That ‘Walking Dead’ Phone Mystery Gets A Critical Update

“The Walking Dead” spoilers below!

In Michonne’s final episode of “The Walking Dead,” she discovers a cellphone with drawings of her and Judith, a Japanese message and Rick’s name carved into it. It seems to be proof that Rick doesn’t know how to use a cellphone properly (take it easy on the stylus, dude), and, more importantly, that he’s alive.

But apparently there’s something else going on with the phone mystery, and Rick may be in more trouble than we thought. What else is new? 

On “Talking Dead” following the episode, Scott Gimple, the “Walking Dead” chief content officer, noted that the drawing of Judith on the phone is more “current” than Rick Grimes would’ve known, since he left at a time when she was still a toddler. (The Judith on the screen looks more like Cailey Fleming’s version of the character, who came on the show following Lincoln’s departure.)

Gimple added that the drawing didn’t mean Rick had to have seen Judith recently. And now we know that’s apparently because he may have not been the artist after all, unless he’s been using that phone to learn Japanese on Duolingo.

The Japanese etching on the phone seems to be the key, and “Walking Dead” showrunner Angela Kang confirmed to Insider that it has the message, “Believe a little longer.” 

Kang said, “It was a message to Rick from somebody.”

Besides the cellphone, Danai Gurira’s Michonne also found Rick’s old boots, and on “Talking Dead” Gimple said, “Both Rick Grimes and Andy Lincoln would not give up those boots very easily.”

With the Japanese phrase imploring Rick to “believe a little longer” and the fact that he may have not willingly given up his boots, it sounds like our guy’s not doing too hot. Though the last time we saw Rick he had been impaled by a piece of rebar, blown up on a bridge and then abducted by a helicopter, so when is he ever doing well?