Nicholas (The Walking Dead)

""What do you need to look into? I-- I'm telling you how it went down. These people have to go. They're not like us. I know you see it, too.""

- Nicholas to Deanna about Rick's group. ""Thank you.""

- Nicholas' final words to Glenn before committing suicide

Nicholas is a character in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is the secondary antagonist in the second-half of Season 5 and later a redeemed supporting character during the first quarter of Season 6.

Season 5
Weeks before the arrival of Rick's group, the supply run team had gotten themselves into trouble during one of their missions. Nicholas and Aiden decided to leave the four others for dead.

Nicholas is the one to open the town gates for Rick and his group, and announces that everyone must hand over their weapons if they are staying in Alexandria. Later, he takes Noah, Tara, and Glenn out on a dry run with Aiden, to train them as runners. He struggles to restrain the captured zombie that broke loose in the woods, and is angry that Glenn killed the zombie rather than capturing it. When back in town, Nicholas is thrown to the ground by Daryl Dixon after Glenn and Aiden get into a physical confrontation.

After Aiden is impaled in a warehouse, Nicholas quickly chooses to sacrifice him to the walkers rather than help Glenn save him. While betraying Aiden, Nicholas reveals that he and Aiden have sacrificed Alexandria residents similarly before. Later, Nicholas becomes trapped in a four-compartment glass revolving door, with Glenn and Noah on the opposite compartment of the revolving door, and walkers on one of the other sides. Rather than helping to smash open the glass door so all three can escape safely, Nicholas deliberately pushes Glenn and Noah toward the walkers, killing Noah. Eugene arrives in a van, and Nicholas attempts to pull him out of it so that he can steal it and escape, but Eugene pulls out his gun to protect Tara. Glenn shows up and pulls Nicholas away and knocks him out.

Nicholas discusses what happened at the warehouse on camera with Deanna, lying about the events and placing more blame on Glenn for causing the deaths of Noah and Aiden and suggesting that the newcomers need to be forced out. Glenn finds Nicholas cleaning blood out from the back of the van and threatens that he is no longer allowed to go out on supply runs or leave with anyone else for their own protection. However, Nicholas refuses to heed Glenn's warnings and heads out into the woods where he unearths a canister containing the missing pistol that Rick had previously placed inside of a blender before entering Alexandria. Nicholas is last seen rushing into the Alexandria town square to witness the fight between Rick and Pete Anderson.

Nicholas first appears stalking Glenn, repeatedly watching him to make sure he is alone before luring him out of Alexandria. Remembering Glenn's warning that he not leave the community anymore, he intentionally makes a noise to let Glenn spot him climbing over the wall, making it look like he is trying to escape Glenn's notice. Glenn follows him through the forest surrounding the community for a short period of time before Nicholas speeds off behind the brush to hide from him and draw him out into the open. Once Glenn steps within Nicholas' line of sight, Nicholas shoots Glenn and goes over to put him down. However, Glenn has managed to roll away and hide. Nicholas then follows his trail of blood before Glenn attacks him from behind in an attempt to make him pay for his cowardly actions. During the scuffle between the two, Glenn severely injures Nicholas' ankle, but Nicholas comes out on top after exploiting Glenn's bullet wound. Before Nicholas can finish Glenn off, several walkers attack, forcing him to retreat. The walkers mount Glenn as Nicholas takes his gun and runs, leaving him to die.

Still injured, Nicholas makes a move to return to the community. Fearing that his blood would draw walkers, he periodically stops every few moments to make sure he is not being followed. Come nightfall, Glenn, having survived his encounter with the walkers, returns and attacks Nicholas a second time, breaking his ankle and taking his gun. He decides to punish Nicholas before killing him, and continues to beat him down. After nearly breaking Nicholas' jaw, Glenn grabs his gun and places it against his forehead, blaming Nicholas for Noah's death. Nicholas pleads for his life, to which Glenn attempts to force him to stop, feeling it would be easier to pretend he wasn't killing a person. Nicholas, however, continues pleading and eventually convinces Glenn to let him live. Glenn decides to take him back to Alexandria and helps him to his feet. The two wounded men begin their walk back to the community.

Season 6
In a flashback during "First Time Again", Glenn and Nicholas head to the infirmary after their fight in the woods where they nearly killed each other. Nicholas is treated by Rosita Espinosa when he see's Tara awake from her head injury he smiles. When Tara and Eugene embrace each other, she asks if someone could bring Noah to the infirmary, Nicholas looks on in sadness which shows Nicholas may feel remorse for him causing Noah's death. Nicholas is later seen at Rick's meeting where Rick is explaining his plan to remove the zombies from the quarry. When Rick asks for volenteer's for his plan, Glenn glares at Nicholas with a look of disaproval. Despite this Nicholas raises his hand stating he wants to help and Rick is gonna need all the help he can get, Rick accepts Nicholas's help. Nicholas is seen with Glenn helping to build the wall. Tara watches Nicholas in hatred after finding out his involvement in Noah's death. Nicholas is later seen at the hardware store with Glenn. Glenn tells him he will be keeping a close eye on Nicholas.

In the present time of the episode, Nicholas is seen at the quarry when Rick tells him and Glenn and Heath to clear the hardware store. Nicholas goes with Glenn and Heath to clear the hardware store filled with walkers. Glenn goes around to the side door where they plan to let a few walkers out at a time. Despite Heath saying the plan won't work, Nicholas defends Glenn's decision, stating that he knows what he's doing and before him and Aiden didn't know what they were doing, which resulted in the previous supply runners to die. Nicholas prys open the door to reveal a shutter was blocking it. Glenn goes to the front of the store and says he and Heath will break the glass while Nicholas stays on the sidelines. Nicholas tells Glenn he wants to help but Glenn hands him a radio and says if things go bad he should contact Rick. Glenn shoots the glass and he and heath begin to shoot the walkers. As Heath starts to get overwhelmed by the walkers, Nicholas steps in and saves Heath. Nicholas asks Glenn if he can kill the last walker which Glenn approves of. Having cleared the store Glenn, Nicholas and Heath run off into the woods. Nicholas is with Glenn and Heath when they hear the loud horn coming from Alexandria, the three men begin to run back to Alexandria to see what's happening.

Nicholas and the rest of the group run through the woods towards Alexandria, with half of the herd on their heels. While Rick talks to Glenn and Michonne in private, Nicholas and the others watch in horror as Barnes has his throat ripped out by a walker and is put down by Michonne. After Rick leaves for the RV, Nicholas along with his remaining group continue on. They go into a panic when walkers attack; Nicholas becoming paralysed with fear. They survive the ordeal without Sturgess, who had fled into the woods out of fear, while Scott sustains a bullet accidentally fired by Sturgess to his leg and David receiving a walker bite on his back.

The group checks cars in an abandoned town to see if any can be used to drive home. Heath recognizes the town as the location of Aiden and Nicholas' disastrous and fatal supply run. Nicholas admits he and Aiden didn't know what they were doing. Reluctantly, Heath tasks Nicholas with showing them how to get through the town. With Nicholas leading the way, the group runs into walkers feasting on Sturgess' body. Nicholas becomes paralyzed by fear again, but Glenn snaps him out of it. The group is confronted by more walkers and retreat into a pet store, where Glenn plans to set fire to a nearby building to distract the herd. Nicholas suggests a feed store and offers to draw a map, but Glenn eventually accepts Nicholas' offer to come with him.

Out in the town, Glenn and Nicholas find a walker pinned underneath a car. Nicholas recognizes the walker as Will, a friend that he and Aiden left behind during their supply run. He stabs Will through the head before moving on. Later, Glenn and Nicholas reach the feed store only to find that it's already been burned to the ground. Glenn desperately urges Nicholas to suggest another building as the massive herd moves toward them.

Walkers corner Glenn and Nicholas in an alley. Glenn climbs a dumpster and helps Nicholas up as walkers surround them and claw at their feet. Paralyzed with fear again, Nicholas stares at the horde around him. Glenn brings him back to his senses and tells Nicholas to look at him. A sudden calm comes over Nicholas. Nicholas says, "Thank you," to Glenn for sparing his life from before and shoots himself in the head. Nicholas' falling corpse knocks Glenn down into the herd and both are engulfed by walkers.