Well, color me speechless. Last week's episode of The Walking Dead was a battle cry, and this week's was a 'shipper's dream? I'm going to try not to think about how all of this is probably some kind of narrative "calm before the storm" and focus on the fact that Rick and Michonne had sex on The Walking Dead and I'm still fangirling out, to be honest.
I mean, I liked Rick's relationship with Jessie, I guess, but this is so much better. As Danai Gurira said on Talking Dead, this was a natural progression for their characters. They have had amazing chemistry since Michonne's introduction on the series, and she's only become a more important part of Rick and Carl's family. Michonne lives with Rick, Carl, and Judith. Carl already looks to Michonne as a mother figure. Still, it took the (momentary) serenity of the Alexandria Safe-Zone to allow these two strong personalities to soften and get comfortable with each other in that way. This isn't like most 'ships on television. There have not been a lot of longing looks or near misses between the two. They've just been a solid team and built this relationship slowly. It's refreshing!
At the end of the episode, the second Rick said he wanted to turn his brain off (not a zombie metaphor, I hope) and he and Michonne turned their cute factor up to 11, I had a hunch that this was going to happen.... but before Sunday it was not something I ever thought we'd see on the AMC series. In fact, the entire episode had a more romantic air than usual. Daryl was on a secret love mission for Denise. Carl spent time with Enid, who he previously had a crush on.
But what happened between Rick and Michonne took all of the focus. Obviously, it's huge news and so gratifying for fans. These characters deserve some happiness, and the official canon launch of the SS Richonne on The Walking Dead just delivered that in spades.
Image: Gene Page/AMC
