Preface
The main things that I look for in these edits is how well it can convey the emotional elements of the show (especially towards Rick), and elevate that through the progression of the music, audio/dialog choices, and the visuals that they choose. Carl's death was one of the saddest moments for me, just because of how connected and invested I was (still am) to Rick at the time. It was such a major and pivotal moment in the show that affected Rick so much and how he viewed the world afterwards. So, if one of these edits is able to portray Carl's death and the emotional impact it had on Rick in a cool and natural way, then it definitely gets some points for that. (Also for Shane too.) I'm also a sucker for clean visual/audio parallels, and so an edit also gets points for making a clear and connected parallel to something.
There are two types of edits I've come across. Edits with lyrical music and edits with instrumental music. In the edit I want to make, I'm leaning 90% towards using an instrumental track - so there might be a slight bias in the ranking in terms of what I like more but I don't think it effects much. With instrumental tracks, it's moreso just finding the audio/clips you want and planning when to place them throughout. With lyrical music however, you have to be mindful of what the lyrics are actually saying and how that relates to the visuals on screen. You also can only have audio from dialog clips when the lyrics aren't playing, so you're limited to the pacing of certain elements in the edits, which is why I am somewhat leaning away from that, but I do recognize the effort that goes into creating something like that.
I don't think somber is the right word, but in terms of tone - I want to have the vibe of being inside of Rick's head. We're following his journey, escalating from Atlanta to Alexandria and all the things in-between. (The first montage is a great example of what tone I'm targeting and what I want to do.)
Most of the edits were made right after Rick's departure, so most don't feature anything from TOWL. There are a couple of edits I've seen outside this list that incorporate it alongside the main show, but I find the main show just overshadows everything in TOWL. There are some I've seen that are just TOWL edits, and I do like them because they focus not just on Michonne and Rick but also Carl - but I don't think I just want that either. Idk if I want to include TOWL without having it be overshadowed, so I'll think on that some more.
Edits
1. The Walking Dead || Rick Grimes
Notes: An epic intro (black and white sequences, and the only color is the blood!), an amazing instrumental track, and exellent choices for dialogue. I think I like this edit the best. I like the way we start back at the beginning of Rick's journey, tracking all they way to the end. The clips used during the overlapping dialogue were spot on! Almost as if we were seeing the moments Rick was envisioning in his head as he spoke. I don't think it's too action heavy, or too emotional. I would've liked a slight more inclusion of Carl and the effect he had on Rick, but the tone of the music didn't really allow for too much of that. I liked all of the parallels that were done. One of them was one I always wanted to do after seeing season 7 was at 2:58 with the line, "The day will come when you won't be." The progression/pace of the edit is also something I really enjoyed as well. The music starts off quite calm and controlled. It stays that way for a while, building and building, until the middle when it starts to crescendo with additional instruments. And then it eventally lashes out with full intensity - pulling from all the musical instruments built up so far. Then it ends with that nice calm and controlled environment that it had at the beginning. Amazing editing, I thought it was very impactful.
2. Rick Grimes || Hurt (TWD Farewell Tribute)
Notes: This one has another great opening, it's very chilling. This one's also unique in the fact that it uses a lyrical song. I feel the music and the editing do an amazing job at portraying Rick's psyche with the visuals. I feel the lyrics really do a fitting job of pertaining to Rick's character. Inside the opening hook, I love how we get a question about Rick, and the entire edit we see Rick's actions as evidence for the answer to that question by the end. I also love how right after the opening hook, we start off with Carl, Rick's roots for why he does what he does. I think this one had amazing editing too.
3. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Notes: This was made before TOWL came out, but I think it's an amazing compilation of what TWD represents. And though it's about TWD as a whole, I still think there's enough focus on Rick for my standards, especially during that second part. The longevity of the edit and its amazing three act structure allows it to really breathe and take its time with things. The second song that plays, for some reason I always correlate it with TWD (I think it's because there's a similar track that sounds like it), so it was very cool to see this in an edit. That second song/part of the edit is easily my favorite sequence in the video. Plus some more Governor action!
4. The Walking Dead: The Way
Notes: This one mirrors the first one in many many ways (especially in structure and the progression of the music), but I feel lacks some of the emotional moments, but puts us into the mindset of Rick a lot more. Most of the stuff I've talked about in the first one apply here. I like how this edit showcases some of the story arcs it has in the show. But because of that, I feel like bits of it are more serialzed than anything else (at least in the first 2:20 of the edit.) I think my favorite moment in this edit is from 4:47-5:03. It's such a good juxtaposition of dialogue.
5. (TWD) Rick Grimes | The One Who Lives
Notes: I feel like the music used in this one is a tad bit overrated imo, and since I've heard the song so many times, it just felt kindof off initially. But I do think that this song really brings out so many of the emotional elements so well. This edit definitely has a the most parallels I've seen, both in dialogue and in the visuals. I liked the inclusion of TOWL, it felt pretty good I think in how it was placed throughout. I think they did a good job with showing Shane's influence on Rick and a somewhat decent job with Carl. There were bits of dialogue I felt were somewhat drowned out by the music, so I don't think it's particularly amazing in terms of editing, but still good nonetheless.
6. (TWD) Rick Grimes || Soldier
Notes: The editing here is just so good! It's not at all the style I want though - I feel it's too upbeat, but I still think it did a good job at conveying some of the causes and effects that happened in Rick's journey that made him who he eventually became. This one also includes TOWL but I feel like it was more bookended than anything else. I love the bit from 1:13-1:30, we don't see/hear from the Governor often in edits like these and I feel like its somewhat of a missed opportunity.
7. Rick and Carl || I lost him again (TWD)
Notes: This one I think uses both TOWL and the main show pretty perfectly. The drawback being that the edit is focused entirely on Rick and Carl and Rick's loss, and while I feel it does a phenomenal job at that, I want my edit to focus on other elements as well. I feel like the first song is also a bit overrated, but as the edit went on I kindof abandoned that thought because I don't think I'd ever heard the full song before, and I thought it fit beautifully for something like this. I think the edit is strong, but the editing is weak. There are a lot of moments where you can hear the music in the original scene overlapped with the edit music and it sort of takes you out. There's also the fact that in most places, the dialogue you hear is directly coming from the visuals on screen. In most of the edits above, there's a lot more diversity in what's shown on screen versus what you hear. I don't think it's a sign of weak editing, I think it fits pretty well here, but it definitely can be.
Honorable Mentions
• The Walking Dead | What People Are
Notes: This one isn't a Rick Grimes edit, but rather for TWD as a whole. I think it does a great job encompassing the themes of the show, even though I'm not gonna be focusing on everything this covers.
• Rick Grimes Tribute || Hurt (TWD)
Notes: This one is another one that uses Hurt by Johnny Cash. I think it's cool, it's edited pretty well, but I don't feel like it's really saying much in the second half of the edit. I loved 0:55-1:55, but didn't care much for the rest. The other one felt much more cinematic as well, which just added to my appreciation of it.
• (TWD) Rick Grimes: So Far
Notes: Like the title and the song, I like how this one showcases just how much Rick has endured and how far he's come since season 1. The terrible things he's done, the terrible things people have done to him, his struggles, they're all presented here and this edit really makes you feel for him. Sometimes the music can get too loud and drown out moments in the edit, but I don't feel it takes away too much.