This episode was amazing. I think I’m being objective here!
Richonne
Rick and Michonne have come such a long way. From straight up animosity, then a cautious trust, to a tight friendship and now a committed romance. If anyone didn’t know this or thought their relationship would fall apart, they learned today (or, last week, because this post is way late, because, you know, life).
Rick almost had a nervous breakdown when he saw Michonne’s dreadloc on that walker in 6.12. Now we see Michonne just about flatline when she thought she was witnessing Rick getting eaten by the horde of walkers. This shows a lot of character development for her, and how far Michonne had come from being the crazy-loner-lady with the sword. She told Carl at the tail end of season 4 that both Rick and Andrea had “brought her back” from the black hole she fell in when her boyfriend and their friend (whom we know she turned into her walker pets) let her son Andre get killed. So for her to see the other important person in her post-ZA life die…yikes. She must have thought, “I’m back where I started”. I think she would have gotten herself together for Carl and Judith’s sake. But in that moment, she was devastated, and realized that this war they were preparing to start could take Rick from her and it might kill her inside. So we see Rick give her a much needed pep talk, the same kind she gave him in the cell, in an attempt to anchor her. I’m glad that Michonne isn’t always the strong one and Rick always the one needing reassurance.
Everything else was great; the candlelit dinner, Rick’s teasing that she could take down eight walkers easy, their collaboration throughout the entire episode. Oh, and Rick’s barely controlled rage when Jadis asked for that cat back. She had better not let the words “cat” fall from her lips again.
Rosita and Sasha
No surprises here. Clearly, one or both of them will get killed. Neither have anything to lose. Abe and Eugene are gone for Rosita. Sasha seems to have take on part of Comic-Michonne’s arc of every-man-in-her-life-getting-killed (her brother Tyreese, Bob, and now Abe).
Tara
Also not a big surprise. We knew Tara would tell Rick about Oceanside and their guns. Now, how will they navigate convincing this group to cooperate with them and how Tara will deal with betraying them?
Final Thoughts
Other than enjoying Richonne, nothing much is taking me off guard. I know the tide will generally turn for our heroes, but how will things shake down in the end? I have an inkling on that, so I doubt anything will shock me. But if the ride to the end of season 7 is good, I’ll be satisfied.