The Walking Dead fans have patiently longed for Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira to return to the franchise after both actors left the series in its later years. The reunion of Rick Grimes and Michonne, which happens in all its glory in Episode 2 of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, does not disappoint. The emotions and intimacy of their reunion was just as powerful as we had hoped and expected it to be. However, the build-up and aftermath were slightly less expected.
For the first time in the franchise, we see both Rick and Michonne accept defeat. Rick’s tenacity is no match for his service to the CRM, while Michonne’s obstinate nature is battered until she decides to return home. Witnessing these two strong characters at an all-time low is more than heart-breaking, but what jolts us even more is Rick’s reaction after the reunion. While it seems Michonne has recovered and is immediately ready to take on the world beside him, Rick is still terrified of the CRM and is still hesitant about escaping or facing them head-on. While the overwhelming joy of their reunion peters out, anticipation and anxiety sets in. Will Rick be able to break the shackles the CRM has on him?
Michonne Is Determined To Find Rick
By the end of The Ones Who Live Episode 1, Rick has ingratiated himself into the higher ranks of the CRM and has stopped his escape attempts. Although it may seem like he is simply biding his time and searching for the perfect opportunity to escape, there is also a sense of despondent yet resolute acceptance of his position. Even when he is in the helicopter with Okafor (Craig Tate) in the final scenes, his grim, unwavering expression paints a picture of a man who has been numbed by time. Settled into his routine at the strictly structured CRM, the repetitiveness of the days would gradually grind him down, turning him into the shell of a Rick we see before us.
As Rick is slowly battered down by the CRM’s inescapable routine, Michonne powers through chaos and disappointment over and over again. The traveling companions we last saw her with in Season 9 of The Walking Dead, Aiden (Breeda Wool) and Bailey (Andrew Bachelor), are safely returned home by Michonne, where she also meets Nat (Matthew Jeffers). Starting off the episode with a hopeful and playful atmosphere, Michonne nearly meets defeat in the form of a horde and then chlorine gas. Michonne’s resilience is constantly tested as a pregnant Aiden begs her to go home to Judith (Cailey Fleming) while the chlorine gas rips through her system. Then later, she has to kill Bailey, Aiden’s partner, and it’s almost as if Michonne is killing a reflection of herself and Rick. But she only succumbs to true defeat and grief when she reaches her final destination, where she finds piles of ashes and indiscernible rotten flesh. After a long night, Michonne decides to head back to Alexandria with Nat.
Rick Is Terrified of the CRM in ‘The Ones Who Live’
While we knew that the build-up to the couple’s reunion would be emotional, no one could predict how much of a devastatingly hard watch it would be. Like everyone in The Walking Dead, we have always looked to Rick and Michonne to guide us through the apocalyptic debris. No matter how frustrating or dire the situation was, we could always rely on them for an answer. The closest to this degree of devastation we ever got was when Rick temporarily submitted to Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), but he was slightly defiant even then. Unfortunately, Rick’s broken spirit doesn’t fully recover after the reunion either.
It was inevitable that they would not be able to immediately flee back to Alexandria again, but it was shocking to see that it was Rick who insisted they stay instead of taking their chances. It was particularly hard to witness the pure terror on his face as he heard the ominous sound of the choppers in the background. While the first episode did reflect Rick’s drastic transformation over the years of consignment, we don’t truly understand the level of impact it had on him until now. This is most likely due to a vague expectation of their reunion perhaps relighting a spark in Rick, where he would regain his courage and confidence. Instead, he opts for the safe route, which is probably the smart one, but definitely not what we are used to with Rick.
In fact, the terror was probably a direct result of the reunion. During the helicopter scene, Rick’s grim demeanor could almost pass as indifference. But with Michonne in the picture, now he has someone more tangible to lose and thus could be used as leverage against him. But as we’ve seen before, when Rick’s loved ones are in imminent danger, his first instinct has always been fight or flight, not freeze. The old Rick would have jumped at Michonne’s suggestions of either escaping or taking down the CRM who had blatantly killed innocent people. This new Rick is jumpy and paranoid, almost as if he is about to start another talking-to-dead-people phase. The CRM has effectively broken his spirit down from an A to a B.
Michonne Is Worried About Rick in ‘The Ones Who Live’
While Michonne is clearly ecstatic about their reunion and, initially, firmly believes Rick is the same man he once was, she gradually realizes something has shifted in him. After the sounds of the choppers come into earshot, and she sees Rick’s reaction, she immediately offers up the two solutions he would normally take: flee home or fight. When he deftly brushes them off and suggests to play along instead, you can almost see her mind hesitate for a split second before going along with his plan simply because she is relieved to have found him. But it is when she has infiltrated the CRM compound as an A disguised as a B that alarm bells begin to ring.
When Rick steals her into a warehouse for a quick butterfly-inducing makeout session (wait, no, sorry, to form a strategy, obviously), she is slowly taken aback by his attitude. He immediately shuts down the idea of standing up against the CRM, giving her an inkling of how scared and beaten down he has become. The only viable option for him is a discreet escape, but even then, he hurriedly mentions the possibility of escape as if to placate her and doesn’t seem truly invested in the idea. Michonne becomes more guarded and wary, not only slowly realizing that Rick has changed, but also realizing the magnitude of CRM’s operations. In her final scene, she is silhouetted against the vast military base filled with armored vehicles and high-quality equipment, making the potential to escape seem slimmer than it already was.
Jadis Knows About Rick and Michonne’s Reunion
Rick and Michonne’s heartfelt and bittersweet reunion is rendered even more ominous as Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) is introduced to The Ones Who Live in the closing scenes. Shrouded in darkness with her legs crossed and a drink in her hands, she waits for Rick in his apartment, and we witness our second reunion of the episode. Last time we had seen Jadis, she was saving Rick’s life from the explosion at the bridge and from becoming a test subject. Now, she waltzes into this spin-off with a jarring fluency and a huge favor to cash in.
As if Rick didn’t already have enough pressure on him, as he feels responsible for Michonne’s safety and also needs to keep their relationship a secret, Jadis decidedly has to pile on a bit more. She seems to be in an investigative role in the CRM and informs Rick that she hasn’t exposed his relationship with Michonne… yet. Evidently adopting a villainous role in the series, Jadis threatens to reveal the location of Alexandria if Rick tries to escape with Michonne. With Rick already hesitant about the idea of escape, Jadis’ threat could very well deter him altogether.
As long-awaited and beautiful as Rick and Michonne’s reunion is, the implications of it seem even more sinister and convoluted. They are both very much on different wavelengths in this The Walking Dead spinoff and will have to get on the same page again, but it currently doesn’t seem like Rick intends to. With his traumatic years of entrapment scarring him, his newfound fear of losing Michonne and Jadis’ threat hovering over him, Rick is under all sorts of pressure and seems to be bursting at the seams. As the credits roll, we are left echoing Jadis’ words with an intensity that leaves us breathless: Rick, “what the f*** are you doing?”
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is available to watch Sundays at 9:00pm EST on AMC and AMC+ in the U.S.