Okafor’s warning looms large: “There’s no escape for the living.” Despite the reunion of Rick Grimes and Michonne in the second episode of “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,” their encounter quickly turns perilous. Trapped with the Civic Republic Military, the reunited couple faces a new challenge and a desperate need for escape.
Eight years after being airlifted away from a bridge explosion on “The Walking Dead,” Rick was returned to Michonne on “The Ones Who Live” by an exploding CRM helicopter. Michonne’s companion Nat fired the rocket that took down Rick’s helicopter, retaliating for an earlier CRM attack that killed their friends and left them injured for a year.
Shortly after their reunion, a surviving CRM soldier killed Nat. Rick then killed the soldier and declared, “I’m not with them.”
Confiscating items that could link them, Rick instructed Michonne to conceal her identity and origins. To mislead the approaching CRM helicopter, he staged a scene depicting Nat as the sole perpetrator of the attack, while Michonne surrendered with her hands raised to show Rick’s apparent threat. Promising to reunite, they separated once more, as Rick vowed, “We will get away.”
Michonne concealed her identity as an “A” and claimed to be “Dana” with a group of 40 Georgians when she entered the CRM’s consignment program at a base outskirts. This six-year program provided a route to citizenship for “B” individuals.
Rick confidentially informed Michonne that escape and resistance against the Civic Republic’s army were futile. Jadis Stokes, Rick’s superior and the sole confidant of Dana’s true identity as Rick’s wife, reinforced this. Jadis warned Rick, “If you attempt escape, I’ll ensure the deaths of those you hold dear, even those I care for. You’re aware of this, I’m sure. I’ve made similar sacrifices, and my hands are tainted with blood. They cannot become any more so.”
New episodes of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live premiere Sundays on AMC and AMC+. Follow ComicBook/TWD on Facebook for more TWD Universe coverage.