Richonne hits hard in The Ones Who Live but it might be their limited arc that keeps their story precious

It is not every day that one gets to witness the marvel of a universe getting built from the ground up and living to see its completion. Andrew Lincoln was there from Day 1 and he helped build the story up from Ground Zero. So for The Walking Dead patriarch, putting his back into the franchise for 14 long years seemed like enough for one lifetime.

Andrew Lincoln on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live [Credit: AMC]

As such, when fans began to relive the undead universe through the eyes of Rick and Michonne in The Ones Who Live, it was only natural to be curious as to how long this reunion would last before the other shoe dropped like an anvil before the audience’s very eyes.

The Legend of Rick, Michonne, and The Walking Dead

When The Walking Dead took off in 2010, it was barely a blip in the radar of the larger mainstream demographic who were mostly unaware of Robert Kirkman’s creation. Within a year, it became AMC’s flagship series, bringing in more viewership and ratings than ever recorded before. The network was quick to respond, letting the undead loose on the living, and watching from the sidelines as the audience were drawn into The Walking Dead like moths to a flame.

The Walking Dead – Rick and Michonne [Credit: AMC]

However, the audience barely knew what they were signing up for when unsuspecting moments on-screen or innocent dialogues exchanged would build up into a franchise spawning spin-offs and sequels. No one would have ever assumed what it would entail when a road-weary Michonne on the warpath against the Governor showed up outside the fences of the prison holding the very thing Rick desired most. Or when Rick uttered the words – “We’re the ones who live” – for the very first time while facing down the Alexandrians in Season 5.

As Scott M. Gimple would later reveal, the words weren’t merely of ornamental value to the series and its spin-off but held in its core a “continuum of a relationship and love that can’t be extinguished.”

Andrew Lincoln Sheds Light on The Ones Who Live Season 2

After 14 long years, the audience got to witness Rick and Michonne back in action. Their long and arduous journey back to each other tested every nerve in the human body but their reunion was all the more rewarding because of it. And yet, one season of their indestructible love and bonding was not enough to satiate the appetite of a deprived audience who went far too long without their daily dose of The Walking Dead with its beloved patriarch and matriarch marching together at the helm.

Rick and Michonne meet for the first time [Credit: AMC]

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Andrew Lincoln says that “to work opposite Danai and to reunite these people and get the Grimes family unit back together was thrilling” but when it came attached with a subsequent demand for Season 2:

“Never say never. There are other very important characters in the universe that are still wandering around and alive that I think it might be quite exciting to have them breathe the same air and see how long they survive together. But it’s a difficult one. It would have to be like this, a really exciting story.”

As the franchise languishes under an ever-growing and unstoppable audience demand, the series showrunner also feels the weighted expectations of the audience as they demand more of Rick and Michonne. But being the selfless leader that he has been for the past decade and a half, Andrew Lincoln seems selfish enough to want to step down and someone else take over his charge in the legacy of The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is currently streaming on AMC.