#that's just MY anxiety brain doom spiraling and coming up with worst-case scenarios bc it doesn't know how to NOT do that

[thosewildcharms]

The dreaded echelon briefing 😔 What was your interpretation of Michonne keeping her gaze steady on Rick when Jadis was spouting her propaganda and trying to make him feel selfish? It seemed like after the emotional work she and Rick did last episode she wanted to makes sure he stayed strong. Not gonna lie I’m so worried about Rick in the last episode (I’m fairly certain Michonne’s safe); “this world is broken, YOU build it back up” “things usually go to shit when people try to save the world in their own way” “til my last breath I’m yours” and the correlation of Rick’s childhood story about the burning crops and possibly burning the CRM to the ground. I know if it were up to Andy and Danai, Rick and Michonne would make it home to their babies. So much death and tragedy in the apocalypse can they please just let us have this 🥲

the dreaded echelon briefing. i don't know what it could possibly be but i know it's gotta be BAD bad.

rewatching that scene with rick, michonne and jadis, i like your interpretation because i think michonne is quite frankly always steadying rick lol but i also think something else was going on there. to me, the hard work in 1x04, as you aptly put it, was forcing rick to admit that he knows that going back to the CRM to keep their family safe is bullshit and just a self defense mechanism for his own trauma. so i don't think michonne is particularly worried about rick wavering at this point - she knows he's fine with killing jadis and going home, they just need the file first. rather, i think hearing jadis mention the "true size and scope of what the CRM is going to do to bring this world back" made michonne in particular realize right then and there that escaping the CRM wasn't enough, that they would have to stop them from doing whatever it is the echelon briefing is outlining. when jadis is talking, they both seem to realize she's hoping they'll leave not just to protect their childrean and alexandria from the CRM, but to protect the CRM from them. michonne held rick's gaze because a) they were coming to the same conclusion at the same time and b) she was silently communicating with him that what she was about to say ("this can't end with us going home") had a different meaning so he needed to follow her lead and play along.

as for being worried about rick. well.

i'll be the first to say that i'm terrible at making plot predictions lol i'm literally just here to watch my favorite people make out. but! i think you are right, that the show is clearly setting up some sort of big sacrifice for the greater good. it's been a constant theme since episode one, and i think the obvious conclusion to that would to be for rick (or michonne) to make the difficult decision to sacrifice themselves or each other for the greater good - if we are to take this foreshadowing at face value. BUT. the show is also very insistently trying to get us to draw comparisons between okafor/thorne/jadis and rick and michonne and giving us the constant refrain that while separately rick and michonne are vulnerable, together they can do anything. i think we are supposed to connect that while okafor, thorne, and jadis gave up not only their loved ones but their own sense of self to commit to the mission (whatever that mission may be for each of them), rick and michonne by contrast are not going to do that. rick, as i've said previously, already metaphorically killed himself for okafor's mission only for michonne to bring him back to life. why retread that? so, when i'm in a hopeful mood, i like to think that all of these red flags we're seeing are going to lead so some sort of fake out only for rick and michonne to figure out how to survive this and get home, while also protecting the world from the CRM. it's just that they may have to make a morally questionable choice, or some other sort of sacrifice, to do so. my best guess is that they might need to mass-kill all of those soldiers at the summit that's happening.

but, i do get it. i'm worried in general, not necessarily because of what's actually happening onscreen but because i've been burned so many times before that The Anxiety will not let my brain do anything other than assume the worst as a self-defense mechanism lol. that's just me personally trying to temper my own expectations though. my fear is actually the complete opposite of yours - i think AMC would keep rick and michonne alive indefinitely as they are clearly some of the biggest cash cows they have. my worry is that i think if andy (or danai) felt very strongly that their character should die or just wanted to be done with the franchise once and for all, that choice would be respected and honored. on the other hand, they have clearly demonstrated with these first five episodes that they are dedicated to giving their fans exactly what they want. and while i suppose episodes 4 and 5 in particular could be seen as a swan song before a tragic end, i don't think either one of them is stupid enough to think fans would be satisfied with losing either of these characters at this point. if rick dying was always the endgame, why not just kill him on the bridge in the first place? what would be the point of all of this? it wouldn't make any sense and it would be incredibly awful writing. michonne dying is simply so inconceivable to me i can't even contemplate it. still, anything can happen and i try to be prepared for that so i'll just say that should either rick or michonne die i'm sure danai and andy would do it justice and make it meaningful and respectful. i'm saying this through gritted teeth btw.

#richonne #the ones who live #twd #am i capable of answering an ask without writing a novel the world may never know #answered #just to reiterate re: that last paragraph #that's just MY anxiety brain doom spiraling and coming up with worst-case scenarios bc it doesn't know how to NOT do that #definitely not saying i have any evidence that andy OR danai have expressed such things nor am i trying to put words in their mouths #like this is very much a ME problem lmdasfsdkla