The Walking Dead season 9 episode 5: Does Rick Grimes die? Andrew Lincoln's exit revealed

Warning: major spoilers follow

Andrew Lincoln has officially left The Walking Dead – and his final episode was just as eventful as fans were expecting (you can find out five major talking points here).

The ending of last week’s instalment left viewers concerned that his character, Rick Grimes, would perish after being impaled on a spike amid a herd of walkers.

Did the character die? This is how Grimes bowed out of the show after nine seasons.

Major spoilers below.

Rick lives – however, his family and friends all think he’s dead. Having spent the episode attempting to escape the horde without succumbing to his life-threatening injury, he seemingly sacrifices his life after blowing up the same bridge he has been intent on building to unite the communities, all in an attempt to prevent the herd from reaching Alexandria.

Moments later, we learn the explosion blew Rick off the bridge and into the path of Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) and the helicopter she's about to be whisked away by. Vowing to save him, Jadis – real name Anne – convinces the pilot to take Rick with them, and they fly away to an unknown location.

His exit preceded the game-changing news that Rick will return in a trilogy of big-budget films for AMC, the first of a series of projects focusing on different characters – old and new – within the universe.

Speaking on Talking Dead after the episode, Lincoln said his death "frees up this show in a way that’s never been done before”. He also revealed that Rick was originally intended to die at the end of season eight. However, plans were scrapped when he requested to stay on, feeling that his story could be wrapped up in a more satisfactory manner

The Walking Dead continues in the US on AMC every Sunday with the simulcast airing in the UK at 2am. The episode is also available to watch on NOW TV ahead of its repeat on FOX at 9pm the following evening