The greater the obstacle, the stronger Richonne becomes on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. In “Become,” Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) future hits a roadblock. And Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) tries to protect what she believes in.
The episode begins with a familiar face. Father Gabriel Stokes (Seth Gilliam) walks through the woods when he encounters a walker. He prepares to kill the walker but is distracted by a helicopter flying over him. Throughout the episode, we find out that Jadis, aka Anne, flew back to Alexandria, just to see Gabriel. It started three years ago. During their first meeting, Gabriel reveals that Rick died at the bridge. A fact that Anne already knew wasn’t true. Anne and Gabriel had an interesting relationship. He makes her feel better about herself. Gabriel asks a lot of questions about where Anne has been and who she’s with, but Anne won’t answer.
Rick and Michonne are on their way home from the Cascadia mountains to Virginia. It’s like any other trek across the country, as the couple take in the sights, kill some walkers, and find hidden treasures like soda and ramen. They stop at a gift shop in Wyoming and reminisce about how their relationship started. Rick looks for gifts for his kids, including an ax for RJ (Antony Azar), and finds a necklace for Michonne. They find keys to a cabin and head into the woods to find it.
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Along the way, they hear screams and save a woman and two men, from being eaten. The woman’s foot is caught in a trap, but three walkers are coming at them. They killed one with a broken ax. When Rick and Michonne find them, one man is helping the woman and the other is about to be bitten. The walkers have a calcified stone surrounding their heads, making it difficult to kill them. Rick punches the walker until the stone breaks and Michonne stabs it.
The trio is grateful for the couple’s help. Michonne takes pity on them and gives them some ramen packs. The two men pull guns on them to thank them, demanding the rest of their food and supplies. The woman tries to stop them, but it’s too late. Rick and Michonne even give them a chance to back off, but the men won’t. So they disarm the men and take the ramen back. Michonne empties one of the guns and throws the bullets into the woods.
Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live _ Season 1, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: AMC
Rick and Michonne have a nice evening in a cabin. They set wire around the cabin to alert them of any walkers in the area. Someone cuts through the wires and approaches the cabin. The next morning, Jadis wakes up Rick and Michonne with a gun pointed at each of them. Jadis was a part of the CRM reclamation team that flew over the helicopter crash. Jadis looked over the site carefully, noticing small things, like a yellow truck parked near the crash site. Something didn’t feel right, so she went back to the crash site alone. This time the building had collapsed and the yellow truck was gone. She followed a path of dead walkers and ramen wrappers to find them in the cabin. And it was the most direct route to Virginia.
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Rick calls her Anne as he talks to her. She is there to kill them, in her mind, to protect the CRM and it’s mission. She believes if Rick and Michonne make it back to Alexandria, they will be a threat to the CRM. Jadis shoots at them but misses. Rick pushes the bed on top of Jadis, throwing her off balance. Michonne grabs the ax they picked out for RJ and hits Jadis in the stomach. Jadis drops the gun and runs. Michonne tries to shoot her, but Rick stops her, saying they have to go after her.
Shortly after the Whisperer War, Gabriel and Anne met up again at the same spot. Anne asked Gabriel about Rick’s wife. Gabriel found it weird because officially they aren’t married. He says Rick mentioned that he wanted to marry Michonne, but Gabriel had a hard time seeing it. Then one day, he found a ring and thought it was perfect for Rick and Michonne. Rick died before he could give it to him. He carried that ring with him.
Anne says meeting up with Gabriel makes her feel more like herself. She expresses that she has doubts about who she is, what she’s doing now, and the people she’s with. Gabriel says her doubts are signs that she’s pretending to be someone she’s not. Anne is more focused on what she is doing, saying it’s about survival and what comes after for her community. Speaking of her community, Gabriel says Alexandria’s walls are compromised and the children are hungry. He asks her for help, but Anne says she can’t help him. She feels bad telling him no, but she can’t. Anne gets up to leave. Gabriel gives her the ring as a symbol of faith and love. He hopes it will give her something she needs. She accepts and asks to see him next year.
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Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live _ Season 1, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: AMC
Jadis runs to her car and drives away, with Rick and Michonne close behind her. Rick is very concerned about the file that Jadis has on Alexandria. If Jadis dies, the CRM could find the file and destroy their home. Michonne just wants to kill Jadis for stealing their life. They run her off the road and lose her when she runs away on foot. Jadis runs into the woods and runs into the woman and two men that Rick and Michonne encountered the day before. She asks for their help and offers to take them back to her community. Jadis just needs to get to a place a few miles from where they are. She stares at the woman and makes note of how tall the woman is.
Rick wants to give Jadis a chance to tell them where the file is. If she doesn’t comply, then Michonne can kill her. They find a trail of blood that leads them to an information center. The center is set up with sheets draped over wire, to make rooms for people. Rick and Michonne look around for Jadis and find her in the back of the center. Jadis stops and removes her hood, revealing herself to be the woman from before. The woman apologizes and says she promised to take them with her. The two men pop out with CRM guns, ready to kill Rick and Michonne. Rick tries to reason with the trio, but they are desperate for food and safety. Rick and Michonne fight the men, disarming them again. The woman watches the fight and doesn’t see a walker approach her from behind. The walker takes her down, the two men run to help her, and more walkers show up, killing the three travelers.
One year ago, Gabriel and Anne met up at their usual meeting spot. Anne is scared that she’s no longer the person he knew. Gabriel asks her to tell him about her community, but she refuses. He says he looks forward to their meetings and having her all to himself. In a way, it proves that a part of Anne is still there. Anne kisses Gabriel and he asks her to come back to Alexandria. She refuses, saying he knows why she can’t.
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Gabriel says he doesn’t know anything other than she’s a part of a community that hordes supplies while others starve. That makes Anne change her demeanor because Gabriel changed how he saw her. She apologizes for coming and being vulnerable. And she’s sorry for turning him into a loose end. She pushes Gabriel down and pulls a gun on him.
Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live _ Season 1, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: AMC
Back to the present, the conflict comes to a standstill. Jadis knows that Rick and Michonne won’t kill her to save their community. And they won’t die to save her community. She uses their fear to make them surrender. Jadis steps out into the path of a walker. Michonne steps out in front of her with a gun. A walker approaches and Michonne kills it. She runs away before Jadis can shoot at her.
Jadis points out that Rick was on the path to fighting for something bigger than himself. General Beale (Terry O’Quinn) was going to show him the Echelon Briefing when he returned. He would have seen the true size and scope of what the CRM is going to do to bring back the world. But Michonne got in the way. Rick says Anne doesn’t want to kill everyone in Alexandria, trying to reason with her. Jadis says it’s not about what she wants. It’s about keeping your humanity or saving humanity. She made a choice. She chose her community and her life.
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Michonne chimes in, saying Jadis is right. There has to be a sacrifice. She sees that this can’t end with them going home. Michonne gives Rick a look and he agrees. Michonne says there’s a way that they can live and save Alexandria. Rick proposes a plan. Michonne will leave and get the medical kit to help Jadis. He says he will go back to the CRM with her and fight for the future on one condition. Michonne goes home and Jadis never tells the CRM about Alexandria. Jadis reluctantly agrees.
Michonne and Rick lay down their weapons and ask Jadis to do the same. Michonne leaves and Rick steps out to face Jadis. Jadis is losing a lot of blood. She says she was a fool to think she could take them both down. That’s why she agreed to let Michonne get the medical kit. Jadis pulls out a gun, saying she doesn’t trust them.
Flashback to Gabriel. Anne holds a gun at Gabriel who says she is lying to herself. She doesn’t keep coming back, she never left. Anne says he’s wrong, so Gabriel tells her to shoot him. Make him understand who she is.
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Michonne steps out with the CRM gun and tells Jadis to lower her gun. The one thing that keeps Michonne from killing Jadis is the file she has on Alexandria. But they forget that the travelers are dead behind them. The travelers reanimate and attack Jadis. Rick and Michonne kill the dead travelers, but Jadis is already bitten. Jadis reflects on her life now that she is dying. She says she is tired of losing. She created the dossier to protect herself. Jadis knew if she didn’t kill Rick and Michonne, they would find a way to stop the CRM. It was her way of choosing a side. But she didn’t.
Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live _ Season 1, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: AMC
Back at the river, Jadis shoots an approaching walker instead of shooting Gabriel. She tells him to leave. Gabriel says Anne came to him to find an answer. She just found it. He says he will see her next year and leaves.
Jadis says Gabriel showed her the answer. She tells them that the dossier is in her room at the Cascadia Base. She tells them to destroy it and go home, but Michonne says no. They will get the dossier. Rick will get the Echelon Briefing. Then they will expose the CRM to the Civic Republic. Michonne says the CRM is not the answer. Rick thinks Anne knew that. He says she kept them alive for a reason.
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Anne knows he’s right. She says she wishes she died as an artist. It was never about survival in that life, it was about truth. This is her truth. The end of her story. She pulls something off her neck and hands it to Rick. She says Rick told Gabriel that he wanted to marry Michonne. Gabriel found the ring and wanted to give it to Rick. She tells Rick to do what he said he would do. Rick stands in front of her and shoots her in the head.
Rick and Michonne make their way to the jump point where Anne left the helicopter. He mentions that what Michonne said back there wasn’t just for Anne to hear. Michonne says Rick can’t change the CRM alone. But they can together and they have to. Rick stops her and pulls out the ring. He says this is a broken world and she is the only thing that puts it back together. Until his last breath, he is hers. Rick kneels on one knee. Michonne says she could have never imagined this moment, but it could only be him. She kneels in front of him and says she is his and they kiss. They get in the helicopter and fly over a burning building, back to the Cascadia base.
Back in Alexandria, Gabriel goes back to his meeting spot and waits. As the day goes by, he realizes that Anne is not coming back.
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