The Rick Grimes of the end of season four is a different man to the Rick Grimes that kicked off the show waking from a coma in an abandoned hospital. That Rick had a wife, a son, a best friend, and later a newborn daughter. He had a background as a principled lawman, a core set of values and a moral code. Fast-forward four seasons, and Rick has lost his wife and killed his best friend. His baby girl is, as far as he knows, lost to survivor-on-survivor violence, as is the home he was trying to build. His past as an officer of the law is a distant memory, while his relationship with his son is still that of father and son, but increasingly an adult one. Meanwhile that set of values has withered to simply: protect what is yours, kill or be killed. Lets face it season fives Rick Grimes is hanging by a thread. All he has left to him is a slim connection to this group of people hes been through so much with, some of whom are still scattered to the four winds. Hell fight and kill to protect them all, calling them his family and hell certainly die for them. In season five, perhaps he finally should, and receive the kind of redemptive moment that the old Rick perhaps deserved.