Stages of Falling in Love with Michonne
When Michonne confronts Rick about his hallucinations, he puts his head down, almost like he’s embarrassed of the way he’s been falling apart. It’s a vulnerable moment for him. Michonne counters that by showing him empathy, explaining that she’s been in the same situation. And just like that…the tension between them is gone. Any doubt in Rick’s mind about the kind of person Michonne is, is gone. Carl likes her. He likes her.
What develops next is (aside from Rick’s low-key elation at having her around) Rick’s concern for her safety. And it’s not a one-time thing. At this point, he is driven to exasperation over her stubborn determination to continue searching for The Governor. But he doesn’t say anything. It’s not his place to.
In 4B, Michonne gets to Rick’s heart through Carl. Rick tells Michonne that Carl needs her, and yet seems surprised at her immediate willingness to be…whatever Carl needs her to be. This jars and awes him, because it is a reflection of his own feelings about Carl.
It is also during this time that Michonne becomes Rick’s true right hand (as space previously occupied by Daryl). She, too, can fight by his side. She will have his back. She will save his life. But they connect on a different level because of one shared priority: Carl. He can trust her to prioritize Carl’s safety (and now Judith’s, of course) in any and all situations because she loves him as much as Rick does.
Up until this point in their journey, Rick has built his relationship with Michonne mainly as a slightly unhinged widower, and Old McDonald. Now, she has seen the side of him that will brutally murder a group of men who are threatening his son’s life. When Rick tells her, “I’m okay”, I perceive that to mean, I’m still here. The man you know is still here. In this moment (another vulnerable one for Rick), Michonne gives him reassurance, without falter, that she knows who he is. Nothing has changed. She has always seen him, just as he has seen her.
“He had a mission in his mind to take care of her need.” - Danai Gurira (about 6x10)
The above is a quote about the mints (obviously) but it applies to this moment as well. Rick could not go for one more minute, knowing he had the power to give Michonne something she needed..and not do it. “We should go to Washington.” When he says this, something passes between him and Michonne. She looks at Rick in a little bit of disbelief, and he gives her a slight nod and the barest hint of a smile…because to do this for her makes him so happy. And just like with the mints, this moment warms her heart. And she offers him a look of gratitude and relief that is so powerful, he has to look away.
Here, Michonne’s words from the previous season finale are cemented. It is at this point that Rick understands that even when they are not “together” (when he is in one frame of mind, and she is in another) that she will be there to pull to fight by him, and to fight for him. He will always be worth that to her. Again, this is because she knows who he is, underneath the scars and the trauma. Knowing this, I believe, Rick is able to fall completely, irreversibly in love with Michonne.
