[Warning: This essay contains spoilers for all of The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 1.]
The Walking Dead is back, and it’s better than it’s been in years.
There has been a massive hole in the franchise since 2018 when Andrew Lincoln left the series, taking longtime protagonist Rick Grimes with him in the process. Since his Season 9 exit, the show shambled on for two-and-a-half more seasons, while also expanding into spinoffs like World Beyond and Tales of the Walking Dead (joining existing side story Fear the Walking Dead). In season 10, the series said goodbye to Danai Gurira’s Michonne, written off in a way where she could potentially reunite with Rick in the future. Following the end of the original show—and featuring long-awaited cameos from Rick and Michonne setting up their next adventure—the series split into fragmented adventures with familiar characters in the post-apocalypse.
Dead City saw Maggie and Negan go to New York City in a rather boring, drab debut season with potential it was never able to reach. Daryl Dixon saw its titular character taken to France, offering a fun adventure with enough depth and callbacks to satisfy diehard fans of the franchise. Both of these shows were on the opposite ends of the quality spectrum. One of them I didn’t wind up enjoying, while the other was a massive step up the franchise has needed for years. Which made it impossible to predict how The Ones Who Live was going to play out. Despite the hype from its lead actors (who also serve as executive producers) and the promise of a six-episode miniseries that would wrap up Rick and Michonne’s story, I didn’t know what to expect. It was impossible to predict what the quality of the series would be like, nor how it would be able to deliver on its promise of showing us where the duo have been for the last few years while also continuing their stories.
But then, Episode 1 dropped last Sunday. And it was the greatest experience with The Walking Dead I have had in years.
While I always talk about spoilers in my Walking Dead episode reviews, I’m honestly remiss to do so right away. The episode was so high-quality that to spoil it without ample time for you to click off and watch it for yourself seems unfair. The episode is, from start to finish, a feat of the impossible. I never thought the series would be able to craft a brilliant, bold premiere that managed to tie up all of Rick’s loose ends within an hour. And do so in a satisfying way. The first episode answers every question that’s been being asked about who took Rick, why he hasn’t come home, and what the difference between As and Bs are. Every burning question is answered within the first episode, while also setting the stage for what’s to come. It’s the type of storytelling that feels like it would be reserved for a movie theater, standing out even more because of how cinematic the presentation is. This series had a budget of roughly $13 million an episode, roughly triple the budget for an episode of the original series. It shows, and it’s clear AMC was willing to throw money at this show in order to give its two biggest characters the sendoff they deserve.
Alright, now it’s spoiler time. If you don’t want this fantastic episode of The Walking Dead spoiled for you, now is the time to click off.
The story of this episode is very simple, as it explores how Rick tried for many years to get back to his family, only to fail every single time. The first and latest attempt the audience sees is when he brutally cuts off his own hand, showing just how desperate he is to escape from his captors, the Civic Republic Military (CRM). While him cutting off his hand establishes a level of desperation that isn’t quite matched by what’s featured about the group, it makes for a shockingly cool comic nod. Plus, he gets an Assassin’s Creed wrist blade on his prosthetic out of the deal, which I’m looking forward to seeing him use more as the show progresses. But beyond that first escape attempt, Rick end up rising the ranks of the CRM at the behest of Lieutenant Colonel Okafor (Craig Tate), who wants to alter the totalitarian regime of the military from the inside. While it’s not explained why this is important right away, it becomes clear the CRM is making allies with other groups across the country in order to destroy them (something we’ll get back to in a bit).
But weaving its way into the larger story was, truly, the character story of Rick Grimes. While other characters like the aforementioned Okafor, Rick’s fellow consignee and later military friend Pearl (Lesley-Ann Brandt), and CRM leader Major General Beale (Terry O’Quinn) are good in their own right, Lincoln’s Rick Grimes is the heart of this episode’s story. Not only does the premiere establish what he’s been doing and how much he’s been trying to get home, but also the hopelessness of his situation. Every attempt he makes to escape is always foiled somehow, whether that be through general failing like when he cut off his hand, or sheer luck, like when a little girl noticed he was running away. It made the episode feel like fate itself was keeping Rick from his family, something he was forced to reckon with. This included thoughts of making an even bigger plan, suicide, and eventually the acceptance of his role in the CRM. All of which is played brilliantly by Lincoln, who captures so many complex versions of Rick in such heartbreaking ways. Included in this were bittersweet dream sequences of Rick imagining meeting Michonne in a non-apocalyptic world, wishing for a life of cheesy romance and pizza at a park bench. It’s the saddest we’ve seen him, establishing just how broken he’s become without his family.
This is compounded by the worldbuilding, which takes the franchise in a direction beyond anything that’s been explored so far. While larger groups are no stranger to the franchise—even the CRM have shown up in various spinoffs—the sheer power of the militarized faction is unlike anything seen before. It’s an organization with complexity that, while not yet fully explored, has the potential to be an interesting development for the franchise as a whole. It’s complimented by context from both Fear the Walking Dead and World Beyond. While I don’t particularly care for either series, the Walking Dead parasite controlling my brain has obligated me to watch both of these shows (mostly—I couldn’t make it past Fear season 7). In so doing, I was offered a greater level of context to how the CRM was formed and what happened to Omaha, which gets destroyed during Rick’s time under their thumb. It makes me wonder how deeply The Ones Who Live will contextualize these events per other spinoffs’ answers, or if the show will instead focus more on its characters like the premiere did. But having the knowledge in my back pocket made it feel like me watching those spinoffs wasn’t a complete waste of time.
As far as the progression of the story went, it’s hard to talk about every little detail because of how dense the premiere was. The cinematography was amazing, balancing different layers of darkness to encapsulate Rick’s state of mind, while also utilizing light to show off the prospective future Rick could potentially build if he stayed. This is combined by great character writing, both in dialogue as well as slower, more methodical scenes that establish more about Rick and his backstory. For a character audiences have grown to love for almost a decade and a half, it’s wild to think there are still aspects of him that are yet to be explored. And yet, The Ones Who Live manages to make him more compelling than ever before. It delivers this through the sheer force of the incredible filmmaking capabilities that went into it, making it one of the best episodes of the show in years—honestly, the best episode I’ve seen since my favorite, the Season 5 premiere “No Sanctuary.”
But, of course, it wouldn’t be a spoiler-filled review if I didn’t talk about the incredible, edge-of-your-seat ending the first episode had. Okafor’s death was shocking and gory, the explosive device in his chest a surprise in more ways than one. The scene of the helicopter going down was also an impressive one-take, the camera swooping to show the panel as if showing off just how technically impressive this miniseries is going to be. As Rick tries to get away from the crash site, crawling after going off-kilter from additional explosives, the figure behind him starts to kill his CRM comrades. The sword was a moment of instant recognition, and, ahead of all timely expectations, Rick and Michonne were reunited at the very end of Episode 1. However, it seems this reunion won’t be as happy and simple as audiences may have hoped. They don’t look at each other with warmth. Instead, Rick looks confused, while Michonne looks regretful. While we’ve seen just how much Rick has changed, letting go of the prospect of ever seeing his wife again, we’ve yet to see why Michonne reacted the way she did. This moment serves as the perfect setup for Episode 2, which will feature answers about her journey, no doubt revealing why she attacked the CRM’s helicopter.
With plenty of satisfying answers, a cinematic presentation, and leaving off with the desire to know more, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is the franchise at its apex. This is what The Walking Dead fans have been waiting years to see. It’s the perfect continuation of Rick’s story for sure, and will no doubt continue that trend of satisfaction next time for Michonne. I’m happy to report that finally, after many years of waiting for the franchise to return to form, it managed to surpass even my wildest expectations. While I’m a little saddened this massive story will only be one season, I think it’s clear from the production value and the writing that having one strong finale for these two characters is better than dragging their stories out.
With five more episodes left, I’ll be counting down the days to every new episode like it’s 2014 again.
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