In the second episode of The Ones Who Live, Michonne hits several roadblocks on her mission to find Rick Grimes, while making friends along the way.
At the end of the premiere of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Rick Grimes’ helicopter was taken down by a bomb, killing his ally Donald Okafor in the incident. When confronted by the suspect, it’s revealed to be Michonne, his wife that he began to believe he’d never find again. Since leaving The Walking Dead in Season 10, Michonne has been on her own quest to find Rick and bring him home, with a few helpful hands guiding her in “Gone.”
When she exited The Walking Dead, Michonne helped two strangers, Bailey and Aiden. Now, she’s meeting Aiden’s sister, Al, the leader of a large group of nomads who have one strict rule: keep moving no matter what. That even means abandoning her sister and brother-in-law when they get lost. Al is eager to get to know Michonne more and potentially recruit her, but Michonne is more eager to get on a horse and find Rick. Her only lead is a place up north called Bridgers Terminal, but Al advises her that walkers migrate that way this time of year. It won’t be a couple more months until it’s safe.
A member of the group, Nat, confronts Al over the harsh system that could’ve killed Aiden and Bailey. Upon finding out that they’re alive, they have a brief reunion, and he thanks Michonne for saving them. Impressed by Michonne’s courage and selfishness, he offers anything in return. Nat convinces Michonne to stay one night to make her custom armor so that she can at least survive past Delaware. With a new look and ride, Michonne embarks on her journey once again. Only this time, she goes straight for the herd, determined to make it up north.
Michonne equips one of Nat’s homemade rocket launchers to take out a part of the herd, but it barely makes a dent. She gets taken down by a ricocheted walker head, but is rescued by Nat, Aiden, Bailey and other nomads who left Al’s group to help Michonne. It turns out one woman’s mission to find her husband can inspire some courage in others. At night, the nomads thank Michonne for waking them up. She promises to bring them back to Alexandria once Michonne finds Rick. When Michonne realizes that Aiden is pregnant, the guilt sets in. She tries to convince her to go back to the nomads for safety, but Aiden is locked in this mission with Michonne.
Michonne now has several friends to help her find Rick, no matter how dangerous it is. When the group travel through an abandoned city, Nat tells Michonne the story of his childhood. His father was ashamed of having a little person as a child and was extremely bullied as a child for his short stature. To help him cope with it, he started burning and blowing things up. His step-father — who called himself Danger — was a different story. He made Nat feel useful by having him create things that would help him load up his truck and remember to turn the stove and sink off. Nat suspects that Danger pretended to have these problems just to help Nat build things instead of burn them.
The nice moment is interrupted by a Civic Republic Military (CRM) helicopter dropping chlorine gas on the survivors, the same chemical strike that destroyed the entire city of Omaha, Nebraska. Nearly everyone is killed in the hit. Michonne, Nat, Aiden and Bailey make it to safety in an abandoned mall, but are severely wounded with gas burning their lungs and throats. In her last words, Aiden pleads with Michonne to go back to her children. Nat agrees, saying Rick’s been gone too long. Aiden and Bailey succumb to their injuries.
With the help of oxygen tanks, Michonne and Nat spend the next year slowly recovering from their injuries in the mall. They have a usual routine of eating canned food, talking before they fall asleep and Michonne exercising to get back in shape. When they’ve both fully recovered, Michonne gives Nat a map of Alexandria. Although she begs him to go, he tells her he has to stay because she’s all he has left. The two finally make it to Bridgers Terminal, only to find it completely abandoned. The only signs that people were ever here are of burnt bodies in piles.
Michonne looks through the pile of bodies, but doesn’t see anyone that resembles Rick. It’s also a bad sign that none of the bodies are wearing shoes. Nat tells her that the Japanese message on her iPhone — which she found with Rick’s boots — reads “Believe a little bit longer.” At this point, Michonne has given up hope that Rick is alive. Nat ensures her that she can still believe he’s out there, but can also go back home to her children. It’s not giving up, it’s just accepting reality. Hearing the static on her radio to Judith, she bursts into tears.
In the present day, Nat and Michonne are traveling back to Alexandria. She attempts to speak to Judith Grimes on the radio, but to no success. They discover another CRM helicopter coming their way. Overcome with rage due to the loss of their friends, Nat and Michonne plan to hit back this time. Nat prepares a new homemade rocket launcher to take down the helicopter. The first one deploys as a dud, but the second one takes the helicopter down. With Nat on the launcher, Michonne gets closer to the remaining soldiers to execute them. She takes off each of their helmets to make them look her in the eyes before she kills them. But the last one is a pair of eyes she recognizes. Rick is behind the mask, much to her pleased surprise. The two emotionally embrace as Rick assures Michonne that he’s not with the CRM.
More soldiers are about to approach the scene. Michonne pleads for Rick to leave, but he tells her they can’t. He comes up with a plan to fake her name and what happened with the helicopter: Michonne’s fake story is that she’s from a small community that fell years ago, and tried to help the soldiers when she saw them attacked. He begs her not to show them who she truly is as a fighter and leader, otherwise they’ll label her as an “A” and execute her. Michonne doesn’t even recognize Rick through his fear of the CRM. Nat is confused about why Michonne’s husband is a part of the CRM. But before he can ask any more questions, he’s shot down by a soldier. Rick kills the soldier while Michonne comforts Nat in his final moments.
Michonne gives Rick all of her belongings as they polish her story. She can’t be seen with her sword or even call the zombies “walkers” like Rick did. As the helicopter approaches, Michonne doesn’t even show fear — she smiles instead. Talking to CRM recruiters, Michonne goes by “Dana,” a survivor from Georgia who lost her boyfriend, sister and 40 other people. She tries to play herself off as a woman who is only slightly capable of surviving on her own. She lies to the recruiters that the idea of the CRM appeals to her.
Now, as an official cosignee of the CRM, she and Rick meet to make up for lost time. She sees that he’s missing a hand, which he remarks he lost during one of the last times he tried to get home. She takes this as a sign that he gave up on trying to leave. Is Rick still the same man she knew before the bridge explosion? Michonne restrains from telling Rick that he has a son at this time. She wants to stop the CRM, but Rick says that it’s impossible. Still, she hasn’t given up hope of leaving like he has. Later, someone watches Michonne’s interview with the recruiters as Michonne sees the large scale of the CRM, silently configuring a plan to defeat them.
