The Walking Dead Remixes Major Michonne Reveal From the Comics
The Walking Dead serves up a slice of the comic books when Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) reunites with her long-lost brother Tomi (Ian Anthony Dale) at the Commonwealth, putting a twist on Michonne's family reunion. Spoiler warning for Season 11 Episode 5, "Out of the Ashes." After arriving at a Commonwealth outpost and finding her photo on the Wall of the Lost in the Season 11 premiere, "Acheron: Part 1," Yumiko's pre-apocalypse status as a high-profile lawyer entitles her to certain privileges. During processing in "Acheron: Part 2," Yumiko asks about her family member — a thoracic surgeon before the fall — who she believes is living at the Commonwealth and looking for her.
"Out of the Ashes" reunites Yumiko and Tomi in the bakery "Elodie's Treats," named after the long-lost daughter that Michonne believed to be dead in the comic books. Issue #176 of The Walking Dead ends with Michonne and her teenage daughter, now working as a baker in the Sixth Street bakery at the Commonwealth, embracing in a tearful reunion.
The Walking Dead pays homage to the Elodie and Michonne meeting by having Tomi drop his fancy-decorated cake upon seeing Miko for the first time in years. Tomi reveals he fled Chicago early in the outbreak and ran out of gas about 20 miles north of Charleston, West Virginia, where he linked up with people who wound up at the Commonwealth turned into a safe haven by the Miltons.
The former surgeon is happy baking cakes. When he hushes Yumiko about his past profession, he says to her: "Still trying to run people's lives, Miko?" It hints at a history explaining why the Okumura siblings spent years apart — even before the apocalypse:
"If we were going to do the maths in the context of the show, I think it would be at least 15 years that Yumiko would have seen her family based on the backstory that I've worked out with [showrunner] Angela [Kang]," Matsuura told ComicBook about adapting Michonne's comic book story. "In terms of the apocalypse, we've at least been 12 years on the road in this show. So if someone from my past is going to resurface, it's going to be at least 15 years that I've been apart from them, which is pretty huge."
"I mean, obviously, it's awesome," she added, "but I'd also be a bit nervous hooking up with somebody after 15 years."
Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things TWD Universe. The Walking Dead Season 11 airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.