[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Episode 4, “What We.”]
If that wasn't the sexiest zombie fight ever, it at least made the top five. After three episodes of very deliberate story and character development, The Walking Dead: Those Who Live Finally, long-estranged lovers Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) had a reunion worthy of their epic saga.
and so? is epic, when you take a step back. The Walking Dead has been an easy punching bag over the years, as a franchise that continued to go far beyond its dominance in the zeitgeist (and ratings). That decline has no shortage of potential causes, from changes in the industry to changes in casting to changes in showrunners, although anecdotally what comes up most is when people tell you “I used to watch that show, until…” , it's Negan and his bat.
There's no Negan in those who live (that is to different cleave). Instead, the six-episode series begins by revealing the whereabouts of the long-lost Rick (Lincoln left the flagship series in 2018), who has been trapped for five years by the Civic Republic Army, a collective of survivors who have managed Build a real city with real infrastructure. He sounds great, except the CRM ruled with tyrannical force and anyone with knowledge of his existence can't leave, as Rick learned the hard way.
Those five years have broken Rick so badly that when he runs into Michonne, his reaction is not joy but fear that the CRM will kill or hurt her, to the point where he tries to orchestrate a solo escape for her. Michonne, being quite stubborn and uninterested in Rick making that decision for her, rejects her attempt to save her. And in doing so, she may just save them both.
“What We” picks up immediately after the previous episode, which ended with a furious Michonne literally throwing herself and Rick out of a helicopter, because they need to have a conversation. With occasional interruptions (of the nature of fighting zombies and making love), that's basically what the episode is: two people, with a lot of history, talking about their lives, their trauma, and the path forward that keeps them both . together.
The depth of that story can be felt, even if you've only been a casual fan, someone who watched the first few seasons but dropped out at some point. (See previous mention of Negan's bat.) Thanks to time jumps in the universe and also the literal passage of time, those who live is located relatively close to today – meaning it's been the same amount of time for its characters as audiences who started watching…in 2010.
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