This article contains season and episode spoilers.
“The Walking Dead” has had a strained relationship with viewers these past few years. After a highly-criticized 7th and 8th season that stretched the “All Out War” comic arc far too long, viewership began to rapidly decline. Plotlines lingered, plot armor was strengthened, and far too many speeches were delivered by King Ezekiel. After the Negan vs. Rick storyline came to a semi-climactic resolution at the end of the 8th season, the direction of the show was passed along to new showrunner Angela Kang.
Tasked with reigniting love for a decaying show, while also dealing with leading actor Andrew Lincoln’s desired departure, Kang soft-rebooted the zombie epic with a time-jump that brought a whole new world to “The Walking Dead.” Season 9 fared much better with critics, as well as fans who enjoyed the refreshed tone and vibe of the narrative. The departure of Rick was handled relatively well, and it enabled more characters to have their turn in the spotlight.
Season 9 introduced the iconic Whisperer arc from the comics, in which the survivors face off against a walker-skin wearing herd led by Samantha Morton’s chilling Alpha. The back half of season 9 (and entirety of season 10) has portrayed this grisly power struggle between the two groups.
As season 10 came around, news of Danai Gurira’s exit from the show made headlines. Another fan-favorite character was departing the long-running series in pursuit of other projects (Gurira is showrunning “Americanah” for HBO MAX and is a recurring character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). Her presence in season 10 has been slightly limited, only appearing in a handful of episodes. Audiences last saw her in episode 8 of season 10, where a mysterious survivor named Virgil pleaded with her to help him find his family on a remote island nearby, in exchange for more weaponry that could help the group defeat Alpha’s massive horde. That episode saw Michonne sailing off with this mysterious character.
Going into episode 13 audiences were aware that it would be Michonne’s last, so the narrative was almost guaranteed to provide some impactful moments. Character-centric sendoff episodes of the show are known to be filled with nostalgic callbacks and unique narrative choices (such as Tyreese’s hallucinatory sendoff in season 5). Michonne’s finale proved to be no different.
What starts as a typical stealth mission with Michonne and Virgil clearing out a walker-infested naval base eventually leads to a hallucinatory retelling of Michonne’s backstory after she is drugged by Virgil. While tripping, Michonne experiences her life as if she hadn’t saved Andrea back at the farm in season 2 and joined Rick’s group of survivors. The sequence sees Michonne being recruited by Negan (after he compliments her “massive lady nuts”), offing characters Glenn and Heath during the savior safehouse shootout from season 8, and even being called up to help Negan carry out the infamous Lucille lineup. The sequence ends with Michonne being taken out by none-other than her former lover, Rick Grimes.
At first I was a bit frustrated with this episode, considering “The Walking Dead” has repeatedly pulled the “innocent survivor is actually villainous” twist on countless occasions. The fact that Virgil decides to drug Michonne and lock her in a cell feels a bit absurd and forced. Character-wise Michonne would probably know better than to travel to an island alone with someone she doesn’t truly know. I understand that the writers needed a way for Michonne to be put in a vulnerable situation in order for her to reflect on her past, but maybe it could’ve been done in a less absurd way (Drugged tea? Really?).
Regardless of how it is initiated, the hallucinatory sequence is absolutely brilliant and chilling. Paired with Bear McCreary’s haunting score, the twisted retelling of Michonne’s past is supremely effective. Seeing characters like Glenn, Rick, Carl, and Abraham (even though it’s old footage) is so refreshing for long-time fans (I may or may not have let out a screech when a clip of Rick from the prison days flashed on screen with no warning). The inclusion of these moments reaffirms the continuity of the show, embracing key moments in the timeline despite them happening years ago. The VFX team and cinematographer did an excellent job of matching the lighting of old scenes while incorporating new visuals.
Scenes with Michonne as Negan’s right-hand woman are maliciously rewarding and equally heartbreaking at the same time. The fact that Michonne’s choices could’ve led her down such a twisted path is enlightening to see, as well as so much fun to watch play out. The moments truly hit home when Michonne interacts with former survivors. Watching Michonne stare into the barrel of Rick’s iconic python is such a nightmarish and uncanny visual.
The show has constantly played with perspectives, with many even citing that Rick’s group probably appear as the true villains when in the perspective of the show’s antagonists. It’s fascinating to see Rick’s group through the lens of one of the other iconic survivors – if they were to be on the opposing team.
The other aspects of the narrative, like Michonne working together with another group of Virgil prisoners to escape feels a bit tacky. When Michonne and the prisoners confront Virgil on the island, they try and persuade Michonne to kill him but she refuses. In a decision that feels frustratingly similar to the exact same thing Rick did to Negan at the end of season 8 (which was a well justified moment), Michonne spares the man who imprisoned and drugged her. I understand that Michonne’s hallucination emphasized the importance of making smart choices in the apocalypse but this moment just felt a bit out of character for Michonne. Especially considering that she ends up going back into the naval base with Virgil afterwards to look for supplies as if he didn’t lock her up in a room hours earlier. Additionally, I never found Michonne to have major issues with unnecessary violence against other human antagonists, so her deciding not to kill someone doesn’t feel as emotionally cathartic as it should.
The conclusion of the episode, featuring a walkie talkie conversation between Michonne and her children Judith and RJ was emotionally rewarding. Hearing Judith giving her mother permission to set off on a journey to find Rick (after finding evidence that he’s still alive) is bittersweet. The fans have been dying for the survivors to reunite with Grimes, but the pain of a mother leaving her children for an unpredictable amount of time is unsettling.
The final moments of the episode bring Michonne’s journey full circle, with her recruiting two new guardian walkers and heading off to find Rick. She eventually stumbles upon new survivors who ask her to help them catch up with a large traveling convoy far in the distance. As she contemplates what to do against the blazing sun, visuals of her and Rick at the iconic season 3 and 4 prison fence chillingly flash before her eyes as McCreary’s emotional score ramps up. Rick’s famous “3 Questions” dialogue repeats as Michonne decides to kill off her walker guardians and head out into the hills with the new survivors. Her cycle is broken and she is off to a new world.
Danai Gurira acts the hell out of this episode. She is consistently one of the strongest actors on the show and her performance in “What We Become” is instantly memorable. The way she changes her demeanor and body language as she plays Negan’s henchwoman is extremely engaging and villainous. Her breakdown after being drugged in the naval base is very-well acted, conveying the immense pain and confusion her character is facing. Her pleas and cries ring genuine and absolutely heartbreaking coming from such a strong character. When she finds Rick’s boots stowed away in a storage room, in addition to a makeshift drawing of her and Judith, her immediate heartbreak and panic is riveting. The way she seamlessly enters a frenzied state via frantic body movement and tonal change is extremely effective. You really feel the desperation and hope she has for potentially reuniting with Rick again.
Michonne’s send-off episode genuinely got me excited for the future of the show’s world. The nostalgic retelling of Michonne’s past was emotional and hard-hitting. Audiences finally received a hint on Rick’s whereabouts and Gurira delivered one final episode of iconic Michonne katana action. Overall, this hallucinatory nightmare was a brilliantly effective and heartbreaking experience for long-time fans of the show, and a fitting send-off to one of the strongest characters on “The Walking Dead.”
We will miss you, Danai.
