The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live wasted no time reuniting Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). But it can’t be that easy, can it? Episode two, “Gone,” picks up when Michonne sets out to find Rick and the obstacles that get in the way.
In season 10 of The Walking Dead, Michonne found the first sign that Rick was alive. She found his boots, a note with a location listed, and a phone with an etched picture of her and Judith. That was six years after Rick disappeared. With Judith’s blessing, Michonne immediately set out to find him. She met some folks along the way and that’s where we start this story.
Michonne encountered a group of people that moved in a caravan. If anyone got hurt or sidetracked, they were left behind to die. That’s what happened to Aiden (Breeda Wool) and Bailey (Andrew Bachelor). Bailey hurt his ankle and Aiden stopped to help him. They were too slow so the caravan left without them. Michonne showed up and helped them catch up. The caravan leader, El (Erin Anderson) was very grateful for Michonne’s help and asked her to join their group. Michonne isn’t interested and only asks for a horse. Another group member, Nat (Matthew August Jeffers) overrides Al and shows his gratitude by giving Michonne a horse and making her a suit of armor. Michonne says she’s headed North to Bridgers Shipyard to find Rick. Everyone warns her about a massive herd of walkers. The herd covers a five mile radius and is directly in the path that Michonne needs to take to get to the terminal.
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Michonne becomes quick friends with Nat, Aiden and Bailey. She questions why they haven’t found a better way to keep people. They don’t have any answers. This is just the way their group has always been. When it comes time for Michonne to leave, they supply her with food and weapons for her journey. Every now and then, Michonne calls Judith (Cailey Fleming) on the radio, but doesn’t get an answer.
Michonne finds the horde. Her plan is to use Nat’s explosives to part the sea of walkers and ride through. When she shoots the first explosive, it passes through a walker carrying gasoline. Michonne doesn’t know this until the walker approaches her and explodes. The walker’s head flies off and hits Michonne on the shoulder, knocking her off the horse. Luckily Aiden, Bailey and Nat are nearby. They set off explosions on both sides of the herd. Michonne waits with them while the walkers clear a path.
While she waits, she learns more about Aiden, Bailey and Nat, including the fact that Aiden is pregnant and very scared. Michonne suggests that Aiden go to Alexandria, but Aiden wants to help her find Rick. After they get past the herd, the group enter an abandoned town. Everything seems to be going well and Michonne is happy for the company. They see a helicopter fly by. The CRM helicopter turns around and flies toward them. Michonne tells everyone to run as the helicopter bombs the town with chlorine gas. The gas kills a lot of the group and burns everyone else inside and out. Michonne leads her friends into a building. Everyone is having trouble breathing, so Michonne leaves to find oxygen in a nearby medical store. Michonne tells Bailey to tie Aiden to the bed and not to fall asleep next to her. Aiden tells Michonne to go home to her babies.
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When Michonne returns, Aiden is dead. Michonne kills her walker and searches for Bailey and Nat. Bailey is dead too and trying to get to Nat. Nat is hiding behind a counter that he lit on fire. Michonne kills Bailey and Nat thanks her. He says Aiden was right, she should go home to her kids. For the next year, Nat and Michonne are stuck in the building, breathing the oxygen and doing their best to get stronger. Michonne looks outside often because the chlorine gas is still in the air. When the skies clear, she knows it’s time to leave. She tells Nat to go to Alexandria, but he says she is all he has left. Michonne agrees to take him with her. She asks if he just wants to see how it ends, but Nat says he knows how it ends.
Michonne and Nat leave and finally make it to Bridgers Shipyard, but there is no sign of life. There are several piles of burnt bodies though. Michonn looks through every pile as best she can, hoping to not find Rick. Later, Nat tries to console Michonne by telling her not to give up hope. She’s confused because he told her to go home. He believes she should go home. Michonne begins to cry, realizing that it’s time to go home. She says if Rick were alive, he would have found his way home. Nat says she can believe that he’s out there and still go home.
Much time has passed as Michonne and Nat make their way back to Alexandria. They hear a helicopter nearby and prepare to fight. Nat shoots a long range missile at the helicopter, missing the first time. (Actually hitting Okafor inside of the helicopter). He shoots two more, making the helicopter crash. They see CRM soldiers get out of the helicopter. Nat keeps shooting as Michonne runs toward the helicopter to kill the survivors. She removes their helmet so she can look them in the eyes as she cuts their throats. As soon as she removes the helmet on the last soldier, she stops. Rick is looking back at her in disbelief.
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Michonne drops her sword and removes her own helmet. Rick stands up and they both start crying. Michonne found Rick! Rick first asks about Judith and then says he’s not with those soldiers. Michonne knows and kisses Rick. An explosion goes off nearby and Rick gets nervous. The CRM are coming for survivors and anyone who attacked them. He tells Michonne not to reveal her name or where she is from. They have to go back with the helicopter, but he promises to find a way out. Nat walks up and is shocked to see Michonne kissing one of the soldiers. He knows she found Rick and starts to ask questions when a bullet hits him in the chest. Before he dies, he tells Michonne she can have hope and know when.
Rick asks if Michonne has anything with her that could lead the CRM to Alexandria. She has a lot of stuff with her. Rick puts the katana in Nat’s hand and asks for her things. He comes up with a story about what happened to Nat. Michonne saw that helicopter crash and came out of the woods to help. Nat was there, killing the soldiers with his katana. She picked up a gun and shot him. Rick also tells her not to call the dead ‘walkers’ because that’s what he calls them. He tells her he loves her as he points a gun at her.
The CRM takes Rick and Michonne back to the Civic Republics. A group of officers interview Michonne to make sure she’s not a danger to their operation. She says her name is Dana and makes up a story about why she was alone. The interview committee tell her that the Civic Republic is a place of law. They are at a base on the outskirts of a city that is the last remnant of life everyone knew. Security is top priority, which means she can never leave. Michonne says that’s what she’s been looking for.
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The CRM takes on Michonne as a consignee, giving her limited access to the base. Rick follows her, dressed in full armor, including a mask that hides his face. He takes her by the arm and leads her to a storage building where they can kiss and talk. She notices that his hand is gone. He reveals that he’s tried several times to get home, but he was trapped. Rick says they will get away together. Rick asks about Judith again, and Michonne gushes about how amazing Judith is. She promises to tell him more when they get away. Rick says he will pass notes to her, but she must destroy the notes as soon as she reads them. Michonne says the CRM are killing people and asks if he has to do that. He says the soldiers in red go out and come back covered in blood. Most of the CRM don’t know what they do.
Michonne asks if they could stop them and Rick says no. She asks if they can try, but Rick says they’d never get back if they try. Rick apologizes for what happened to Nat. Michonne says he should have lived. But she’s there now and they get home. Elsewhere, someone watches Michonne’s intake video. Michonne explores the base. She climbs on top of a cargo container and looks at her surroundings. She can see how big the base really is.
Rick returns to his room to find Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) waiting for him. She is conducting an investigation, off the books. Jadis knows Michonne is on the base. She knows about Nat too and the cover up of who Michonne is. Jadis says this does not fall under their original deal. If Rick tries to escape with Michonne, she will make sure the CRM finds and destroys Alexandria. She has one question for Rick. What the F*** is he doing?
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