the idea that no one was safe, not even Rick. However, even Robert Kirkman acknowledges he teased Rick’s death too many times, without going through with it.

In his Deluxe notes on the issue, here’s what Kirkman wrote about Rick’s Walking Dead #124 injury:

Man…did I end TWO issues in a ROW with the notion that this arrow is going to kill Rick? Seriously? Shame on you, young Kirkman! Shame. I was really stretching the whole “anyone can die, even Rick” talk with this one. That’s a lot of plot armor for this guy.

In other words, the more life-threatening injuries Rick Grimes sustained, only to come back from the brink in a way other Walking Dead characters almost never did, the more it became clear that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Robert Kirkman did eventually, finally, kill off Rick Grimes in 

Rick’s survival in the “All Out War” storyline, despite Walking Dead #124’s attempts to tease his doom, was arguably the moment readers became certain, if they weren’t already, that he was the series’ protagonist. It was a “fool me twice” type of story beat, which 

The Walking Dead Deluxe #124 is available now from Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment.

Curtis Ashford is repeating his old patterns so quickly, he’s starting to feel like Port Charles’ answer to Ridge Forrester.

Curtis and Portia are circling the drain again on General Hospital, and at this point, you almost want to hand them a punch card to keep track of their divorces. Their marriage hasn’t just cracked; it’s buckled. And Curtis didn’t waste time telling Marshall the part he left out of the vows: he wants Jordan back. Watching him pivot felt familiar in the worst way, like déjà vu with a haircut change. It’s the same dizzying loop Ridge Forrester’s been running on The Bold and the Beautiful for decades — torn between Taylor one minute, wedding Brooke the next morning, and getting re-engaged before you can blink. GH may be quietly steering Curtis into its own version of that legacy pendulum.

Key Takeaways

Curtis (Donnell Turner) used to feel grounded — a man who’d survived addiction, rebuilt his life, and found the love he fought for. But somewhere along the way, his expectations got cartoonishly high. He divorced Jordan (Tanisha Harper) because she kept police-commissioner-level secrets, the kind you’d hope an officer of the law would actually keep. Then he pivoted to Portia (Brook Kerr) and nearly left her when she admitted Trina (Tabyana Ali) could be his daughter. Forgivable? Sure. Dramatic? Absolutely. But now he’s pulling the whole parachute again and floating back toward Jordan like nothing ever happened.

There’s a rigidity to Curtis that’s almost ironic. He preaches honesty while making his own choices in the shadows. Just this week, he told Marshall (Robert Gossett) he wanted Jordan back — moments after agreeing not to tell anyone about Portia’s pregnancy. Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye), meet your Port Charles twin. The man can’t walk a straight romantic line to save his life.

Jordan, for her part, has spent months being blamed for every tremor in Curtis and Portia’s marriage, even when she wasn’t holding the fault line. And now she’s the lighthouse he’s drifting back toward, even though the coast is anything but clear. Portia’s pregnancy complicates everything, and Trina’s fury has only shoved the door halfway closed again.

Over on B&B, Ridge just pulled one of the fastest flip-flops in soap history — dumping Taylor (Rebecca Budig), running straight to Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), and getting engaged before Taylor could pack a carry-on. One minute it’s destiny with Taylor, mending her ‘broken heart syndrome,’ the next it’s “you’re my forever Logan” to Brooke with a ring pulled from the jewelry line. Classic Ridge: heartfelt declarations with an expiration date of… whenever the next woman sighs in his direction.

That’s the danger sign flashing over Curtis now. He’s starting to move like Ridge — impulsive, nostalgic, overly confident that whichever woman he chooses will still be standing when he boomerangs back. But Portia’s not built like Brooke, who always leaves a porch light on. And Jordan is no Taylor, who forgives until she folds.

Add Trina to the equation — fiercely protective, zero hesitation, and armed with her own moral compass — and Curtis may have finally met the variable Ridge never really had: a daughter figure willing to block the doorway before the triangle even finishes forming.At this rate, Curtis isn’t just slipping into Ridge territory. He’s laying down new pavement. If he isn’t careful, he may discover the one thing Ridge never had to worry about: both women walking away before he makes up his mind.