#just a little random reveling because Richonne forever has my heart

[whateverisbeautiful]

🀄️reflecting on richonne

5 words in Season 5 help make it crystal clear that Rick viewed Michonne as a wife by that point. In this dissertation I will…lol but for real. 

All of Season 5 is a really interesting exploration of Rick’s psyche. But especially the back half in ASZ as he struggled to bridge the gap between who he was and who he’d become. Since he couldn’t quite merge the two at first, he regressed, reverting to old ways and an old type of woman that wasn’t right for him. But even with that unnecessary owl lady storyline, Rick was still operating like Michonne was his love (even beyond the adorable elevator looks he still always gave her) and he eagerly wanted to provide for her. 

Most telling is in ASZ in 5.12 when Rick tells Daryl how he and Lori used to drive through neighborhoods like this “thinking ‘one day’…” and Daryl says “Well here we are.” Then Carl later says how this is the kind of place Lori wanted for them. This is also the place Michonne really wanted for Carl and Judith and their family as well.  

Rick isn’t just trying to make up for not being able to save Lori with Jessie. This whole time, he’s also trying to give Michonne what he couldn’t give his past wife. 

Of course Rick wants a safe place for everyone, but several of his actions show that he’s trying to make this place work for Michonne specifically. There’s verbal confirmation imo, and it occurs during R&M’s s5 finale chat when Rick wakes up after she knocked him out. (And I absolutely love so much about this post-knockout scene. I could go on and on about it but I’ll try and stay focused lol)

When Rick tells Michonne he couldn’t tell her about the gun, she says “Nah you couldn’t,” cuz she knows he knows he could tell her anything. And then Rick states those telling 5 words.

“Well you wanted this place.” 

That right there made it clear that Rick had placed Michonne in the wife category. His wife, Michonne, wants to live in a neighborhood like this. So he’s not waiting for “one day” anymore, he was going to do everything he could to get it for her right here and now, just not in the healthiest ways since he wasn’t well at the time. Just the way he says it too, it’s not as defensive as it could sound on paper. It sounds like a husband trying to say he’s been making these decisions in order to secure the home his wife believes in and because he values what she wants. 

Michonne soundly reminds him they had to stop being out there and very similar to Daryl in that previous scene, Rick says “Well we’re here.”  I’d say there’s definitely meant to be a parallel between that 5.12 scene and this one in 5.16, drawing the connection of Rick’s former and current wife. 

But one of many things I love about Rick and Michonne’s relationship is how Rick got to really learn that his love with Michonne is different in the best ways. That what he has with Michonne is a soul mate thing and healthier than what he’s had in the past. In his previous marriage, Rick seemed to feel like he had to be useful and be everything she wanted or else his level of care and love would be questioned. But Michonne understands him so entirely and so she doesn’t want this place more than she wants him and for him to be okay. 

All throughout season 5, Michonne was determined to find a home for her and her family and Rick was determined to give a home to her, both with Washington and ASZ. But what I love is at the end of the season, Rick got to see how he doesn’t have to not communicate and drive himself crazy trying to give her this place because as Michonne makes clear in the iconic “I’m Still With You” scene, home isn’t a place to her anymore. It’s a person. Home is him. 

And Michonne wasn’t just family to Rick at this point. In ways he didn’t even outright realize, she was his wife. She’s his home too. I adore the way Rick and Michonne were married before they knew it. And then when they did know it, their love story only got better and better.

These season 5 moments just further show that Rick and Michonne were always the one for each other. Always.