The Walking Dead was one of the most successful horror TV shows of all time. So it is unsurprising that, even though the original show ended in 2022 with The Walking Dead season 11, the producers are working hard at creating companion shows to continue the story of some of our favorite characters.
We have seen two The Walking Dead spinoff shows in the last year. Dead City, which stars Lauren Cohan as Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, two characters who are forced to interact despite the fact that Negan brutally killed Maggie’s husband many years ago, leaving her with an unshakable hatred and anger towards Negan. And there is Daryl Dixon, which stars Norman Reedus as the titular character, who somehow finds himself in France, desperate to get back to the United States.
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated spinoff is The Ones Who Live, which stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick and Danai Gurira as Michonne. Rick was the undeniable star of The Walking Dead for the nine seasons he appeared in the show, and Michonne was his significant other. A fan-favorite pairing, in the original show, we never got a good resolve to their story. The Ones Who Live promises to give fans that ending. But how did we get here?
Rick has been the star of the show since the very first episode. Michonne showed up in Season 3, as a quiet stranger who kept zombies on chains as protection. By Season 6, the two were a couple, interlocking fingers on a couch and finally becoming more than friends.
The two fought together, ruled together, and loved together for three seasons. Michonne became a mother to Rick’s daughter from his first wife, Judith, before becoming pregnant with Rick’s child, R.J.
Season 9 was Andrew Lincoln’s final season on The Walking Dead. The season starts with Rick leading a mission to rebuild a bridge that is important for trade. But by Episode 4, herds of zombies are headed toward the humans, and Rick, always a hero, rides in to scare the herd away. Instead, he gets surrounded by a second herd, which causes his horse to panic and buck him off. Rick lands atop a piece of rebar, which impales him.
Most people would die when impaled with rebar. But not Rick. He climbs back on his horse and attempts to lure the zombies away. In his hazy state, he realizes his only chance is to lead the herd onto the nearly-finished bridge. His hope is that the bridge will collapse under the weight of the herd, sending the zombies out to sea. The bridge holds, and Rick sets off some dynamite that blows up the bridge – and presumably, Rick.
But no one was able to find Rick’s remains, and Michonne maintains hope that he is still out there, somewhere, alive. In reality, what happened is that a helicopter, with military-style markings, scooped him up, issuing first-aid, leading one to believe that he is going to live.
The show time jumps ahead six years, and Michonne is taken to an island Navy research base with the promise of munitions, but instead, she discovers that the man who led her there is crazy, and the island is full of prisoners.
While she is snooping around, she discovers a pair of cowboy boots – Rick’s cowboy boots. Michonne finds a boat, radios to Judith that she is going to find Rick, and heads off, never to be seen on The Walking Dead again (well, until the final moments of the series finale).
About those final moments…. Michonne is still searching for Rick. Rick, meanwhile, has found himself on the island where Michonne found his boots. He leaves a message for her but is re-captured by the helicopter that saved him years ago.
Now, here is where it gets complicated. The helicopter that picked up Rick was labeled CRM. This is meaningless unless you watched The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a two-season spinoff series set in Nebraska.
A college town was taken over at the very beginning of the zombie outbreak by the military and deemed a “safe zone.” The Civic Republic Military – the CRM – is behind it, which means that Rick was picked up by the Civic Republic Military and held by them for nigh on a decade or so.
So what can we expect from The Ones Who Live? I admit I have seen the first episode, but I have received a long and thorough list of do-not-reveals that limit what I can say about it. We will find out what Rick and Michonne have been up to over the past ten years or so. And we will learn a little bit more about the CRM.
Unfortunately, that is all I can say, but you can tune in to The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live on February 25 on AMC, and for now, you can read our spoiler-free interview with The Ones Who Live cast and creators.
