It's now just over a year since the wonder that is Richonne came into our lives. Rick and Michonne finally got together—after a glorious slow-build stretched out over three seasons—in Episode 10 of Season 6, which aired on February 21 last year. So although the show's timeline means that Richonne haven't actually been together for a year (it's been a few months at most, right?), I'm choosing to view this episode as their unofficial one-year anniversary, complete with a romantic road trip and a celebratory dinner not entirely made up of canned food.
This still being The Walking Dead, Rick and Michonne's vacay is actually a recon mission to find guns. Once they have enough weapons, Jadis and her group will join forces with Rick and his to take down the Saviors. Rick's distracted from their mission, though, when he spots a deer in the woods and reminds Michonne that he "still owes her" a deer. Back in Episode 4, Michonne killed that deer and dragged its carcass all the way back to camp, only for Rick to tell her to hand over her gun—and the deer—to Negan, because he can't risk losing her. That callback will become important later in the episode.
After finding evidence of a gun battle nearby, Rick and Michonne stumble on an abandoned carnival now overrun by walkers, which they figure out is hiding a stockpile of weapons. As they're happily surveying the scene, a metal roof they're standing on gives way and plops them right into a cosy cabin, complete with a bed and a huge amount of food. This is clearly the universe telling them that they need to take some time out for a date night. And so they hunker down with some beers and "Ready to Eat" beef brisket, which sounds like a nightmare but probably tastes good when you're used to canned everything.
The next morning, they head out into the field to seize the weapons, but realize they may have over-shot when they get cornered by a huge hoarde of walkers—one of whom is toting a machine gun. Rick is once again distracted by a deer, and climbs up onto a precarious structure to try and get a good shot at it, but ends up falling right into the middle of a pack of walkers. After he runs out of bullets, there's a deeply surreal moment where Rick is seemingly overpowered and eaten by walkers, as Michonne watches in numb horror.
Honestly, this fake-out was almost as obnoxious as Glenn's non-death last season, because did anyone seriously believe Rick Grimes was getting killed off by some random walkers in the middle of a non-finale episode? Nah. But what it serves to illustrate is just how invested the once-unshakeable Michonne is in this relationship and in this man. She's maybe the most formidable warrior on this show, but she completely froze in the moment when she thought Rick was dead, and there's a lingering question over whether Rick and Michonne's love for one another is compromising their ability to fight. After all, Rick only got into that close shave because he was distracted by the deer, and he only cares about the deer because of his feelings for Michonne. And Michonne echoes Rick's words back in Episode 4 here, shakily telling him "I can't lose you."
Both these people have already suffered inconceivable loss: Michonne lost her boyfriend and her son; Rick lost his wife and his best friend, and they've both lost countless friends and allies throughout the show. As they drive back to their base, having successfully grabbed a hefty stockpile of weapons, Rick confesses to Michonne that he hasn't been sleeping, and that he's haunted by the fact that he couldn't save Glenn, who saved his life the very first time they met.
And then the bombshell comes: Rick has changed his tune a lot from Episode 4. "We're gonna lose people. Maybe a lot of them. Maybe each other," he tells Michonne now, who recoils at this. "You can lose me. I can lose you. It's not about us any more." Securing a safe future for the next generation is the priority, he says, and if he doesn't make it then Michonne has to step up and lead in his place. This is a really rough conversation, especially for those of us who want to believe Richonne is an unstoppable force.
Meanwhile, I guess some non-Richonne things also happened in this episode. Rosita went on her own gun-finding mission, which was a fail. She's still pissed that she let Father Gabriel talk her out of killing Negan before, and Gabriel shuts her down by basically saying "Stop whining about being alive, and do something with the fact that you are." Rosita's one-note bad attitude is starting to grate, which is why it's a relief to see her—and admit that she needs help, from Sasha of all people.
Rick and Michonne opt to wait a few more days and take their time before heading out to get more guns, but Rosita is done waiting. She's memorized everything Daryl said about the Sanctuary, and Sasha is immediately on board with her plan to take the fight to Negan, on one condition: Sasha gets to take the killing shot. Honestly, at this point she's gonna have to get in line.
Having Glenn name-checked in this episode really reminded me of how much I want Maggie to be a part of whatever crew eventually takes down Negan. Rosita, Sasha and Maggie would be the perfect trio, as far as revenge for Abraham and Glenn goes—but Maggie is still pregnant, and can't be part of the same "one-way ticket" as Rosita and Sasha. It's probably time to just start a betting pool on who gets to Negan first.
