“I wish I died an artist.”
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) are really in their honeymoon phase, aren’t they? That’s what it surprisingly seemed like at the end of last week’s episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. After a heated two-hander of an episode, Michonne decided to forgive Rick, and Rick was finally willing to give Michonne’s escape plan a shot. But, come on… do they really think Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) is going to let that happen?
Rick and Michonne Take Wyoming in ‘The Ones Who Live’ Episode 5
“Luck’s holding up.” This simple sentence Rick utters is the best way to categorize him and Michonne’s situation. While it’s lovely to see these two finally united emotionally and physically, it’s also a bit ominous, because, well, this surely can’t last much longer without the CRM being a major mood killer. They laugh, kiss, eat ramen, and talk about what trinkets they want to bring home to Judith (Cailey Fleming) and RJ (Antony Azor) from the Wyoming lodge gift shop they stumbled across.
For the first time, Rick seems genuine and excited to be heading back home with Michonne, and goes all-in with this rustic vibe by donning a flannel. Thankfully, the two remind us of the badasses they are when they head through a national park and put three strangers in their place. It takes all of three seconds for Rick and Michonne to scare them straight when their foes press their luck and try to threaten them with a gun. No ramen for them. Romance is still in the air, though, as Michonne and Rick enjoy drinks in their room at the cabin. Their “us vs. the world” mentality has never been stronger.
Another ‘Walking Dead’ Character Makes a Surprise Return
This week’s episode of The Ones Who Live actually opened with a major plot twist: Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam). He, as usual, is in a state of panic as he overhears the whirring of helicopters overhead, which is presumed to be where Gabriel is at present. The episode then does what the series does best and explores a different timeline — specifically, a private moment between Jadis (aka Anne) and Gabriel, who used to be romantically involved.
McIntosh yet again impresses with such a dynamic and commanding performance, showing a softer side of the stoic character while still keeping her guard up. Gabriel’s been searching for her, and yet is still surprised to see her. She appears to be alone, but is she really? Anne makes it clear that no one can know that he saw her in the woods, or else they’d both be in danger. Gabriel says that he knows she left because she was judged for things from her past instead of who she was trying to be. She reminds him, though, that she has been “up to something” (the CRM). Trusting her is a mistake.
Ah, Gabriel, you naive soul. Anne plays along when he says that Rick died at the bridge to protect them. “My mistake wasn’t trusting you, it was losing my faith in you,” he says to Anne, who is clearly plotting every word out of her own mouth. She then asks him how he lives with the burden of having killed people (to which he replies, “prayer, amends, talk”), making it feel like she is indirectly referring to the innocent As she’s killed off for the CRM. It’s here she actually seems a little conflicted about the CRM’s rules and secrecy to its own people, marking the beginning of what is perhaps the most heartbreaking storyline of the series yet.
Rick and Michonne Have a Rude Awakening, Courtesy of Jadis
Well, we knew this was going to happen. Jadis literally wakes Rick and Michonne up from their fairytale, on-the-run lifestyle and is ready to kill them. Instead of doing so right away, though, she explains how she found them. Turns out, they unintentionally left bread crumbs (partially in the form of ramen wrappers) down a highway leading directly to Virginia, home of Alexandria. Once again, it’s hard to really feel for Rick and Michonne here, and one might argue Jadis has given Rick too many second chances at this point. If anything, they should be grateful she didn’t just kill them in their sleep.
Jadis refers to someone she killed who was very important in her development as a person, with all signs pointing to the person being Gabriel. Jadis doesn’t want to leave things unsaid between her, Rick, and Michonne. Rick is adamant that she doesn’t care about the CRM or the Republic, but she assures him that she’s neither Anne nor the Scavenger he met way back when, and she is one hundred percent on board with everything that the CRM stands for. But… is she? She even goes as far as thanking Rick and Michonne for dying, as this means the people of all Alexandria will remain safe. Rick and Michonne manage to escape from their handcuffs and Jadis’ grasp, leaving Jadis severely wounded.
Jadis Seems Conflicted in ‘The Ones Who Live’
The episode jumps back again, this time two years, to another meet-up between Gabriel and Jadis. They haven’t been meeting regularly, though; in fact, this is only their second encounter. Gabriel provides not only another layer of connective tissue between The Ones Who Live and The Walking Dead but is essential in peeling back Jadis’ layers. Through their brief interactions, the real Jadis — Anne — begins to poke through. McIntosh masterfully threads the needle between compassion and fury throughout this episode, making for an increasingly nerve-wracking and heart-wrenching progression. We see a side of her for the first time that isn’t all-in but is instead expressing doubts about what she signed up for.
Though Gabriel clearly isn’t going to get her on his side and sway her to leave the CRM, he lets Jadis be vulnerable. He even gives her the ring he found that he was planning to give to Rick to give Michonne, and says that it is a sign of faith during her time of questioning. They agree to meet again at the same place and same time next year, with Gabriel still left wondering why she’s fine with doing cruel things as part of her new community. At their next meeting, Jadis regrets being vulnerable and making him a “loose end,” even going as far as knocking him over and holding him at gunpoint. However, she finds herself unable to pull the trigger.
Rick and Michonne Are Fast and Furious in ‘The Ones Who Live’ Episode 5
In the present, Rick and Michonne are on a high-speed chase in pursuit of Jadis, who is at this point brutally wounded and weakening fast. After she crashes the car and stumbles through the woods, she finds the group of people Rick and Michonne beat up early in the episode, and makes a deal with them: they can join the CRM if they help her with these “dangerous people.” It doesn’t take long, though, for Rick and Michonne to find Jadis, as they’ve followed her bloody breadcrumbs (which she likely left on purpose to lure them) back to that gift shop-turned-sanctuary. It also doesn’t take long for Rick and Michonne to beat up those three strangers again, and for walkers to finish the job.
The rest of the episode takes a very morbid turn, as Jadis tries to hold onto her fearless persona. Between the shootouts and hiding behind walls, she explains to Rick that he was very close to moving up again in the CRM, as Beale (Terry O’Quinn) was going to give him the Echelon Briefing when he returned. If she dies, everyone in Alexandria dies. Michonne steps up, and talks (suspiciously loudly) to Rick about how Jadis is right, and they need to make a sacrifice. Rick says he will go back to the CRM and say he’s the only one who survived the helicopter crash. Jadis agrees to let Michonne get away and never say anything about Alexandria.
Pollyanna McIntosh Sends Jadis Out From ‘The Walking Dead’ on a High Note
Whether you’re a fan of Jadis as a character or not, it’s hard not to get choked up at the episode’s shocking ending. Seeing such a strong-willed character finally embrace the person she always wanted to be (and was, deep down) in her final moments is hard to watch. After pulling a gun on Rick and saying she respects him, a walker knocks Jadis down and takes a massive bite from her neck. Rick and Michonne are too late in getting the walker off her, and as it stands, the CRM will find the document she left behind about Alexandria and destroy it and all its inhabitants.
Jadis, however, uses her dying moments to do exactly what she’s been trying to prevent all along: She tells them where she’s hidden the document containing information on Alexandria, Rick, and Michonne, and instructs them on how to destroy it so the CRM never finds out. Even though she encourages them to not turn on the CRM, Michonne confidently tells her that after they destroy the documents, Rick is going to get the Echelon Briefing, and they are going to turn the city against the CRM.
The final minutes of the episode take the time to remember who Anne was. Her weakly uttering, “I wish I died an artist,” encapsulates just how much of a toll her devotion to the CRM took on her. She shakily hands Rick and Michonne the ring Gabriel gave her and tells Rick to do what he’s always wanted: kill her. It’s not nearly as satisfying as Rick imagined. In fact, he doesn’t want to do it. It feels a bit out of place and weird to have Rick propose to Michonne right after this moment, as Jadis’ demise was such a fitting cap to this episode. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has lost a key part of what made it so good, putting even more pressure on next week’s finale.
