rosenox

[rosenox]

“I was in love with my sons best friend I didn’t know what to do” - Rick Grimes ladies and gents

You gotta hand it to the thing… it traveled well.

[rosenox]

one of my favourite pre canon moments. I felt so sure they were building towards a love story between them after this scene.

Michonne didn’t need to question if Rick was too far gone because she knew and respected that he would do whatever it took to protect Carl. I think that healed something in her after the way she lost Andre.

He might have felt nervous at first but her words showed him he didn’t need to question if she was repelled by his actions and I think her unwavering support healed something in him after Lori’s betrayals.

There’s so many layers to these early interactions between them and I’m so glad they took the time to build up this love story

♥️ Ranking Richonne

#6: Cuz I'm Okay Too (S4E16)

Such a heartfelt and important moment in the making of Richonne. 🥹 The scene is brief but still manages to communicate something so important about Rick and Michonne's profound connection. That You're Okay/I'm Okay interconnectedness between them is one of those deep and consistent qualities that make Richonne one of a kind. By this season 4 moment, I really and truly believe Rick and Michonne had fallen in love and I cherish that this beautiful scene is a part of their love story. The scene is a true Richonne classic...

Richonne's love story has so much life to it because it was able to breathe as it evolved each season. And as much as the world was screaming at them - when it came to Rick and Michonne's pre-canon build-up there were these small quiet moments like the one in this s4 finale that still really helped to lay their foundation steadily and naturally.

I appreciate that Richonne's journey was a slow burn (the most fiery slow burn, might I add 🔥) and that we got to see their love story play out from the moment they first laid eyes on each other all the way to now as a husband and wife determined to find each other again. The build-up was as great as the payoff in the making of Richonne and this season 4 pre-canon moment between them is one of the foundational staples in building their relationship.

As I’ve stated before, I consider this 4.16 ep quite monumental to Richonne as I feel its by this point these two have fallen in love. And this scene just really backs that up to me and gives us our first insight into the unique interconnection they have.

The reason why I so confidently refer to these two characters as soulmates is because absolutely every time Rick and Michonne were together it was clear they had a deep mind-body-soul connection and a magnetic draw that showed they were tethered to each other and meant to be.

They were so kismet that even in the beginning of their relationship they seemed to be strongly emotionally connected to each other.

In the early stages of their growing bond, Rick and Michonne really would often look at each other like they were both something special and inexplicably familiar, like a missing piece of themselves that they yearned for and felt innate trust and safety with. And, to me, this scene illustrates all of that.

I also noticed that since I've gotten so used to seeing team family in the 'stability' of ASZ for half the series, whenever I see scenes of them in these earlier seasons where they had no home base it makes me a little emotional because it makes you realize just how little they had, and how much they were being held together by their resilience and their family alone. It's really a testament to their strength and the family they built that fueled them to keep going.

I love the way this 4.16 scene is shot, the fall vibes are just nice with all the leaves as they walk. Also the show did a good job of always making it feel like there was some added weight to when Rick and Michonne were around each other. The two together on screen are just always electric as this scene solidifies.

(Side note: watching this show back, I love how quiet the ambiance was in the earlier seasons, it really made the world feel immersive and lived in.) 

When Rick protectively sat outside of that car in the previous scene with Carl asleep in Michonne's lap, Michonne heard Rick talk to Daryl about who he is and why he’s here, and her expression as she listens was telling. I know R&M both were more aware of how much they mean to each other from here on out. And then that love only grows stronger, even as soon as their next scene.

So this #6 scene starts with Rick walking ahead, and I love how Michonne is looking at him as she walks closer to him. I’d love to know exactly what she’s thinking at this moment cuz she clearly has some thoughts. 😊

As she studies him in this scene I really do feel like it’s her seeing the resilient man he is and feeling a lot of genuine love and respect for him. Especially after seeing Rick go to an incredibly intense place to save her, Carl, and Daryl the night before.

Rick went to lengths not many would even think to go...but that level of fight in him is one Michonne knows well. It's in her too. And I think at this moment she knows truly that they are cut from the same cloth.

She silently observes him and, before she even speaks, Rick senses her and asks if she’s okay. I love that he checks in on her after what they went through.

When Rick and Michonne found each other after the prison fell, they became a package deal and went through most things side by side from then on. And I love that through all the wild things they experienced together, they had each other to check in with and make sure they were okay because they got to be fully human with each other. 

Michonne nods and says a reassuring 'yeah' and then again has those little glances at him that, to me, suggest sis has caught feelings. 

Then I always love that Rick proceeds to offer up that he’s okay. He initiates saying that because he wants her to know this and he knows this would matter to her. Ever since reuniting after the prison, Michonne has often brought up the importance of Rick healing and resting, so he knows she cares about his wellbeing and that he’s okay. 

And it’s also like by offering up, "I'm okay" he wants her to know he’s still okay as a person even after showing that he’s capable of some pretty intense stuff. I’ve always loved this, especially because as a woman traveling alone with men, it means a lot to have a man want you to know he’s still okay and safe to be around.

But then what is so lovely about this scene is that Rick gets to see that he doesn’t need to do any convincing with Michonne because she has always seen and understood him on a deeper level.

(It makes me think of when Michonne talks with Merle during season 3 inside the prison. She defends Rick and Carl and notes that they're both killers but she doesn't say it as a condemning thing because even as strangers she understood that Rick and Carl are still good people despite what they've had to do to survive)

And as much as Rick is grappling with all that he’s capable of here at the end of season 4, it’s so refreshing that Michonne is right there to let him know he’s not a monster to her. So when he says he’s okay, she says without any doubt, "I know." 😊

Then I so love that Rick asks, "How?" It’s an interesting thing to ask because he could have just left it at her saying she knows, but I love that he’s curious to know this. Almost as if deep down wanting to know that she really does see and understand him as clearly as he sees and understands her.

And when he can’t help but ask, I adore the way she looks at him and so effortlessly tells him, “Cuz I’m okay too.” 🥹

Another classic line in Richonne's journey. 🥰 And a line that is as powerful as it is pretty.

I know I've said a lot of their scenes are giving romantic but this one is 1000% giving romantic. I mean this dialogue between them could be seamlessly inserted into a romance movie and I'd be like...

And it is just such a sweet sentiment - "Cuz I'm okay too." Similar to Rick's "Must've been something else then," line, I'd love to know exactly what Michonne was aware of regarding her attraction and feelings for Rick at this time.

It’s significant for Michonne to vocalize this and let Rick know that she has developed enough feelings for him that his well-being impacts her own. He’s okay, so she’s okay. And we see that 'you're okay then I'm okay' thing that they have play out in so many moments between them in this series.

One that comes to mind is an honorable mention scene in s5 at Alexandria when Michonne can’t sleep, and then we see that Rick has also been up and unable to sleep.  It’s almost like Rick's restlessness played a part in what was affecting Michonne's ability to rest.

And Rick even vocalizes as much when he asked why they're both awake before touching her shoulder and her reacting in a way that further proves their magnets. Something innate within them is so often on the same wavelength, even when they have some different outlooks.

I love these TWD reactors who noted how Rick’s mind silently racing was still so loud to Michonne and keeping her up in that s5 scene, whereas if Rick would sleep she probably would be able to fall asleep too.

Rick and Michonne are just one like that and they have always been so emotionally intertwined. They don't just understand what the other is going through, they feel what the other is going through. #TetheredSoulmates

So I love and appreciate this s4 finale scene for fully establishing Rick and Michonne's unique and heartfelt interconnection - both that they have it, and that they deep down know they have it too.

Rick nods after Michonne says this, and this subtle moment just feels like he gets what she means. She doesn’t even have to explain further cuz I think he knows he feels the same - You're okay, I'm okay.

And then the way Michonne is looking at that man at the end of this scene...Cupid got her, y’all. Just like Cupid got Rick lol. 😊

Richonne really was inevitable because right here in s4, seasons before their canon ep, these two loved each other and had at least some awareness that the connection between them runs deep. 

Am I smiling from ear to ear rewatching this? Best believe. They just go together and it’s so clear here. And I love looking at this scene and knowing this is a husband and wife in the making who will bring a beautiful baby into this world. Won't He do it! 🙌🏾 It's scenes like these that confirm to me why Richonne’s pre-canon and post-canon moments are both top-notch.

As Michonne will tell Carl in a beautiful bonding moment later in the s4 finale, she knows the Grimes boys brought her back. They helped make her okay again. And the way Michonne brought so much good to Rick and Carl's lives, she brought them back too.

So I’ll forever love that in this quiet scene between Michonne and Rick, we see so clearly how they help make each other feel more than okay. 😌

[rosenox]

this man was down so bad for Michonne he said “how’d I get so lucky finding you” when they were in the middle of an apocalypse and half the people they knew had died of course he wasn’t going to be with someone else when she found him

I still find it funny how there were people saying, before TOWL premiered, that Rick would have someone else at the CRM, that he would have a whole new family

They thought this man would have moved on from Michonne and begun a whole new life with someone else

The man who said this

And this

And this

If this was another show then yeah, I could see something like that happening, Rick would probably have moved on and the whole drama would have been about that, a love triangle involving Thorne most likely and either Rick or Michonne would have died in the end. But TOWL isn't just any show and Richonne isn't just any ship.

Co-creating and co-writing this show, Andy and Danai would not have done or allowed something so cliched and so out of character as Rick finding someone new, that was never going to happen. Rick worships the ground Michonne walks on, there will never be anyone else for him.

I will admit that for a moment, the thought that one of them may not make it did cross my mind, but only briefly and as quick as it came it went away again. This is part of The Walking Dead afterall, however this is also Andy and Danai and killing either character just isn't something they'd do. However, the thought that Rick may have found someone else never crossed my mind, not even once. This is Rick Grimes we're talking about here, his whole world revolves around Michonne and their kids.

Richonne are happy, more in love than ever and back home with their kids and I know there are parts of the fandom who don't seem to like that fact but it's true and it's beautiful and whether we see them onscreen again or not, it will always be true ❤️