Six years, 57 episodes, four spin-offs, and several hundred deaths later, Rick and Michonne are finally back on The Walking Dead.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live – which premieres Sunday, Feb. 25 on AMC – features the return of two of the franchises’ most popular and important characters. Between the multiple spin-off series and the events of the final two seasons of the primary TWD franchise, we understand if you forgot what happened with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). To help you get ready for the biggest, best-reviewed Walking Dead series yet, here’s a look back at Rick and Michonne’s star-crossed storyline, plus a look ahead at what to expect in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
What Happened to Rick on The Walking Dead?
The main protagonist in the first eight seasons of The Walking Dead, we last saw Rick Grimes in the fifth episode of season 9, “What Comes After.” In that episode, Rick – reeling from an injury after getting thrown off his horse – reckons with figures from his past as he attempts to prevent a herd of Walkers from crossing a bridge that accesses the Alexandria Safe-Zone. As Michonne and the rest of the group attempt to reach him, Rick takes aim at a stick of dynamite on the bridge, blowing up the herd and saving the community.
Although it appears Rick was killed in the explosion, Anne (aka Jadis Stokes) finds him alive next to the riverbed, and signals to her allies in the Civic Republic Military helicopter that she has a “B” – a useful new recruit for the CRM. As she and an injured Rick fly away in the CRM helicopter, she vows to Rick that he’s going to be okay.
What Happened to Michonne on The Walking Dead?
Michonne’s exit from The Walking Dead came in the thirteenth episode of season 10, “What We Become.” Following the six-year time-jump that takes place immediately after Rick’s helicopter rescue, Michonne and the rest of the Alexandria community are at war with the Whisperers when they cross paths with a man named Virgil, who promises to lead Michonne to a cache of weapons. After they arrive at Bloodsworth Island, Virgil reveals his ruse (naturally), and after making peace with her past via hallucinogenic tea (as one does), Michonne soon discovers some of Rick’s belongings. Having assumed her husband was dead, the news jolts her into action; she says a tearful goodbye to their children Judith and R.J., and sets off to find Rick.
That’s the last we see of Rick or Michonne until The Walking Dead series finale, which features a brief scene near the end that you can watch in the video embedded above.
What is The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live about?
In the simplest terms, The Ones Who Live promises to be “an epic love story with a lot of gore,” as Andrew Lincoln puts it in a recent behind-the-scenes video. The six-episode series will fill in a lot of the gaps in the mythology surrounding the show, including more details on both the Civic Republic Military and the Alliance of the Three, both of which were featured in the Walking Dead spin-off The World Beyond. There’s also a chance that the show features an appearance from Fear the Walking Dead’s Morgan Jones and his daughter Mo; at that series conclusion, they left PADRE in search of Morgan’s old friend, Rick.
Who else stars in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live?
Beyond Lincoln and Gurira, the show will feature Pollyanna McIntosh reprising her role of Jadis (fka Anne), Lesley-Ann Brandt as Command Sergeant Major Pearl Thorne, and Matthew Jeffers as Nat, an ally to Michonne. However, as massive Lost fans, we’re most excited about the casting of Terry O’Quinn as Major General Beale, head of the CRM. Not only is O’Quinn a fascinating actor, but his character already boasts a kill count of 100k people, according to the Walking Dead wiki. In a show where even some the heroes have kill counts stretching into three or four figures, that’s a truly impressive number.
