Lori Grimes

Lori Grimes is the former tritagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. She is the late wife of Rick Grimes and mother of Carl and Judith Grimes. Believing Rick to be dead, she joined Shane Walsh in traveling to Atlanta, and counted on him to keep her and Carl safe, during which she began a sexual relationship with him.

Overview
Lori was a strong, selfless, independent, and emotional woman, but was also shown to be difficult and demanding at times. Having believed her husband to be dead, that the world was coming to an end, and trying her best to keep herself and Carl safe, Lori became extremely vulnerable and lonely. During this time she began a relationship with Shane Walsh, her husband's partner in duty, something that would cause problems for her throughout the remainder of her life. With Rick's eventual return, she found herself filled with both extreme happiness and extreme guilt. She became torn between her husband and Shane; realizing they were both essential to her survival. However, her actions continuously put Rick and Shane at odds, significantly more so with the revelation of her pregnancy. Throughout season two, she strove to ensure that her unborn child would be healthy, and wondered whether the baby should even be born into such a horrible world. After the farm was overrun, she became deeply disturbed by Rick's actions, as well as Carl's involvement in the death of Shane. As the third season began, Rick started to shun her, something that pained her increasingly. However, Rick was devastated when he discovered that she died during childbirth. Lori showed herself to be a very selfless person when she faced her final moments of life, choosing baby Judith's life over her own, which she sacrificed with barely a second thought.

King County, Georgia
Lori married her husband, Rick, at a young age. The two of them eventually had a son named Carl. They lived as a typical suburban family in King County, Georgia. On Sundays, she made pancakes, despite the fact that she knew they were awful. Lori was a school teacher, while Rick was the main financial provider by working for the local Sheriff's department. Over time, their marriage became increasingly strained with Rick distancing himself from her. His unwillingness to talk about his feelings and their problems resulted in fights, where harsh words were spoken by Lori. It had even reached the point where she began to question his love for her and Carl. Lori confided in a friend (and fellow housewife), Paula, to ease the stress and seek advice.

Days before the apocalypse broke out, Lori found out through Shane about Rick being shot, and shared the sad news with Carl. As the apocalypse broke out, Shane convinced Lori and Carl that Rick is dead, and she and her son packed their things and left with Shane to head to a safe zone in Atlanta. Shane, Lori, and Carl got caught in a traffic jam on the way and befriended Carol Peletier and her family. While stopped outside the city, Lori and Shane watched in horror as Atlanta was bombed by napalm helicopters. Sometime later, Lori attempted to contact her mother for weeks, but to no avail.

As time progressed, Lori became extremely vulnerable and, believing Rick to be dead, began a sexual relationship with Shane.

Death
As Lori, Maggie and Carl attempt to escape from the walkers Andrew let into the prison in a deliberate attempt to have Rick and the others killed, Lori begins to enter into labor due to the stress. As they flee and hide in the boiler room, Lori begins to suffer from contractions. Although Maggie encourages her to hold on while they figured out how to escape, Lori realizes that she has to start pushing the baby out now. Midway into pushing, however, Maggie tells her to stop as blood starts to leak out.
 * Killed By
 * Andrew (Caused, Alive)
 * Zombies (Caused, Alive)
 * Judith Grimes (Indirectly Caused, Alive)
 * Maggie Rhee (Caused, Alive)
 * Blood Loss (Alive)

Unable to push the baby out naturally, Lori tells Maggie that she has to give her an emergency Cesarean Section in order to save her baby's life.

After tearfully saying goodbye to Carl, Maggie cuts her abdomen open, causing her extreme pain, shock and blood loss. While Maggie is able to save Lori's baby, Lori dies from the shock and blood loss before seeing her newborn daughter. After saying a final goodbye to his mother, Carl unceremoniously shoots Lori in the head, preventing her from reanimating.
 * Carl Grimes (Before Reanimation, Out of Mercy)

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Lori has killed
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Relationships
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Rick Grimes
Lori was Rick's wife and the mother of his child, Carl. Rick and Lori married at a young age, which, according to Lori, could have contributed to their marital problems in later years. They had many problems and argued frequently. This is seen clearly in two different flashbacks, one in the episode "Days Gone Bye" and the other in "Bloodletting". At one point, Lori even questioned whether or not she still loved Rick.
 * "I loved you. I loved you. I couldn't put it back together, I couldn't put it back together. I made a deal with myself. I will keep you alive, I will find you a place, I will fix that. I couldn't open that door, I couldn't risk it. I was going to keep you alive; Carl; the baby. And then I thought there'd be time. There's never time. I loved you. I love you. I couldn't put it back together. I should've said it, should've said it."
 * —Rick to Lori during the their "phone conversation"[src]

After the outbreak, Shane, Rick's best friend, told Lori that Rick was dead and began to have an affair with her. However, when Rick arrived at the Atlanta camp, Lori immediately broke off her relationship with Shane. She gave him back his wedding ring and the two began to reconnect as husband and wife. She disagreed with some of the decisions he made but saw it her duty as his wife to stand by his side and support him. Rick quickly found out that Lori had an affair with Shane but is able to control his anger. It is clear that Lori remains remorseful over her relationship with Shane during Rick's absence, which she reveals to Rick in episode, "Secrets". Rick and Lori's relationship is often tested and challenged by Rick's decisions as the leader of the group, in addition to the friction between Rick and Shane, who Lori knowingly placed at odds.

Their relationship seems to be more or less okay until Rick kills Shane. At first, Lori is furious at Rick for Carl being involved in Shane's death but eventually understands and forgives him. Rick, from what we see in the time that passes between Season 2 and Season 3, seems to be more preoccupied with finding a safe place for the group and more specifically, for Lori to have her baby, than he is with patching things up with his wife, as he thought there would be more time after they cleared the prison. When Lori dies, Rick is traumatized and devastated, blaming himself both for not being there to help her and for not killing Andrew, who had indirectly caused her to become separated from Hershel. He becomes more aggressive and his sanity, regard for humanity, and morality starts to become questionable.

As he is grieving for Lori's death, he hallucinates hearing her talking to him through a phone. He reveals that he thought there would be time to rebuild their relationship after they found a safe place and the baby was born. He tells her that he loves her multiple times and apologetically tells her that he should have told her that before she died.

When deciding the fate of Tyreese's group, Rick has an hallucination of Lori, telling her to leave which causes to Tyreese's group to run away, scared.

However, the visions of Lori reappear frequently, serving as a moral compass for Rick to do the right thing (ex. She appears on the prison catwalk when Rick looks for wire to bind Michonne's hands with. Rick drops the wire and changes his mind and refuses to hand over Michonne to The Governor. After the conflict with The Governor is over and Rick and Tyreese move everyone from Woodbury into the prison, Rick's visions of Lori stop as he finally did the right thing and is able to move on.

Rick is shown to still love Lori well after her death as shown by him still wearing his wedding ring, confessing to Carol that sometimes he expects to see Lori next to him when he wakes up in the morning. When the group arrives at the Alexandria Safe-Zone Rick begins to feel saddened since it is the type of area they'd hope to move into one day, though she didn't make it. When a drunken Pete is talking to Rick he arrogantly brings up Lori offering his condolences which Rick accepts but is noticeably on edge by the very mention of her, then when Pete leaves is shown holding his ring on his hand, contemplating his prior commitment to her over his feelings for Jesse.

When Morgan brings up Lori to Rick, he bluntly discusses her fate, showing that perhaps he had moved on from her (and Jesse, following her own death) because he had made his peace with his feelings for her.

Carl Grimes
Lori's firstborn child and only son, she was fiercely protective of him. In addition to her own efforts to keep her child safe, Lori often relied on Dale and other members of the group to watch him. In Rick's absence, she was relieved that Shane dutifully stepped into the father role. While Rick remained the group's reluctant leader, Lori's main focus was invested into preserving Carl's innocence in a world that grew colder and more bleak as days went by. However, she realized, just as Rick had, that efforts to shelter Carl from the blatant horrors were futile. When she was about to die, she told Carl not to be afraid, and that she thought he was brave, strong, clever, and told him to always make choices based on what he thought was right and to never doubt his decisions and let the world change him, Aware of what he could become growing up in such a violent world.
 * "You are going to beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you. You gotta do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So, so, if it feels wrong don't do it, alright? If it feels easy don't do it, don't let this world spoil you. You're so good, my sweet boy. Best thing I ever did, and I love you, I love you. My sweet, sweet, boy I love you."
 * —Lori's last words to Carl before dying[src]

On a run to King County in the hopes of finding more weapons, Carl decides to retrieve a picture of Lori, so Judith could know how her mother looked like. When he finally retrieves the picture, he smiles while looking at his mother.

After Carl was forced to shoot Lori in the head, he became harder, as seen when he killed Jody in cold blood. Hershel and Rick were alarmed at his actions, leading Rick to change how he treated Carl and Carl's role in prison life. Carl and Rick became closer, and Carl became more of the son Lori would be proud of.

Judith Grimes
When Lori first found out about her pregnancy, she began crying as she knew the hardships her baby would cause for the group. Lori was going to abort her baby by taking tablets, and did so, but later threw them up as she was unsure what to do. She either didn't know that the pills would not actually terminate her pregnancy or she did know and she tried it as an act of desperation. Rick discovered the remaining pills and confronted her about it, prompting Lori to confess to both the pregnancy and the liaison with Shane. Although it seems that Lori made a "choice" to keep her baby, in reality, she may have realized that, without proper medical facilities to pursue an abortion, there really was no "choice." Lori's awareness of this was revealed in her conversation with Beth when Beth asked her how she could bring a baby into "this world."
 * "I'm not losing my baby."
 * —Lori about Judith[src]

After going into labor in the prison, Lori knew that her and the baby wouldn't both survive and that one of them was going to die. Without any consideration, she chose herself and demanded Maggie perform a C-section on her. As Maggie began cutting Lori open, Lori cried out in pain and then passed away due to blood loss. Lori never saw her baby daughter before she died.

Shane Walsh
Lori and Shane (Rick's best friend) had presumably known each other for years. Pre-Apocalypse, they both lived in the same small town in Georgia. It is mentioned that Shane had been a real DIY kind of guy and even showed up Rick by fixing the Grimes' sink. After believing that Rick had died in hospital, Shane, sparing no thought for himself, accompanied Lori and Carl to Atlanta, where they believed a refugee center to be. It is implied that on the way there, Shane and Lori had a sexual encounter, both desperately needing physical contact amid the chaos and grief surrounding. When the survivors are stationed outside of Atlanta, Lori sneaks off into the woods to meet Shane for a romantic tryst (Shane later mentions that the pair "carried on quite a bit" in these times). Rick's reunion with his family and Shane is bittersweet, as Shane struggles to accept that Rick has rightfully resumed his role as a protector, father, and lover. Consequently, friction between the trio worsens and is further complicated by Lori's pregnancy- and the truth that Shane could very well be the baby's father. To Lori, he insists that their affair had been "a long time coming", implying that there could possibly have been romantic tension present prior to the zombie breakout. But she continues to deny that any real feelings had ever existed between them.

At a bid to eliminate the threat of her former lover (and bury her regretted mistake for good), Lori warns Rick of Shane's erratic behavior and implies that Rick should handle him before he does something dangerous. However, after Dale's funeral in "Better Angels", she appears to have had a change of heart, not only apologizing to Shane for putting him at odds with Rick, but also acknowledging that he hadn't misinterpreted the feelings between them. Lori is overwhelmed with shock, grief and anger when learning that Rick killed Shane and she reacts even more horrified that Carl shot Shane once he turned into a walker.

Eventually, Lori felt remorseful for putting Rick and Shane at odds, which indicates that she possibly got over Shane's death and understood why Rick had to do it.

Carol Peletier
Both original members of the Atlanta survivors, and mothers, Lori and Carol form a friendship. Both women are shown comforting and offering advice to one another, especially regarding their children. It is evident that Carol looks up to Lori as a matriarch; even referring to her as the "first lady" of the group.

During Lori's pregnancy and the group's months on the run, Lori and Carol become even closer, as Lori looks to Carol for comfort and Carol plans to perform a C-section on her. Carol and Lori are separated after walkers overrun the prison. When Carol returns to the group, she learns of Lori's death, which quickly reduces her to tears.

Glenn Rhee
As the first to know about Lori's pregnancy, Glenn proves his friendship to Lori by offering to ride into town to retrieve helpful medical supplies, at the personal risk of a walker attack. He also provides wise advice for her to talk to Rick about the pregnancy, which she is grateful for. In the episode "Say the Word", Glenn refers to her as family after her untimely death, showing just how much he cared for her.

Dale Horvath
Lori and Dale were part of the original Atlanta group, and the two seemed to have a good relationship with he each other. In Secrets, Dale tried to encourage Lori about her pregnancy, sharing a story about his late wife's miscarriage. Their talk helped convince her not to end her pregnancy. Dale was also extremely concerned about Shane's mental state and his role in Otis' death, and told Lori his suspicions, helping to start a chain of events that led to Shane's death. Lori was clearly shocked and saddened by Dale's death.
 * "This place is going to Hell."
 * —Dale to Lori[src]

Andrea
Lori and Andrea had a fairly bad relationship. In Atlanta after Amy is killed, Lori tells everyone to let her grieve, instead of shooting Amy themselves, and tells Andrea she's sorry for her loss. At the church, Andrea hears Lori and Shane talking about their affair, she mentions it to both Shane and Lori, but never Rick, possibly because of her relationship with Shane, or possibly not wanting to upset Rick. After the barn massacre, Beth falls into catatonic, related shock. Andrea and Lori argue when Andrea leaves Beth on her own to decide if she wanted to commit suicide, when she promised she'd watch Beth. Lori tells Andrea that maintaining household chores is primary to "creating a live worth living" and Andrea disagrees, saying that patrolling and fighting back against walkers is what's important. Andrea accuses Lori of taking her luck and safety for granted but Lori reminds her of the significant trauma she has experienced, such as Carl being shot. Andrea tells Lori to "Go in there and tell that little girl [Beth] that everything is going to be okay, just like it is for you, she'll get a husband, a son, baby, boyfriend...She just has to look on the bright side". This argument ruined whatever friendship the two had, they both never speak again and Lori is killed before Andrea reunites with the group in the prison, although Andrea does appear saddened when she finds out about her death and seems worried about Carl.

Amy
Lori and Amy got along and respected each other during their stay at the Atlanta Camp. Lori agreed with Amy about attempting a rescue mission to save Andrea and the other survivors trapped in Atlanta in contrast to Shane who claimed that it was too late. After the death of Amy, Lori is very remorseful and tells Andrea that everyone loved her and that she will be missed.

Jim
Jim and Lori didn't have much of a relationship, but she showed care when Jim was having sun stroke, and forgiveness when he apologized for his actions towards Sophia and Carl. Jim also gave Lori short but wise parenting advice to her about keeping Carl safe, thus showing he doesn't want her to have to live with the guilt of losing a child like he had. Their relationship was not explored more before both of their deaths.
 * "You keep your boy close. You don't ever let him out of your sight."
 * —Jim to Lori[src]

T-Dog
T-Dog and Lori did not interact much with each other, although it is clear they had a good relationship. During Season 2's episode, "Beside the Dying Fire", T-Dog insists to Lori and Beth to head for the coast where it is safe, but Lori refused and was mad at T-Dog and forced him to turn around to the highway. This did indicate how much T-Dog cared about their safety. Both T-Dog and Lori met their demises on the same day as a result of Andrew.

Daryl Dixon
Daryl never really interacted with Lori much, but in Season 2 their relationship hit a bump when she asked him to go find Rick, which made Daryl very angry and he angrily told her to go find them herself. However, it seems over the winter and by the start of Season 3 they have formed a good relationship. Daryl is clearly saddened by Lori's sudden death, and was determined to ensure her baby did not also die. Daryl was also very concerned for Carl following the loss of his mother.

Merle Dixon
Lori and Merle were never shown onscreen together once in the series due to Merle being left behind in Atlanta and disappearing after amputating his hand and Lori dying before Merle was reunited with the group in Season 3. Although Merle never mentioned or referred to Lori once in the series, it is clear that Lori did not like Merle much. Lori showed little remorse for Merle being left behind in Atlanta and told Rick not to think about it. When Rick wanted to return to Atlanta to retrieve a bag of guns and free Merle from a rooftop, Lori, like Shane and many others were against the decision due to the bad person Merle was. Lori claimed Merle's life was not worth anyone's life even with the guns thrown in, in "Tell It to the Frogs".

Merle most likely showed little remorse for Lori's death due to him showing no sympathy for Carl having to shoot her to prevent reanimation and he crowned it simply as "mercy killing".

Jacqui
Jacqui and Lori were never seen interacting, although it is evident they did have a friendship, as Lori tells Rick how she had wanted to ask Jacqui a question before remembering that she had died.

Hershel Greene
Lori first met Hershel when he was preparing to operate on Carl following a hunting accident. At first she acted hostile towards him because of Otis' mistake of shooting Carl, and when Hershel said he was veterinarian, she doubt his skill even more but eventually she gave in due to them having no other options. After Hershel successfully saved Carl's life, and learning of Otis' sacrifice for Carl, she strongly appreciated him saving Carl's life and developed strong respect him and his family. Throughout her stay at the farm, she grew closer with Hershel, especially after Rick told him that Lori was pregnant.
 * "Rest? Let's go for a little stroll."
 * —Hershel to Lori about using crutches after resting from his leg amputation[src]

When Hershel went missing after the barn massacre, Rick wanted to find him, but Lori disagreed, saying a leader is needed to stay on the farm and that Shane is dangerous if left alone. But when Rick said he wanted to find Hershel because he's the only one who could deliver Lori's baby and to inform him about Beth's condition, she agreed. Finally, Hershel returned and eventually, Lori got closer to Maggie and Beth as well. Lori continues to support both Rick and Hershel's decisions to do what's best for the group, especially when Randall was taken hostage in the farm. During the walkers invasion at the farm, Lori stayed behind inside the house and when she was going to run away from the farm with Carol, Beth, and Patricia, she repeatedly yelled at Hershel to stop defending his farm, but he ignores her and after giving up calling him, she ran away with Beth and the two of them are saved by T-Dog. Finally, the group reunite at the highway after the invasion and they continue their travel to find a safe place.

During the months the group spent on the run after the farm was overrun, Hershel and Lori became even closer. Hershel is worried about Lori and told Rick that she can't take much more of them moving around different places. When Lori is crying about her baby seemingly dying inside of her, Hershel tried his best to comfort her. She also tried to comfort Beth and Maggie after Hershel's leg amputation, and when he stopped breathing, she performed CPR on him, ignoring the potential risk of him turning into a walker during the process. She's also the only one besides Beth who is positive that Hershel could survive his amputation, and is happy about Hershel's survival. One of the last happy moments of Lori's life was helping Hershel walk outside for the first time after his amputation. After Lori's death, Hershel was extremely remorseful and took care of Judith, Carl and Rick.

Maggie Greene
Lori and Maggie had a rough relationship. Maggie was furious with Lori after she was almost killed by a walker on a supply run getting supplies for Lori. After the event, Maggie called Lori a bitch and threw the supplies at her, an action she never apologized for. The supplies were for aborting her baby, something Maggie strongly disagreed with.

Eventually Lori and Maggie mended their relationship during the rest of the second season and seemed to become closer. In the prison, when walkers were let in by Andrew, Lori went into labor. Unable to deliver the baby naturally, Lori pleaded with Maggie to cut her open and take care of her baby. At first Maggie declined, but eventually gave in. She apologized as she cut Lori open, crying deeply as she caused her great pain and watched her bleed out. Beth now takes care of Lori's baby, Judith. Maggie makes supply runs to get her formula. The first of said supply runs is seen in the episode "Say the Word".

Beth Greene
Lori displays a maternal protectiveness towards Beth and is often seen comforting her. When Beth comes out of her catatonic state she is nursed by Lori, who makes sure she has food and exercise and offers empathy for the loss of Beth's mother (who as a walker was killed outside the barn after attacking Beth). Lori could not support letting Beth commit suicide and argued heatedly with Andrea over the situation. When the group evacuate the farm after it is overrun with walkers, Beth winds up escaping together with Lori and T-Dog. Beth also shows concern about Lori's pregnancy, she shows she is supportive and even informed Lori that the Prison is a safe place for the baby to be born. In the episode Sick, a clearly distressed Beth is shown briefly being protectively hugged by Lori after Beth sees her father unconscious. After Lori's death, Beth looked out for Carl and Judith.
 * "This will be a good place to have the baby."
 * —Beth talking to Lori about the unborn Judith[src]

Patricia
Lori and Patricia didn't interact much, although it is clear that Lori had a high amount of respect for Patricia due to her helping Hershel save Carl's life in "Save the Last One". Lori may have felt slight anger at Patricia at first due to her husband shooting her son, calling him "the idiot that shot my son" but since then felt sorry for her loss and thankful for her son's revival. When Patricia is devoured by walkers in "Beside the Dying Fire, Lori doesn't attempt to shoot Patricia to put her out of her misery, instead saves Beth by pulling her away. Lori takes a last look at Patricia in horror at her death, but not distraught as they were only casual acquaintances who respected each other. However, in "18 Miles Out", Lori remarks to Andrea that Patricia is one of those who helps out, showing that Lori appreciated Patricia's help in laundry, cooking and cleaning.

Jimmy
Although Lori and Jimmy never interacted, she showed signs of trust and care for him. She trusted him with Carl in "Judge, Jury, Executioner" when she instructs Carl to play with Beth and Jimmy while the adults negotiate Randall's fate. However, this could also mean that she saw him as immature and could use this characteristic to befriend Carl.

Otis
Otis and Lori were never shown together, but it was clear that she was mad at him for shooting Carl, and called him "The idiot that shot my son". After Otis' death, Lori seemed to show some remorse and was clearly shocked to learn that it was in fact Shane who sacrificed Otis to the Walkers not just to save Carl's life, but because Shane loves her as well.
 * }
 * }

Appearances
{|

Season 1

 * "Days Gone Bye"
 * "Guts"
 * "Tell It to the Frogs"
 * "Vatos"
 * "Wildfire"
 * "TS-19"

Season 2

 * "What Lies Ahead"
 * "Bloodletting"
 * "Save the Last One"
 * "Cherokee Rose"
 * "Chupacabra"
 * "Secrets"
 * "Pretty Much Dead Already"
 * "Nebraska"
 * "Triggerfinger"
 * "18 Miles Out"
 * "Judge, Jury, Executioner"
 * "Better Angels"
 * "Beside the Dying Fire"

Season 3

 * "Seed"
 * "Sick"
 * "Killer Within"
 * "Hounded" (Voice Only, Hallucination)
 * "The Suicide King" (Hallucination)
 * "Home" (Hallucination)
 * "Clear" (Photograph)
 * "This Sorrowful Life" (Hallucination)
 * "Welcome to the Tombs" (Hallucination)

Season 4

 * "Isolation" (Photograph)

Season 7

 * "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" (Flashback)

Season 9

 * "What Comes After" (Voice Only)

Cold Storage

 * "Keys to the Kingdom" (Photograph)
 * }
 * }

Trivia

 * Sarah Wayne Callies (the actress that portrayed Lori) was in favor of Lori dying while in the prison, just like her comic counterpart. In an interview she stated, "I argued that it was necessary to kill Lori and I feel very strongly that for all of the other deviations we may have from the comic book, killing Lori does something to Rick that is vital for the story and can't be done any other way." [1]
 * Lori's demise was featured in The Huffington Post 's list of "The Biggest 'OMG' TV Moments of 2012",[2] and placed nineteenth in Slate 's article covering the year's most noteworthy television moments.
 * Lori appears to be the only member of her family to hold religious beliefs as she tells Carl to say his prayers and herself is once shown to be praying.
 * Lori has a tattoo of a butterfly on her abdomen.
 * Lori is the only Grimes family member not to have killed a human.
 * Lori is one of the ten characters in The Walking Dead universe to be pregnant during the events of the apocalypse. The others being Maggie Rhee, Eileen, Ava, Vida, Michonne, an unnamed Worker, an unnamed resident from the Kingdom, Michonne, Rosita Espinosa and Nabila.