Watch the Opening Minutes for ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ (VIDEO)

Content warning: This article covers topics of suicide. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a trained listener, call 988. Visit 988lifeline.org for crisis chat services or for more information.

“I tried. Please know, I tried,” says Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in the opening moments of AMC‘s newest Dead spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

This exclusive look at the first minute and 40 seconds of the February 25 premiere shows a despondent look at the survivor who once led the Alexandrians valiantly and defeated a number of the post-apocalyptic world’s human villains (while also taking down plenty of the undead). In the background, a Civic Republic news broadcast discusses “possible detonations” and shows a building with thick, black smoke plumes rising into the sky. And Rick? With tears in his eyes, he’s holding a broken shard of glass to his jugular. He’s also looking at a cellphone with a cartoon drawing of Michonne (Danai Gurira) etched on the screen.

It’s no wonder Rick is upset. He’s been separated from his wife Michonne and his daughter Judith (Cailey Fleming) for years, along with all of their friends. Injured in an explosion and taken away by a Civic Republic Military helicopter, Rick hasn’t been able to escape the strong and well-supplied army to return home. (And we know he’s tried…thanks to the series finale of the franchise’s mothership in 2022 which shows one of the more successful attempts.) But suicidal? This is a whole other side to the character that we’ve never seen before.

Thankfully, viewers also know that Michonne no longer believes Rick to be dead. She located another cellphone that featured a rendering of her and Judith, along with Rick’s worn cowboy boots, and is currently on a quest to retrieve her long-lost love. But will she make it in time? Hang on, Rick! Michonne is on her way!

Check out the exclusive clip above to see the tense moment for yourself.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Series Premiere, Sunday,February 25, 9/8c, AMC