Hey! Long time, no see! Life has been busy lately, so I haven't had much time to talk about Richonne in depth like I used to, but I have a day off and time to spare. Today I want to focus on one thing in particular.
Richonne have a habit of completing each other's sentences. It only happens when they are 100% in the same headspace, 100% spiritually connected, and 100% with the same purpose. It is a signal of their connection at its zenith. It is a subtle detail and I want to go over one of my favorite instances of it, and if people dig this, I'll go over a couple of others.
The first time I noticed this happening was in the season 9 finale, where Negan wakes up to Rick and Michonne standing over his bed.. We begin with Michonne using the word 'we' to establish that both she and Rick are talking. Negan has his eyes closed, but he hears both of their voices, creating a neat trick of feeling as if Negan is experiencing a combination of them both at his most vulnerable time. I always found it ironic that Negan was searching and searching for Rick's weak point, and it was under his nose the whole time. This scene is about Negan's realization that he was never dealing with Rick alone. He was always dealing with *them*. The We (this is what I'll call *this* from now on.)
Negan first hears Michonne as she tells him they are going to make him watch what happens. He opens his eyes, and Rick's voice blends in, reinforcing what Michonne is saying. That they are the ones running things. Negan only looks at Rick at first. He is the one who tore his kingdom down and sliced his throat on top of it. Rick is wearing a white t-shirt (which I'll talk about later) and continues telling him that his way is dead. Negan talks about being a savior, only to be blindsided by Michonne grabbing his throat. She was always the threat he didn't see. She is wearing black. The dynamic is very much giving good cop/bad cop. Rick and Michonne speak in tandem about the new rules of this place. How it will operate under new leadership and make it plain *they* are the new leadership. Slowly, you can see in Negan's eyes the realization. Michonne was the piece he didn't see and didn't concentrate on. The queen on the chessboard.
And then The We shows up and they start completing each other's sentences. Rick joins Michonne on the side of the bed she is on, and it is very subtle but very powerful in context.
Michonne: Yeah, you get to be a part of it. You'll be an example of what this could be.
Rick: We're not going to kill you. We're not going to hurt you. You're going to rot in a cell...
Michonne:..for the rest of your life. Day after day.
Rick: You're gonna be evidence that we are making a civilization. Something like what we had that we are going to get back...
Michonne:...and you get to watch it happen. And you get to see how wrong you were. About what people can be, about what life can be...
Rick:...You alive is going to show people that things have changed. That keeping you breathing earns another way, a better way. That's the part you'll play...
Michonne: ...so after all this, maybe you're good for something.
They are in tandem. They finish each other's thoughts like they are one mind. They present a united front as the leaders, and it is obvious that the we they speak of is them because Maggie and the rest don't agree with Negan living. The We is in control.
So the color of their shirts I mentioned earlier. The white and the black? Pretty simple and awesome at the same time.
(BTW the yin and yang symbology for them literally happens the first time they sleep together. Look at how they are laying on the bed after they make love for the first time. Another post for another day.)
The yin (the black with white embedded in it) represents femininity. The yang (the white with black embedded in it) represents masculinity. Opposite but intertwined. One. We. Literally, you can't have one without the other. And I love how the costuming, dialogue, and acting all reflect the fact that Rick and Michonne are one being. The We. This is later expanded in TOWL, but that is a much, much, much larger post.
#7: Would you rather Michonne got to have a scene or two with Beale or Okafor & why?
#8: What dynamic do you think Okafor would try to have with Michonne had he lived - Respected "A" Recruit, Threatening Enemy, Intriguing Interest, A Powerful Chess Piece to Hold Over Rick’s Head, All of the Above? And do you think Okafor would instantly know that "Dana" was really Rick's wife?
#9: How would Rick respond if he saw a guy in the CRM trying to flirt with “Dana Bethune”? How would Michonne respond to the CRM guy flirting with her, too? Are Richonne remembering to play their CRM roles, or does that quickly go out the window if someone there keeps attempting to come on to Michonne?
1. 100% Okafor but not because of the reasons most people think. I think that their dynamic would be fascinating because I think Michonne would remind Okafor of his own wife who he sacrificed for her vision, including her. I think this is actually what got into Rick’s head during their confrontation. That Okafor was once him but was utterly broken by killing his wife to save others. Michonne would be a constant reminder of that for Okafor. Michonne would see right through him too so that would be a problem.
2. I think Okafor would try to use Rick’s fear of anything happening to Michonne against him, but Michonne would be too saavy for the plays or Okafor messing with Rick’s mind. I think Okafor would try to persuade her to his point of view to sway Rick because he sees she’s the key to getting Rick to do what he wants. But he would ultimately be sorta cautious with killing Michonne as well because he would lose Rick 100% if he did. Michonne would probably try to kill Okafor because of all she went through on the road. And she would tell Rick it was men like Okafor in the plane that gassed her and her friends. Basically hostility central.
3. Rick would have that soldier on latrine duty for the rest of his life. He is that petty and he would watch the poor man scrubbing the toilet with the most savage expression of all time. Think of how he treated Gabe in season 5 and 6 and then up it by 1 million. Michonne would just look at chick with one withering gaze and that would be done. lol
There are so many moments I appreciate in “Knots Untie” [S6:11] and while I’m not sure if this one is my favorite (cause there is that Sasha pulling a #DDLJ on Abraham scene [if you know, you know] at the very beginning of the episode) but after the previous episode (the opening and the ending), I really loved seeing Rick still so happy (and dare I say proud?). It also further solidifies for me, we were supposed to recognize, we were witnessing a man in love scene after scene in “The Next World” [S6:10], long before he sprawls out on that couch waiting for his nightly wind down with Michonne.
When I watched this scene in the camper for the first time (which admittedly was only a few months ago) I found it adorable because he seems so carefree, open. Like he’s finally getting to do all the things he’s wanted to do with this woman. ‘Cause how long had he been holding himself back? How much had he wanted to reach out and touch her? Hold her hand? Be skin to skin?
And now he can touch her whenever he wants. He can show her at any point, any time that he’s thinking of her, glad she’s by his side just by reaching out.
Taking into consideration how much Rick LOVES touching people it must have been killing him. How hard it must have been to keep his hands off of her! 😅😉 Especially once he knew he loved her and planned to do something about it (which he admits to Carl earlier).
But the fact we only see a couple other times he initiates physical contact after their infamous meeting, it makes you respect him even more as a human and friend, for keeping in check something that comes so naturally to him in order to adhere to her boundaries, all the way up to “their moment” the night before.
I’ve always loved the fact that Rick on the road was struggling with not touching her. It was the biggest silent indicator he liked her. He would hug Carol. Be affectionate with Maggie. Shake hands and come in close with Glenn and Daryl. Hug and comfort Carl. Even Noah at one point got physical affection from Rick. But Rick would not hug Michonne.
Any other character, it would have been a different indication, but with Rick’s love language very much being touch, it showed a caution with her that wasn’t there with anyone else. Add in we, as the audience, know Michonne is one of the closet to him on the road so it creates the question in our minds of why doesn’t he touch her. And the reason why is he knew if he hugged her, he would start kissing on her. Wanting to do other things.
So when he would give her little touches the camera lingered. Made sure you saw it. And when you realize Rick touches her because he HAS to touch her in those moments? Couldn’t help it? Makes his PDA later make so much sense because for so long he was the kid next to the sweets table who couldn’t have any that was finally given permission to have as many sweets as he wants. Rick finally got to have as many touches has he wanted.
I haven't posted on Tumblr in years but Twitter doesn't allow me to get all my thoughts out so here I am because holy shit!
I couldn't find a photo of Rick smiling at this moment (and I'm too lazy to) but I think it is quite possibly the shippest thing I have ever witnessed and nobody is talking about it.
I've seen a lot of commentary about what the smile meant and as someone who has loved Richonne for a long time, I knew immediately what it was and flashed back to the moment it was born.
Skip to 4:25 for the moment...
The moment that that bomb blows up on the bridge Rick is freaking out. He is just getting his fight back but it is a moment where both he and Michonne are in maximum danger and almost died doing a danger action. He is having a panic attack quite literally and Michonne is laughing and excited. And she tells him:
"We're here. You can smile. We made it. We can make it. We can. We're the ones who live."
And in that instant, he calms immediately. Later that episode we get the iconic smile of Rick in danger for the first time.
At that point when the group is in trouble or he's in really deep over his head, Rick remembers these words from the woman he loves and smiles because he's still in it. He's in the game. He's alive. He's here.
Because they are the ones who live.
Michonne is always on this man's mind and it is such an underrated moment in the finale. Because at a moment when Rick is facing imprisonment and is probably the lowest he's been because he's come so close to freedom and his family, the literal last moment he is on screen on The Walking Dead he smiles like Michonne told him to in times of great danger. That reminder that as long as he is above ground...he gets to live and fight another day. Just...I love it.
I haven't posted on Tumblr in years but Twitter doesn't allow me to get all my thoughts out so here I am because holy shit!
I couldn't find a photo of Rick smiling at this moment (and I'm too lazy to) but I think it is quite possibly the shippest thing I have ever witnessed and nobody is talking about it.
I've seen a lot of commentary about what the smile meant and as someone who has loved Richonne for a long time, I knew immediately what it was and flashed back to the moment it was born.
Skip to 4:25 for the moment...
The moment that that bomb blows up on the bridge Rick is freaking out. He is just getting his fight back but it is a moment where both he and Michonne are in maximum danger and almost died doing a danger action. He is having a panic attack quite literally and Michonne is laughing and excited. And she tells him:
"We're here. You can smile. We made it. We can make it. We can. We're the ones who live."
And in that instant, he calms immediately. Later that episode we get the iconic smile of Rick in danger for the first time.
At that point when the group is in trouble or he's in really deep over his head, Rick remembers these words from the woman he loves and smiles because he's still in it. He's in the game. He's alive. He's here.
Because they are the ones who live.
Michonne is always on this man's mind and it is such an underrated moment in the finale. Because at a moment when Rick is facing imprisonment and is probably the lowest he's been because he's come so close to freedom and his family, the literal last moment he is on screen on The Walking Dead he smiles like Michonne told him to in times of great danger. That reminder that as long as he is above ground...he gets to live and fight another day. Just...I love it.
GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence on Thursday predicted Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion,...
“I’m pro-life and I don’t apologize for it,” he said during a town hall meeting here. “We’ll see Roe vs. Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs.”
So when we talk about stakes being high this election it is not just hyperbole. Whoever is the next president will decide at least the next four judges on the Supreme Court. If Donald Trump wins Roe v. Wade is gone. Affirmative action is gone. The Voting Rights act is gone. The gains LBGTQ have made in the last 25 years will be erased. Citizens United will stay the law of the land and become even stronger. It will lead to the most radically to the right Supreme Court in the history of the country and erase close to 100 years of progress in this country. And if they have a Republican Congress with a Republican President it will make George W. Bush look like kindergarten.
And before anyone adds in that “oh but the revolutionaries didn’t riot and destroy small businesses...”
They one hundred percent did.
Skirmishes between colonists and soldiers—and between patriot colonists and colonists loyal to Britain (loyalists)—were increasingly common. To protest taxes, patriots often vandalized stores selling British goods and intimidated store merchants and their customers.
Boston Massacre: Causes and Fact
They also liked to tar and feather, which is way more brutal that people believe it was, against British agents who came to enforce laws they believed were unjust.
If you are wondering the people who are leading the tar and feathering are John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Samuel Adams, leader of the pro-democracy group Son of Liberty (and has a beer named after him).
I am not a proponent of rioting. But to pretend that every social unrest in this country didn’t have some element of riots or violence is very naive and white washes the complicated reality of what makes change in this country.
