theonly1zen - Tumblr blog

theonly1zen · 7 years ago

Text

Richonne in Retrospect

#20: The Track (4x15)

So um, no joke, I’m a mess rn. 😭😥😭 Like I was not at all ready to see those pictures for 8b pop up and it really messed me up. How does a TV show hurt this much!? 😭

This wasn’t how I was planning on starting this post but man those pictures just really took me out. 😥 Like seeing Michonne clearly determined to be by his side til the last second. (And I didn’t even catch that they were holding hands at first, and seeing that just broke me even more. 😭) Seeing Rick clearly in shock that the very engine of his entire life, before and after the apocalypse, is basically coming to an abrupt halt. Seeing both of them be there for their son one last time as the place they called home burns. It’s seriously too much. 😔

And as was very rightfully mentioned in a comment, we never even saw a substantial post-canon scene with the four members of Grimes Family 2.0 just in their house in ASZ, except in Rick’s dream world and now that’s just never going to happen. 😢

It’s interesting timing that those pictures would come out on the day I was going to reflect on my all time favorite Grimes Family 2.0 scene. Like this is literally what I had originally written as the opener for this post:

“Alright so this 20th moment is definitely a big one! This lovely scene with Grimes Family 2.0 on the train tracks is so perfect and it’s my top favorite moment with the three of them. 😍”

And then those pictures came out and it literally felt like a punch in the gut. 😣

But rather than see this post as painful timing I’m going to try and look at it as perfect timing.

Cuz I think this is the time when remembering how happy, and familial, and just all around great these three were together is needed most. 😭😭

Those three characters are clearly about to go through something extremely painful very soon and it’s hard cuz they have been through so much together and survived it. But that’s why this moment in season 4 is so special cuz it reminds you that while yes they’ve been through a lot of traumatizing and tough things together, they’ve also had some really sweet and happy moments too.

So I feel like because it’s still true, and perhaps even more true now, I’ll still go into this break down by saying…Alright so this 20th moment is definitely a big one! This lovely scene with Grimes Family 2.0 on the train tracks is so perfect and it’s my top favorite moment with the three of them. 😍

It’s also a moment that I consider to be a major turning point in the making of Richonne.

See from my observations, I consider this moment to be the moment when Rick realizes he might love Michonne in a different and deeper type of way. 🙌🏾🙌🏾

To me, 4b was when Rick and Michonne realized they had serious love in their hearts for one another. Like there was a spark from their very first meeting at that prison fence and the love was always brewing but I feel it’s in this latter half of season four that they both become more aware that this person could be the love of their life.

And while the love between them grows all throughout 4b, I think it’s in this scene specifically where Rick becomes more self aware about his feelings. So we don’t just have to break this one down. We have to break it all the way down. 😋

So the scene starts where we just see Rick talking and then he turns around to see these two cuties preoccupied with playing a game of balancing on those train tracks. 😊

The shot of Rick turning around to see his family just enjoying themselves is beyond precious. #Art 😭

I love that we get to see how Carl and Michonne’s friendship is so fun and lighthearted even in this world. She’s so good at connecting with Carl and even though we know she’s grown and mature I love that she has such a child like heart with him. ☺️

Rick’s delivery of the line, “What are you doing?” is so great. 😋 Cuz he’s amused and also sort of like “so this was more important than listening to me talk about our resources?” lol.

And I love their playfulness when Carl says he’s winning a bet and Michonne says “In your dreams.” Like all they need is some train tracks to actually have some fun and a moment of levity in all this darkness.

But what makes my heart melt is Rick’s smile when he sees this. Like you can tell he is so appreciative of this lighthearted moment and the happiness Michonne is able to give to his son.

He did after all say Carl needs her and he’s seeing firsthand how true that is and how Michonne really can give Carl a friendship that he can’t quite give him. And I love that you see how much this moment means something to Rick. 😊

It’s also nice cuz it serves as a reminder to Rick that life doesn’t have to be strictly business all the time.

But it does have to be some business lol so as Rick walks to them (which I appreciate cuz it means he’s willing to let them take at least some time for fun) he gently suggests that they might have to speed up the process.

And Michonne validates that by saying “Yeah you’re right. We shouldn’t be fooling around” cuz Homegirl’s mature too 👏🏽 But she’s also fun cuz she turns that into an attempt to get Carl to lose but instead she ends up falling off the tracks. And again I love that we’re seeing them just have fun and be silly. 🙌🏾

And Rick just keeps watching and smiling cuz he knows he and Carl are so lucky to have her. Like they’re seriously a family now. 😭

And since Carl won fair and square he’s adorably like…

Lol, but fr it’s so cute that their little bet was over a candy bar. And it’s also cute how much Carl enjoys the little games she’ll come up with. Cuz in reminding her that she said “winners choice.” it lets you know this bet was at least partly Michonne’s idea.

It’s also so stinking adorable that when she takes out the two candy bars she’s so clearly trying to hint that he should take the one that’s not the Big Cat lol. 😂

Michonne and cat related things is like Richonne and cars, it always makes for a great moment. 👌🏽

But Carl goes for it anyway and Michonne playfully says “Oh come on” before sweetly acknowledge that he “Won it fair and square”.

And y’all I love that Rick is literally just taking it all in and smiling. Like I don’t know that he ever thought he’d see his son get to be this lighthearted again and yet here they are in this super normal and happy moment.

Also I appreciate that while he could have rushed them with their little candy exchange, he instead lets them have this whole little moment as he happily third wheels lol. 😋

And then he watches his good little son kindly agree to split the candy bar cuz they always share. It’s precious cuz in saying “always” that means they do this type of stuff often. 😊

And I love that she actually takes it and cutely says “fork it over” cuz she’s like it’s true tho we do always share. 😂

Their dynamic is perfection here and, as casual as this moment is, you can still tell that Carl and Michonne mean the world to each other.

So this scene has always been so special for the Grimes Family 2.0 aspect of it. Even when I first watched this, I loved the friendship Michonne and Carl had.

But now in retrospect, this scene has become crucial to Richonne cuz, as I mentioned earlier, this is where I think we get to visually see the moment Rick realizes he loves Michonne a little differently than he thought.

Cuz y’all, a lot of people think this look right here, seconds before Richonne went canon, was the first time that Rick looked at Michonne like this…

But uh…they thought. 😊

Cuz in this season 4 scene Rick is watching this little candy exchange between Michonne and Carl and then he looks at Michonne like this…

Looks familiar to me. 😋

And y’all that’s just the first time he looks at her like this in this one single scene! Cuz then the scene ends with him looking at her like this…

Re-watching these episodes I really wanted to see if I could track down the moment when Rick and Michonne first knew they might be falling in love. Like I wanted to see if I’d see when Rick and Michonne first seem to know their love for each other went from friend-love to really falling in love.

And y’all, to me, that lingering look is the moment for Rick. So when I saw this I was like…

(And to me, Michonne’s moment of becoming more self aware is in the next episode,which I’ll def be talking about soon 😋)

I love the little look Rick gives Michonne cuz I’m telling you Homeboy’s slowly but surely becoming self-aware about just how special Michonne is to him personally. Like that look just felt like an “I think I might love you for real” look.

Not just “oh I like her”, or “I love her relationship with Carl”, I think in this moment Rick is realizing I love her. 💯

And now, if this look just happened once you could probably overlook it, but for him to do this twice, it lets you know he’s definitely become more self aware of his feelings for her.

Like when he looked at Carl, that’s him thinking “aw this is a sweet moment”.

When he turns to Michonne tho…there’s def something different communicated in that look.

And again, for him to look at her like this twice it just confirms that this is different. 🙌 🏾😊

So basically, to make a long story short, this look right here is all the proof needed to let the world know these two have been in love for a long time lol…

They still had a journey to go on in terms of being 100% aware of their feelings but these are just the moments where I think the thought and the notion of being in love first crossed their mind in a much more direct way than before.

And I love that the scene ends with Rick’s smile as he realizes this is actually a great family moment. Like they make him so happy and that makes me so happy.

Honestly they could have just spent the rest of their days in this little family unit. I would have still tuned in lol.

Also, it’s crazy that this is their only scene in this episode but it makes such a lasting impression and it’s the best scene of the episode in my humble opinion. 😋

And I love that the episode is called “Us” cuz those three became an “us” in 4b and never looked back.

And y’all! This train track scene I think is even more confirmed to be the moment Rick realized he could have a deeper love for Michonne when three seasons later it’ll be the first thing he recalls about her during the season 7 premiere.😭

Rick recalling this moment during that intense season 7 premiere lets me know just how special this moment was to him and considering it’s, I believe, his earliest memory of her in those season 7 flashback memories, I’m pretty sure that could suggest that this is when he started to fall in love. 🙌🏾☺️

And how could he not, cuz this moment made it crystal clear that Michonne belonged in this family. 👌🏽😊

I love so much about this scene and I’m so glad we got this moment, even if from now on watching it will always make me teary eyed. 😭

And one of the things I love most about this scene is that it illustrates just how true Hershel’s words were. “Things break but they can still grow”.

And in this moment Rick got to experience the whole new precious plant that’s taken root and grown right before his eyes. 👌🏽🙌 🏾😊

156 notes · View notes