The Walking Dead viewers know what it’s like to hang through sludge-filled seasons in hopes that things will get better. The particularly hardy of the bunch even endured eight dang Fear The Walking Dead seasons, but let’s not beat that zombie to death. And yes, the flagship series ebbed and flowed in quality, yet thank goodness the new spinoffs redeemed the franchise because it’s now time to finally pick up again with Rick Grimes. The Ones Who Live is what TWD devotees have been waiting for, in the same way that Michonne and Rick have crawled through hell to find each other again.
Granted, I adore Michonne, so I’m actually here for her and was never a Rick superfan who couldn’t wait for his return. (Give me Daryl Dixon and a rocket launcher any day instead, man.) However, I cannot deny that Rick’s Season 9 departure caused The Walking Dead to lose some sparkle because that paved the way for Danai Gurira, Lauren Cohan, Tom Payne (they killed Jesus, those… bastards), and others to step away, too. I do understand why many viewers held out hope for Andrew Lincoln reentering the walker-plagued universe, but let’s refresh on where everything ultimately went wrong for Rick:
I remain convinced (and am only half-joking) that this ^^^ impalement was a horse’s secret revenge for Rick being, as Glenn previously chided him, a “dumbass” for brazenly riding into a city and turning another horse into lunch meat during the first season, but boy, did Rick pay the price. This accident ultimately led to Jadis “saving” Rick by using him as her ticket into the Civil Republic Military’s good graces. Near the end of The Walking Dead, we caught a glimpse of Rick attempting to escape the CRM, where he has remained since his disappearance.
What’s been going on for Rick lately? Well, I can’t tell you anything about that part of the story. AMC handed critics a lengthy list of plot points and hints that shall not be Whispered. However, they also scheduled the embargo for this review on Valentine’s Day, which gives me a perfect reason — since it’s no secret that Michonne set off to look for her husband — to meditate upon how love stories are treated in this post-apocalyptic world, and whether The Ones Who Live ultimately serves that vision.
First off: romantic relationships are tricky, man, and they are even trickier with the undead afoot. The show has never shied away from how a spouse could end up being a tasty walker snack at any moment. As well, the awful sides of humanity didn’t disappear as people banded together. Abusers and narcissists have still been running rampant, and my god, look at how Abraham treated Rosita (Rosita!) with the whole “I thought you were the only woman left in the world, you’re not” discard. He might have come to regret that, if she hadn’t vastly outlived him. And then there’s poor Maggie, who had to watch Glenn’s brains get bashed in with Negan’s baseball bat.
That is to say, characters have to have an even stronger stomach to dive into a romantic relationship in this world than to merely run around stabbing walkers in the brains. And frankly, I always found the platonic relationships of this world to be much more fascinating. Did we really need to see the show spend time on Eugene’s love life? No way. Whereas the Daryl-and-Carol friendship led both characters to blossom. Think about how Carol began her run as an abused wife and timid person in general. Once she was freed from her awful husband, she transformed into a top-five character that you’d most want to have your back. Daryl’s early-on Cherokee Rose tribute was instrumental to both of them opening up and reaching for their full potential together, and they are easily the most ride-or-die pair of the entire ensemble.
Still, I will begrudgingly admit that Rick and Michonne are the romantic pair that is most worthy of a case study (this seems obvious), and that’s what we receive in The Ones Who Live. What is compelling and unexpected, however, is how much this spinoff dives into the damage that this world has done to them. On Michonne’s side, we also have to remember that she’s the character who led her ex-boyfriend around (as a detoothed walker) on a chain when we first met her. She has pulled herself back from the deep end in the past, but she still isn’t fully prepared for what happens during her ultimate quest.
Also, has Rick changed under the ever-watchful eye of the CRM? Of course. Is he really the strong man-hero that is remembered by his family and his former community? That’s part of where this show goes. Can he really go home, even if he can (logistically) manage to do so? You will soon find out. And more than any other character, Rick makes us question whether the living are, as this show has suggested, also The Walking Dead. Fortunately, as well, the romance never gets sappy in this spinoff. Yes, Michonne and Rick love each other, and they are partners in life, but this never becomes a romcom. Instead, we receive a visceral rendition of what is worth fighting for, and how these two are the most organic couple of the entire series.
However, there is dirt under the rug. Even if they “find each other” in a physical sense, there’s much more work to be done to really find each other deep down inside again. And even though (as the above headline suggests) I’m currently not in a “romantic” state of mind and might not be that way in the foreseeable future, I enjoy the idea of these two circling each other again. Because back when Rick and Michonne became a couple, both were full-fledged individuals, already set in their own ways, who found compatibility in each other and accepted each other, minor flaws and all, wholeheartedly. Neither “needed” a partner, and that’s part of what made their pairing so successful. Somehow, even taking into consideration this messed up world, they were perhaps the healthiest relationship I’ve seen onscreen, or IRL for that matter, in quite a while.
So, #CoupleGoals? Sure, why not. On this Valentine’s Day, I can very seriously say that TV could use much more of Rick and Michonne, and The Walking Dead devotees will be pleased with the authentic way that this relationship continues to develop.
AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ debuts on February 25.