Michonne and her companions are the latest to stick it to the Civic Republic Military, but at a huge cost.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live | “Gone”
Season 1, Episode 2
Airdate: 3/3/2024
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
Last week, we finally found out what Rick Grimes has been up to for the past 6 years. Until this point, that was always shrouded in mystery.
On the flip side of that coin, Michonne’s journey has been a bit more defined, even if we haven’t seen any more of it than we saw of Rick’s. We knew what Michonne was setting out to do when she departed the flagship show; we even see two of her companions. For the majority of “Gone” we get to follow a bit of that journey, and it’s a little hard to watch at points. Not because the acting is bad. Not because of anything having to do with the character, the story or the dialogue.
No, it’s because once again, the Walking Dead’s stellar cinematography shines, taking us into the midst of a Civic Republic Military (CRM) chlorine gas attack. And that is extremely tough to watch. This is the same kind of attack that the CRM has used to great success to meet their goals, as our characters in this series may or may not find out about later.
The attack wipes out all but one of Michonne’s new companions, that being Nat, the coolest awkward little person ever. He has to be seen to be believed, really. Eventually, after spending a significant amount of time recovering, the two happen across another CRM helicopter, and Nat shoots it down with a harpoon grenade launcher, not realizing it holds the precious cargo they’ve been looking for until Michonne almost slices Rick’s throat (as seen last week).
The reunion between Rick and Michonne is shown in full here, but the bliss of reuniting doesn’t last long as Nat is shot dead almost immediately, and an uncharacteristically afraid Rick informs Michonne that the CRM are close by and already on their way. Rick politely takes Michonne’s belongings and pretends to capture her so that the CRM doesn’t kill her, and tells her to hide everything about herself.
That’s with good reason, as while Michonne (or Dana, as she calls herself) does manage to get through the CRM’s screening process and dons one of their jackets, it doesn’t take long for Jadis to resurface and head straight to Rick’s apartment to threaten him. Fresh off assisting with the downfall of Omaha, and seemingly sometime after her failed excursion to New York, Jadis wastes no time in letting Rick know that she has no problem killing everyone back in Virginia if he and Michonne try anything at all, specifically asking him “Rick, what the f**k are you doing?” with the most malice of anyone in this franchise in some time. And based off the promo for next week, it doesn’t look like that conversation is quite finished. Major General Beale may be this show’s big bad, but Jadis isn’t that far behind him.
SCATTERED THOUGHTS:
- I’d like to take the opportunity to remind readers that the CRM was bested by a bunch of children and scientists with next to no fighting ability in World Beyond, and now they were bested by a little person, so if Michonne can’t figure a way out of the CRM, I’m gonna be really surprised.
- The leader of the caravan at the beginning is the worst and I don’t know why a whole group of people follow her. Her own people hate her! Her sister hates her!
- I have no idea why Michonne didn’t tell Rick that he has a new son. They have a lot to catch up on.
- Casting Opinion: For the amount of screen time he was given, King Bach wasn’t bad.
- I’d like to think Michonne picked up tips on how to create a convincing backstory from Carol’s exploits in Seasons 5 and 6 of the flagship.
- RIP Nat, one of the most awesome one-episode characters ever. He’s right up there with Okafor.
- Rick and Michonne sneaking around like high schoolers to make out is unintentionally funny.
- Jadis is very intentionally the scariest CRM villain thus far, much like she was in World Beyond. Her past with Rick and Michonne only makes that carry more weight. You’d think that perhaps given it was her saving Rick that directly led her to join the Civic Republic, maybe she’d look the other way or help him out, but her World Beyond arc showed that Jadis is a much different person now.
- The musical score of this series is really spectacular.
- Next week’s review may be published a bit later than usual. This review is being written in a bit of a rush, so I may have missed some stuff. It is safe to say, though, that this is a really great show thus far.
