‘The Walking Dead’ recap: Zombies take their toll in shocking development

Proving that no one is safe in a zombie apocalypse — except macho Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), presumably — a series regular since Season 1 meets his gruesome demise on AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

“Thank You” (Episode 603) marks the end of a long and bloody journey for Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun), a former pizza delivery boy in Atlanta who first appeared five years ago when he helped Rick escape from a military tank surrounded by ravenous “walkers.”

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In his final episode, Glenn strives to divert a mega-herd of zombies away from the Alexandria Safe-Zone. The constant blaring of a truck’s air horn is drawing half the herd toward the enclave. And making matters worse, vicious scavengers calling themselves Wolves are attacking the walled community and slaughtering everyone in sight.

Rick orders Glenn and katana-wielding Michonne (Danai Gurira) to rush back to Alexandria, even if they must abandon some of their companions with less-developed survival instincts.

“They can’t keep up. You keep going,” Rick emphasizes. “You make sure you get back!”

While taking refuge inside an abandoned pet shop, Glenn concocts a risky plan that involves luring the walkers in a new direction by setting fire to a feed store. But that means Glenn must somehow elude hundreds of zombies amassing nearby.

“You have a wife,” Michonne protests, referring to Glenn’s beloved Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan).

“That’s why I’m doing this,” Glenn firmly replies. “If I take too long, you just go!”

An unlikely volunteer for this nearly suicidal mission is Nicholas (Michael Traynor), a supply runner whose cowardice led to the horrific death of Glenn’s friend Noah (Tyler James Williams) in Season 5.

Nicholas sought to cover up this appalling incident by murdering Glenn in the woods. Glenn prevailed despite being wounded, however, and magnanimously spared Nicholas’ life.

“You’re not that guy anymore,” Glenn says, believing Nicholas has evolved into a better person. But while Nicholas exhibits signs of newfound bravery, he apparently lacks directional skills as he unwittingly leads Glenn into a deathtrap.

Backed up against a tall fence topped with barbed wire, Glenn and Nicholas make their final stand by climbing on top of a dumpster as zombies lunge forward in a feeding frenzy.

“Look at me,” Glenn screams when Nicholas slips into a daze.

“Thank you,” Nicholas replies as he seems to accept his awful fate. Then he calmly points a pistol at his temple and pulls the trigger.

When Nicholas falls into the zombie swarm, he drags Glenn down with him. Now the walkers hungrily devour Glenn as he helplessly cries in despair.

While this tragedy unfolds, Rick sprints toward Alexandria and hops inside a recreational vehicle so he can lead more of the zombies away. He tries to contact Glenn by walkie-talkie but hears only silence.

Rick does get a reply from Sasha Williams (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) as they slowly drive away from Alexandria at the front of a massive zombie “parade.”

“We keep going forward for them,” Rick exhorts Sasha and Abraham, fearing that all the Alexandrians will perish if the zombie herd turns around.

Rick’s challenges are soon magnified, however, when two Wolves sneak into the RV and try to shoot him. Rick manages to subdue his attackers, fortunately, then guns down a few more Wolves creeping up from the side.

But when he’s unable to start the RV’s engine, Rick finds himself stranded on a road with hundreds of zombies converging on all sides.

Fans of “The Walking Dead” just lost one of their favorite characters. Now Rick faces incredible peril. And we’re only three episodes into the shocking new season.