Summary
- Michonne reveals to Rick what took place after he left – but she's left out some key details.
- Negan's unexpected redemption is a complex storyline that Rick may have a hard time digesting, especially without knowing all the details.
- The possibility of a Rick vs. Negan reunion raises questions about how Rick will react to Negan's changed persona and heroic actions.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is gearing up to be the biggest spin-off in the franchise’s long-running history. It’s already the most watched and best reviewed one, and with four episodes aired thus far, fans are anxious to see how the story shapes up in the last two. Now that Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) have officially reunited and are on the road (literally) to freedom (though it likely won’t be that easy!) they may have plenty of time to catch up. Michonne most notably already revealed to Rick that he has a son named RJ (Antony Azor). But there’s another big secret that could cause Rick to confront past trauma involving his biggest rival to date: Negan.
Negan’s Big Sacrifice
During pillow talk, Rick asks Michonne about the mark on her back, and she reveals some of her experiences while he was away. She recalls searching relentlessly for him, and how Daryl (Norman Reedus) did the same. She mentions fighting off a formidable enemy who did heinous things to them. This is in reference to Jocelyn (Rutina Wesley), her old college friend who, she discovered, became a manipulative child cult leader. Michonne was forced to kill her alongside all her kid followers who refused to relent even after Jocelyn was gone. They insisted they would kill all the kids from Alexandria. “We stopped her,” she tells Rick, “but I don’t want to go into how,” clearly not ready to relive the horrifying memory.
One enemy Michonne did not discuss in that conversation, however, is Alpha (Samantha Morton), who was killed just prior to Michonne leaving. Alpha’s death and the presumed end of the Whisperers is what gave Michonne the confidence to leave. But the manner in which Alpha was defeated and, most importantly, who did it, effectively saving Alexandria from her wrath, is a crucial detail Rick might find difficult to stomach.
Fans of the original series The Walking Dead will recall that it was Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who stepped up to the plate to get rid of Alpha once and for all, at the behest of Carol (Melissa McBride). He pretends to be sick and tired of not being trusted by his “group” and wants to join her, believing he’s a better fit for the Whisperers anyway. He goes into full “old Negan” mode, infiltrating her group, convincing the initially reluctant and always guarded Alpha with his signature sinister charm. Alpha grows so fond of Negan that it gives him the perfect opportunity to strike. As soon as she lets her guard down, Negan slits her throat. He decapitates her now reanimated head and brings it to Carol to prove his loyalty.
The Redemption of Negan
It’s no surprise that Michonne left this detail for another day. There’s so much else she would have to explain for it to make sense, including why Negan was even out of his cell in the first place. When Rick left, Negan was imprisoned in Alexandria. He was a shell of the person he once was, barely hanging on by a thread. He found solace through secret conversations with Judith (Cailey Fleming) about everything from life to math homework. These short moments of humanity helped him maintain a level of sanity and a will to live.
Years after Rick left, Negan was able to escape once, but returned when Judith convinced him to do so, another detail Rick might find troubling. The young girl either didn’t understand the magnitude of what Negan did to her father or believed there’s room for redemption, and that despite his misdeeds, deep down, Negan is a good person.
Twisting the knife further for Rick would be the knowledge of Negan’s heroic moment when, during a major winter storm, he risked his life to save Judith (and Dog). The image of Negan trudging through the snow in a blizzard carrying Judith hoisted over his shoulder is one that might even change Rick’s mind. But he doesn’t know this version of Negan and he didn’t see it.
If Maggie’s continued disdain for Negan proves anything, none of these facts might change Rick’s mind. Even Negan’s emotional heart-to-heart with Maggie didn’t sway her more than a millimeter. But his actions spoke loud and clear, including helping the group take down the Commonwealth. Rick might love to learn about the twisted sense of irony when Negan found himself on his knees with his pregnant wife being threatened, the panic in his eyes looking just like Rick’s did way back when he played his nursery rhyme “Eeny, Meeny, Miny Mo” game with their lives.
It's all in how Michonne tells the story…if she ever does. But not having born witness to it all, Rick would likely be gutted and confused to learn that the man he despised the most was not only growing on everyone, but doing the job of protecting his kids, and everyone from the Alexandria community, that he wasn’t home to do. Even the “new” Negan might find it tough to resist revelling in this knowledge if he ever met with Rick again, face to face.
Will We Get a Rick vs. Negan Reunion?
That poses an interesting question: will Rick and Negan ever cross paths again on this show (or others?) The potential reunion, given how much Negan has changed, is one fans would really want to see. However, since the timeline of Walking Dead: Dead City on which Negan appears is several years ahead of The Ones Who Live, it’s unlikely for the two shows to merge. If Negan somehow came across Rick and Michonne between the timeline of the end of The Walking Dead and the beginning of Dead City, it stands to reason that he would at least have mentioned it to Maggie. Then again, maybe they had bigger fish to fry and there was no time to talk about old friends.
With a time jump in The Ones Who Live, however, it’s possible Rick and Michonne could pass by or travel to or through New York from Philadelphia, which is where the CRM base is located. It’s barely a two-hour car drive or one day walk away, so it’s more than plausible.
Whether Rick faces Negan again or Michonne simply fills him in on what he missed about his biggest rival, fans are curious to know how he would react. One thing’s for sure: if anything can fuel Rick’s desire to get home and prove that he’s The Brave Man his kids have been hearing so much about, it would be the knowledge that the brave man who was present when he wasn’t was Negan.
