Sumith Prasad
The second episode of AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,’ titled ‘Gone,’ ends with Rick Grimes and Michonne expressing their wish to escape from the Civic Republic. After their reunion, the Civic Republic Military soldiers lead Michonne to their leaders and she gets presented as an invader found by Rick. She offers a story for the officials to believe that she is not a threat. They let Michonne be a part of the community and she discusses disappearing from the place with her husband to return to their adoptive daughter Judith and son Rick Grimes Jr., who are back in the Commonwealth! SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live “Gone” Recap
‘Gone’ begins six years after Rick bombed “the bridge” and disappeared in a CRM helicopter with Jadis Stokes/Anne. Michonne, who left her friends and family to find her husband, encounters a group of survivors who are known for abandoning their own people who have fallen behind. She saves Bailey and Aiden, two of the members of the community who were abandoned by the latter’s sister, and leads them back to the group. Nat, one of the leaders of the lot, offers to help Michonne in return for safeguarding his friends. Michonne lets him know that she needs a horse to find a “special someone,” only for Nat to provide her with one, in addition to enough weapons and armor.
Even though Michonne starts her journey alone to find Rick, she encounters an enormous group of walkers. As she helplessly stares at them, Nat, Bailey, and Aiden show up and disperse the herd. They let her know that they are not going to leave her behind. Together with their community members, the trio joins Michonne in her search for her husband. As they reach the outskirts of the Civic Republic, a CRM helicopter repeatedly drops chlorine bombs to kill the intruders. Michonne and Nat somehow manage to remain alive but they lose Bailey and Aiden, who get killed and turned into walkers after inhaling the gas.
Michonne kills Bailey and Aiden and together with Nat, she continues her journey. On their way, they see a CRM helicopter which provokes Michonne. She sets out to exact her vengeance on the army for killing her new friends by firing missiles at the chopper. She doesn’t miss her target and the helicopter crashes, only for her to start killing the soldiers who come out of the same. Michonne then reunites with Rick, who tells her that he is not one among them. While they cherish their long-awaited meeting, a CRM soldier kills Nat. Rick then tells Michonne to pretend to be someone he captured so that the officials of the Republic wouldn’t target her.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 2 Ending: Will Rick and Michonne Escape From the Civic Republic?
After the officials of the Civic Republic get convinced that Michonne is just a harmless invader who can be a part of their community, Rick meets her and enquires about their children, only for her to let him know that they are “okay.” Rick promises to Michonne that they will “get away” from the Civic Republic to reunite with their kids. However, it can be easier said than done. First of all, Rick had tried to escape from the well-shut community multiple times. He even sacrificed one of his palms to run away from the place, only to fail time after time.
The difference now is that Rick has Michonne beside him. After nearly sacrificing himself at the bridge and getting trapped by the Civic Republic, the Sheriff may not be in his best shape mentally and physically. However, Michonne is as determined and strong as ever. Her presence and the togetherness they can now share are expected to reignite the resilience Rick had displayed before ending up in the community. Still, they most likely won’t be able to just run away from the place as he had tried a year before. With an enormous group of soldiers keeping their eyes on every movement that happens in and out of the community, blindly running away may not be an option.
That’s where Michonne’s fighting spirits may help her and Rick. Even after reuniting with her husband, she is very well concerned about the prospect of stopping the CRM from killing innocent survivors. She is not someone who will selfishly think about her and her family’s lives. As the episode concludes, there’s a scene in which she scans the community in front of her with determined eyes. She may not want to just disappear from the place without punishing the Civic Republic for the murders its soldiers have committed. She may want to exact her vengeance on the group for killing her friends.
The fall of the Civic Republic may turn out to be essential for Rick and Michonne to escape. Considering the changes Donald Okafor wanted to bring to the group, there can be more in the place who oppose the wrath the CRM has been unleashing. If the couple can group those individuals, they may succeed in waging a civil war to bring the authoritative regime down and free the residents, including themselves. The threat in front of them is none other than Jadis Stokes/Anne, who appears at the end of the episode to remind Rick that he cannot escape from the community.
As someone who is well acquainted with Rick and Michonne, Jadis knows that they will try their best to return to their children, which she cannot tolerate. Rick is in the Civic Republic because of her. She is the one who led him to the community by saving him after he destroyed the bridge. If the couple causes unrest, threatening the very foundations of the group, her leaders may find her responsible. If that happens, Jadis may face nothing short of a death sentence. To avoid risking her life, Jadis may try her best to keep the couple silent and harmless. Thus, Rick and Michonne may need to eliminate the threat of Jadis first before even thinking about escaping from the Civic Republic for good.
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