After the long awaited, gut wrenchingly romantic yet awe inspiring and triumphant premiere of The Ones who Live we are chomping at the bit for its follow up. ‘Years’ answered questions asked, and ones not thought of regarding Rick Grimes’ absence. His continued disappearance after being taken for life saving medical care and use as a bargaining chip for entry by Anne/Jadis was perfectly developed. It sets us to chomp at the bit for our other past questions that need to be answered.
Where’s Michonne Grimes?
What had she endured along her journey?
What progress had she made in the search for her husband?
Well, the latter was astonishingly answered at the end of the premiere episode. Michonne’s booted feet and katana entering the screen for an unexpected reunion that threw us and the couple off balance. But right when we expected more, the fade to black left us with a cliffhanger. The suspense prompted new questions, how and why did she arrive? What reason would she have to attack the CRM? How will the couple’s reunion ultimately play out?
Episode two of The Ones Who Live titled “Gone” does just what we all assume, follows our other long-missed protagonist, Michonne Grimes. We learn about her journey after departing the mothership after finding the clues she’d long searched for. Her husband had not perished after his agonizing bridge sacrifice. His trusty boots, a journal with locations and a cellphone depicting her and her daughter, Judith’s likenesses spurring her forward.
Hesitant because of the circumstances back at home with the Whisperer War, her resolve to explore galvanized at the behest of her daughter, Judith. At the beginning of their conversation on the walkies, Judy already told her worried mother that they’d got most of the horde and that Alpha couldn’t hurt them anymore. This prompts her mother to reveal what’s she’s found, somethings that belonged to The Brave Man.
What if he needs you more?
What if he’s trying to come home too, but no one will help?
Go get him.
With that Michonne sets out implementing her old walker pet trick until she happens upon a struggling pair asking for help. Their nervous request stimulated her initial interactions with Rick and Carl at the prison fence. Rick’s question once he’d gotten her inside “Who are you?” reverberating in what must be done next. Dispatching her camouflage, she reaches a hand out to the injured pair reminding us all who Michonne has always been, a survivor willing to help others. We will pick up right where ‘What We Become’ episode 10x13 leaves off, making it extremely easy for viewers to continue on this past journey with Michonne.
The introduction of new characters was done seamlessly in episode one and the same goes for the second. Old and new faces will converge. We’d already briefly met Aiden and Bailey but now a new character emerges. The most notable, Nat is an extremely resourceful and innovative survivor. He takes an immediate liking to Michonne which is reciprocated on her part as well. He and their caravan are taught lessons hesitantly learned from Michonne unwavering strength.
Unfortunate events delay Michonne and her new friends who are incited by her resilience and unwavering commitment to finding her husband after all these years apart. One such delay gives us an up-close look at how deadly and destructive the CRM has been. New levels of fortitude are necessary to power on. Some instances do induce her companions to suggest Michonne’s search for Rick is possibly futile and that she may be better served cutting her losses and returning home to her children. Michonne shows some extreme emotion in considering this option, in a particularly moving scene that will have tears flooding the eye.
As her timeline eventually begins to sync up with Rick’s, we are rewarded with a tear-jerking yet thrilling continuation of the end scene from the first episode. While we do see Rick and Michonne reunite, we can’t forget that he was stunned by the helicopter’s eventful takedown. Following programmed protocol in activating his PRB (tracking device) means the couple doesn’t have much time to figure out their next move, if they are even on the same page.
Rick understands what they are up against with the CRM, but will he have time to explain it all to Michonne who is determined to bring him home. The same sentiments reminisced about Michonne’s upstanding character before she saved Aiden and Bailey tease at where her head will be with their developing situation. But this hoists Rick into a complicated game of chess (or poker) to rectify the obstacles headed in their direction. Decisions must be made swiftly and there will be consequences.
Although Rick and Michonne have seemly reunited - their journey has only begun and from what we have seen in episode one, the enormous reach and power of the CRM will not be an easy entity to overcome. The second installment brings forth even more questions about what ride we will be on for the four episodes to come. But with any obstacle that may be in their way, we are reminded to ‘Believe a little while longer’ in The Ones Who Live.
‘Gone’ will be arriving to our screens on March 3rd. Please help us and the series grow by live tweeting using hashtags #TheOnesWhoLive and #NoirandNerdy during the evening premiere. Then meet the ladies of Noir and Nerdy for a discussion on Twitter’s Spaces. We will also have a spoiler filled piece on NoirandNerdy.com right after the episode airs as well as a spoiler free piece on episode three, ‘We’. Thank you for all your continued support.