The last scene Andrew Lincoln shot for The Walking Dead was a reprise of the first. The opening scene of his final episode, "What Comes After," is a fantasy sequence in which Rick Grimes wakes up in the same hospital bed he woke up in the pilot. But Season 9 Rick Grimes has a much fuller beard than Season 1 Rick Grimes, so the scene was filmed last after Lincoln had trimmed his facial hair. The scene featured Rick Grimes talking to Rick Grimes. You didn't see Norman Reedus, but he was there, just off-camera, messing with his buddy like he loves to do.

Reedus reminisced on the day with TV Guide during a visit to the show's Georgia set in September. He goofed off in a way that helped Lincoln nail his performance. "His last scene, he's laying in this bed, and he has to smile," Reedus said. "And it's not a smiley moment. So the camera's here," -- he holds his hand in front of his face to show the close-up -- "I'm reading off-camera lines, and I'm tickling his feet under here. And he's like 'you asshole.' But it works great." Funnily enough, the line Lincoln had to smile on was "Wake up, asshole."

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"And he stands up and he gives a speech to everybody and there's tears," Reedus continued. "It's a standing ovation type of thing. And people immediately pull out their cameras, and he's like 'Can we put those away? This is ours. This is here with us. This is our thing. This is our family. It's not for social media, it's not for anything. This is our thing.' I thought, 'That's so Andy.' In a world where that's almost impossible all the time, 'just put them down.' The memory is going to be the thing. It was awesome. And then I cried like a baby."

Reedus misses working with his friend every day -- they're so close Lincoln's wife thinks he and Reedus are having an affair, the actor joked -- but the raise he got surely cushions the blow. Besides, Lincoln is only sort of leaving The Walking Dead, since he'll be starring in a trilogy of TV movies. So don't be surprised if Rick and Daryl reunite in the not-too-distant future.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

Photos: The Best Walking Dead Characters, Ranked