The Walking Dead: 10 Essential Richonne Episodes

Rick and Michonne aren’t just “the ones who live” — together, they’re Richonne. Though their relationship never turned romantic in the comic books, the coupling of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) on the TV series outlived The Walking Dead itself: their indomitable love story spawned the new spinoff series The Ones Who Live. And it all started with baby formula. The episode, “Hounded,” aired midway through the third season in 2012 and was the first time Rick and Michonne set eyes on each other.

“I never thanked you. For getting me out there that day, taking me in,” Michonne later told Rick in “Welcome to the Tombs,” after she arrived at the prison with the formula that Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) scavenged for baby Judith. “If you didn’t have that baby formula,” Rick replied, “I wouldn’t have.”

When Michonne countered that Rick “could have just taken the formula” and left the katana-wielding woman outside the prison’s gates, Rick said: “It must have been something else, then.” It was Rick’s son, Carl (Chandler Riggs), who made the call. “He said you belonged here. You’re one of us.” 

In anticipation of Rick and Michonne’s reunion in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, here are 10 essential Richonne episodes of The Walking Dead.

Clear: Season 3, Episode 12

After refusing the Governor’s (David Morrissey) offer to hand over Michonne to avoid a war with Woodbury, Rick returned to King County with Carl and Michonne in search of weapons. “We got common interests. For right now, we have the same problems,” Rick told Carl of bringing Michonne along. “So maybe we can work on them together.”

As Rick encountered a crazed and clear-obsessiveMorgan Jones (Lennie James) in the booby-trapped town, Carl warmed to Michonne when she helped him retrieve a Grimes family photo for his baby sister from inside a zombie-filled restaurant. (Along with a colorful cat statue that was “just too damn gorgeous” to leave behind.) Unfortunately for Orange Backpack Guy — a straggling survivor the untrusting trio left alone on the side of the road to be eaten by zombies — the stranger wasn’t so precious.

Try: Season 5, Episode 15

When the group arrived at the walled-off Alexandria Safe-Zone, community leader Deanna Monroe (Tovah Feldshuh) deputized Rick and Michonne as uniformed constables. As the hardened survivors assimilated into civilization, Michonne relinquished her sword; but Rick, still in survival mode, upheld his primal urges. “If you don’t fight, you die,” he said of the Alexandrians and their inability to survive.

“We know what needs to be done and we do it. We’re the ones who live,” a ranting Rick told Deanna after a bloody brawl with domestic abuser Pete Anderson (Corey Brill) spilled over into the streets of Alexandria. “Your way is gonna destroy this place. It’s gonna get people killed. It’s already gotten people killed. And I’m not gonna stand by and just let it happen. If you don’t fight, you die. I’m not gonna stand by—”

And then Michonne knocked Rick out cold.

The Next World: Season 6, Episode 10

“They’re all your people, Rick,” a dying Deanna told Rick in “Start to Finish,” reminding him: “You’re one of us.” Rick’s group and the Alexandrians finally united as one when the livingbanded together to fight off an invading walker horde in “No Way Out,” and Rick committed himself to rebuilding Alexandria and leading them into the “new world” that Deanna envisioned. He settled into an Alexandria brownstone with Carl, Judith, and Michonne, and all was right in the next world.

After Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) encountered the wily Paul “Jesus” Rovia (Tom Payne) during a scavenging run, Rick returned home empty-handed — except for a roll of mints (a substitute for the Spearmint and baking soda toothpaste Michonne requested).  They sank the couch, and then into each other, holding hands and kissing before the episode ended with the consummation of the long-brewing romance.

Hearts Still Beating: Season 7, Episode 8

The new world came crashing down whenNegan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) bashed in the heads of Glenn and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) with a barbwire-covered baseball bat, then forced the Alexandrians to provide for him and the Saviors. A subdued Rick complied, but Negan’s reign was short-lived: it was Michonne who convinced Rick to rise up and fight the Saviors. 

“We’re still alive, Rick. So much has happened, so much that we shouldn’t have lived through. And in spite of it or maybe because of it, we did. We’re still here, the two of us,” Michonne told Rick. “We’re still standing, and we’re gonna keep standing. So, what do we do with that? How do we make that mean something? We’re the ones who get things done. You said that. We’re the ones who live. That’s why we have to fight — not for us, but for Judith, for Carl, for Alexandria, for the Hilltop — for all of us. We can fight them, Rick. We can find a way to beat them. We can do this. But… but… only if we do this.”

Say Yes: Season 7, Episode 12

Having made a deal with Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) and the Scavengers, Rick and Michonne set out on the road together to find guns for their uprising against Negan and the Saviors. Michonne told Rick it would be up to them to “reorder” the world once they’ve overthrown Negan, and she suggested putting Rick in charge of the unified communities. “The two of us, you and me, reordering things together… I want that,” Rick said.

Michonne thought she lost Rick when it appeared he was devoured by zombies. But as Rick reminded Michonne in their van before heading home to Alexandria: they’re the ones who live.

“We’re gonna fight them. That’s what happens next. And we’re gonna lose people, maybe a lot of them, maybe even each other,” Rick told Michonne. “Even then, it’ll be worth it. You asked me what kind of life we had just surrendering. It wasn’t a life. What we did back there, what we’re doing now, making a future for Judith and for Glenn and Maggie’s baby, fighting the fight, that’s living. You showed me that. You can lose me.”

Michonne didn’t want to even think about ever losing Rick, but he said she could lose him. He could lose her. “We can lose our friends, people we love. It’s not about us anymore. It’s about a future,” Rick said. “And if it’s me who doesn’t make it, you’re gonna have to lead the others forward because you’re the one who can. Because you led me here.”

Honor: Season 8, Episode 9

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare: the death of a child. Rick and Michonne lost their son, Carl, who shot himself before he could succumb to a walker’s bite. As they grieved him together, Rick vowed to fulfill Carl’s dying wish: his dream of a unified, thriving Alexandria. “I’m gonna make it real, Carl, I promise,” Rick said. “I’m gonna make it real.” 

It’s like Rick said: even if they lose the ones they love, they’re going to fight for a future. Together.

A New Beginning: Season 9, Episode 1

18 months after Rick and Michonne jailed Negan to end their all-out war with the Saviors, the Alexandrians ushered in a new beginning with the Hilltop, the Kingdom, and the Sanctuary. Rick made it a priority to fix a zombie-downed bridge linking the communities, while Michonne made it her mission to get the people to agree to a charter.

“How’d I get so lucky finding you?” Rick asked Michonne. “We’ve both lost enough,” she answered. “It’s time we won a little, don’t you think?”

What Comes After: Season 9, Episode 5

When Maggie and Daryl conspired to assassinate Negan, an injured Rick was left alone to reroute a walker herd away from the communities. Rick led the zombie masses to the bridge, away from his family and friends, and then sacrificed himself by blowing himself up with the herd on the bridge. Or so it seemed. 

Rick survived and washed up in a riverbank where he was discovered by Jadis/Anne, who then helicoptered him away as passengers of the Civic Republic Military — leaving Michonne and the others to believe Rick died.

Who Are You Now?: Season 9, Episode 6

Six years later, Michonne led Alexandria as the protective mother of her and Rick’s children: daughter Judith (Cailey Fleming) and son Rick “RJ” Grimes Jr. (Antony Azor), conceived just before Rick’s disappearance in season 9. Michonne and Daryl searched for Rick’s body during the six-year time skip, but all she found was Rick’s Colt Python.

She thought Rick dead, but Michonne never stopped living.

“I know you’re here. I’m still here, too. Maybe you already knew that. But it hasn’t gotten any easier. Sun keeps rising. Days keep passing. World keeps spinning. Time… it just keeps moving forward,” Michonne intoned in voice over, speaking to Rick, his ring on a chain around her neck. “Weeks, months, even years go by… while you try to make sense of it all. Try to find where you belong. Try to look ahead to a better future. But the truth is… the path ahead has only grown darker. It’s harder to see. You can feel so lost… so alone… so desperate for something, anything that might show you the way. But even now, after all this time, surrounded by darkness, there are still flashes of light… tiny beacons that shine out, calling to us. It’s not enough to light the way ahead, but it’s enough to keep going. Keep trying. Keep fighting. Keep dreaming. So that’s what I do every second of every day… for you, for us. I haven’t given up, and I never will.”

Rest in Peace: Season 11, Episode 24

After all those years gone “bye,” Michonne learned in the season 10 episode “What We Become” that Rick didn’t die on the bridge. She then headed north to track down Rick at Bridgers Shipyard, unaware that Jadis traded Rick to the Civic Republic’s army. The Walking Dead series finale ended with Rick and Michonne, separated by time and distance, writing letters in their desperate attempts to get back to each other.

“We’ll always be together, even when we’re apart. We, together, are the strongest thing. We’re love, and love is endless,” Michonne wrote, her words becoming intertwined with Rick’s: “So we, those gone, all of our lives, those away, they come in one life. We are endless. We’re together, pieces of a whole that just keep going for what we gave each other. One unstoppable life. You showed me that. You gave me that.”

Michonne then reminded her children to “remember what I said. It’s what he said. Hold it to your heart. It’s true. Forever.”

“We’re the ones who live.”

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