Billy Oduory breaks down some unpopular opinions about Rick and Michonne in the new spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live…
While the premiere of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live broke AMC’s all-time viewership and customer acquisition records, fans still have some concerns about The Walking Dead spinoff. The show tries to justify Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) being absent from their children and friends in Alexandria for all those years, and while Rick’s harrowing experience as a prisoner of the CRM and Michonne’s traumatic journey to find him explain a lot, some questions still linger. As expected, not all fans are satisfied with the show’s explanation of what happened to the fan-favorite couple since their exit from the flagship series and their new reality as presented in the show.
The spinoff’s second episode brought the long-awaited reunion between Rick and Michonne, and while it doesn’t happen in the most pleasant of circumstances, it is still epic. Rick and Michonne partnering once more to save the world feels like the good early days of The Walking Dead, but some fans still have concerns with the new version of Richonne as many of them said on Reddit and other messaging platforms, so here is a look at their most interesting unpopular opinions about Rick and Michonne in The Ones Who Live.
Rick lost his arm for no reason
The most harrowing scene in The Ones Who Live comes early on in ‘Years’ (S01e01) when Rick self-amputates his arm in a bid to escape from the CRM. His efforts are painted as his last-ditch effort in the struggle to find freedom and get back to his family but not all fans are convinced. Rick had clearly tried to escape multiple times, but, as many fans point out, the Rick from the flagship series could have come up with a better escape plan in five years than cutting off his arm with an axe “I get he was desperate, but Rick isn’t a moron, this was just another shock value amputation that the showrunners seem to love so much for some sadistic reason,” one Redditor said.
Rick losing his hand has divided fan opinion, with many fans pointing out that he didn’t achieve anything significant from such a huge sacrifice since he was recaptured a few seconds later. However, some fans still appreciate the scene as it proves just how desperate Rick was to get home for all those years, especially because he had tried to slit his own throat earlier, meaning cutting his arm off was his next best alternative. The whole effort is pointless in the end though, because he doesn’t get away. Rick losing his hand still aligns the character to his counterpart in the comics, so fans can see Rick more as a leader and strategist and not just a warrior as was the case in The Walking Dead.
Why didn’t Rick cut off his thumb instead?
“You also have to take into consideration that he could have just cut his thumb off and slid his wrist off the cuff,” another Redditor argued in the thread, suggesting the typical prisoner escape plot in action movies. Their argument is actually justified because Rick was a police officer before the outbreak, which means he has sufficient training on how to escape from handcuffs.
The strong cord used to restrain Rick and the other consignees by the CRM could have been too strong to cut using the hot axe, but the cuff around the arm is not any different from a typical handcuff, so breaking or cutting off his thumb would have ensured Rick’s escape. While losing an arm has a stronger impact on the audience than just a thumb, this fan theory is still credible because more fans would rather have Rick lose a thumb than his whole hand.
The dream scenes were unnecessary
“What were the dream sequences necessary for?” another Redditor asked starting another argument regarding how the spinoff explains Rick’s longing for his family. In the dream sequences shown in the premiere, Rick imagines himself living happily with Michonne and their children in a normal world in what feels like a relationship that never was, at least until he meets Michonne in the second episode. The dream sequence makes it clear that Rick still loves Michonne, even though he has given up any hope of ever meeting her and Judith ever again. The dream sequence also portrays the power of hope in the show, insisting that there is a future despite Rick’s current circumstances.
Rick hasn’t aged
Rick and Michonne’s appearance in The Ones Who Live has been another point of concern for fans, and many fans agree that Rick looks a lot more handsome and vibrant as compared to his aging and beat-up version seen in the eighth season of The Walking Dead. Some fans also expressed concern that the spinoff hasn’t aged Rick enough to account for the time he has been away since his exit from the flagship series.
It is important to remember that The Ones Who Live starts only five years after Rick’s exit from The Walking Dead, so there isn’t too much aging to account for. Jadis and Michonne haven’t aged much either, not to mention the effective lighting and makeup deployed in the spinoff which makes the stars look way better than their versions in The Walking Dead.
Too many interesting new characters have already died
Okafor and Nat are Rick and Michonne’s respective friends introduced in the show who then die in quick succession in the second episode immediately after Rick and Michonne’s meeting. Their deaths come shortly after fans get heavily invested in them as they are revealed to share Rick and Michonne’s ambition to make the world a better place. “For a series called “the ones who live” the show is doing a great job killing off all of the interesting new characters,” another Redditor pointed out citing the deaths of Aiden, Nat, and Okafor.
Their concern is justified because the three characters had won over the hearts of the fans. The spinoff seems to be continuing the franchise’s trend of getting fans invested in new characters and then killing them off, and while it keeps the show interesting, it doesn’t portray the message carried in the spinoff’s title.
Rick and Michonne are terrible parents
Richonne is one of the most likable couples in TV history, but not everyone sees them as heroes, especially where parenting is concerned, as the show portrays them. “He left his kid and love. Then she left her kids to find him? I have no respect for either of them. You can’t make that sound good!…” one Redditor said dismissing the the whole foundation of the spinoff’s Rick and Michonne storyline as great parents and lovers. Other fans agree with this concern, especially because Rick doesn’t seem too concerned with the fact that Michonne left Judith in the care of strangers in such a precarious world.
Compared to Maggie (who betrayed Negan to save her son from The Croat in Dead City), and Daryl (who has seemingly given up on Alexandria and his life in the US to become a dad to Louis in France), it is sensible to say that Rick and Michonne haven’t made the best parenting decisions. In Michonne’s case, it is even worse because she left behind two children and continued “chasing a ghost” for five years despite being the only parent they had left after Rick’s disappearance. She eventually finds Rick, but, no justification can be given for their lack of concern for the children’s wellbeing.
Just how long did it take for Michonne to recover from the gas attack?
Unlike Rick whose absence is explained by the six-year time jump from his exit in The Walking Dead, The Ones Who Live is a lot more vague on Michonne’s whereabouts since she left Alexandra to look for Rick. The most significant explanation for her time away from Alexandra is the long days spent in the department store recovering from the CRM chlorine gas attack. “Look, I’m no chemist, so forgive me if I’m completely wrong here. But according to a quick Google search, after acute pulmonary exposure to chlorine gas, it takes about 1-2 weeks to fully recover. So why did it take Michonne and Nat an entire year….?” one Redditor questioned.
We actually believe they spent a little over a year in the store since the seasons are seen changing through at least two falls before their exit but the Redditor’s concern is totally justified. There is still a lot of unexplained time spent by Michonne on the road and a whole year spent recovering from a gas attack doesn’t sound like the most convincing piece of writing.
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Billy Oduory
