for Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, who had announced his departure from the show earlier in 2018. To facilitate this, several elements of "A New Beginning" are designed to accommodate Lincoln's departure. According to Kang, they continued the hostility between Rick and Maggie over differences of how Rick saved Negan's life, and expanding that to some of Rick's other closer allies. Thus, the washed-out bridge that must be fixed and serves as a plot element for several more episodes was envisioned as a literal representation of the bridge that Rick needs to make to his friends and allies to keep the various communities working together, according to Kang. The episode includes the death of main character Gregory, played by Xander Berkeley. Prior to season nine, Berkeley said that there had been some long-term plan for Gregory's death, stating that "There's only so long a douchebag like Gregory can stay alive." With season nine's change in showrunner alongside the changes necessary to accommodate the departure of Lincoln and the limited schedule of Lauren Cohan, Berkeley learned his character's death had been pushed up much sooner, which he learned nearly last minute. Berkeley had no qualms about the change, and considered that being hanged would add to his actor's portfolio of deaths from previous works. Gregory's death was adapted from the comic book in issue #141, where Gregory similarly plotted for Maggie's death due to being ousted as the Hilltop's leader, and Maggie opted to hang him as punishment. Filming of the museum scenes primarily took place at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta across two days. The production team created a fake glass floor made of plexiglass to use at the base of the building's staircase for some of the scenes. The episode was dedicated to memory of Scott Wilson, the actor for Hershel Greene on the series. Wilson died on October 6, 2018, shortly after news earlier that day that he had already reprised his role of Hershel for season nine. Reception Critical reception "A New Beginning" received critical acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has an approval rating of 97% with an average score of 7.23 out of 10, based on 29 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "By returning to its roots, 'A New Beginning' pumps fresh blood into TWD and inspires hope for a brighter future." Ratings The episode received a total viewership of 6.08 million