When you wake up, it’s to a giant tree limb slamming itself against the large stadium window. You jump in fear before you recognize the noise for what it is, taking a breath. Abby had you tucked against her chest with your head under her chin, so she feels you wake up. Her warm hands run up your back and she lets out a groan when you pull your body away from her.
“Sorry! I gotta go pee!” you apologize, practically running for the bathroom to keep the warmth in your body. Abby looks out the window. All of your responsibilities have been put on hold until the storm is over and you're going to take advantage of being able to lay in bed a bit longer than usual.
You quickly come back to bed and climb into Abby’s open arms.
“Did you sleep okay?” you mumble against Abby's collarbone. Abby's midnight worries are gone now that the sun is up. Well it’s technically up there, behind the clouds.
“Yeah,” she sighs. “Sorry about that.”
“You don’t have to apologize. You remember when I had nightmares for a week after we watched that killer doll movie?”
Abby snorts. “Yeahhh, that movie was fucked up”
“It was! And the black hole movie was also fucked. You don’t have to apologize… But am I allowed to say I told you so?”
Abby playfully squeezes you tight to make you giggle.
“Yeah,” she grins down at you. “You can.”
“Okay!… I Told You Watching That Movie Would Give You Nightmares.”
“Why’d you say it like that? Are you decreeing it?”
“Well yeah. You know I like being right. Besides, when you get scared I get to protect you so honestly it’s a win for me.”
“Glad my misery brings you happiness”
You respond to her grumble with a kiss.
“My sweet scaredy-cat,” you say against her lips. “I'll always protect you. Don’t worry” and then you give her another, longer kiss.
I do like the ending of the 2006 adaptation of Number 13, where Greg Wise and Tom Burke end up sleeping in the same bed after the creepy stuff goes down. Not just because ohoho repressed homoeroticism (though that is a bonus), but also just because it's probably the most realistic reaction I've ever seen in a ghost story. Like, no fucking way would you go to sleep by yourself after that shit. We need more stories that involve post-haunting snuggles.
Ahhhh probably one of the most anticipated exchanges between Rick and Michonne, and of course, it was sensational. This scene powerfully reiterated that these soulmates truly mean the world to each other. And after seasons of communicating those special three words through every look, touch, kiss, and conversation, we finally got to hear Rick and Michonne directly say what's always been true - they love each other 🥰 Wholly, Deeply, and Forever...
This ily moment, adorably spoiled by our lovely captains 😋, is so tender and heartfelt while also being so natural and clear that these two have been verbally expressing I Love You’s for a while.
(Side note: I know there’s often debate on Rick’s hottest season lookswise, and really you could make a great case for any season, but lemme just place my vote here for season 8 right quick. 😊 Something about Season 8 Rick was extra fine. I feel bad cuz he was in pain all season, which I truly hate to see...but Rick was looking real right even while everything was going wrong ijs. even tho I think Rick Grimes' TOWL era is about to take the cake 🤭)
Something I so love about Rick and Michonne's relationship is that whenever they go through hardship they ultimately step closer rather than apart. They always eventually close the distance, which was evident in this lovely 'I love you' scene.
And I feel grateful that after experiencing such a devastating loss of their son, Carl, (why, TWD, why? 😭) and having to go on their journeys of grief, Rick and Michonne find their way back to each other truly in this moment. It doesn’t always go that way when a couple loses a kid as we’ve seen from other characters in this very series. But for Rick and Michonne, what they have is so unbreakable that, even in the hardest storm, their love still shines through, rises above, guides, and centers them.
So reflecting on Richonne's I Love You scene will forever have me like...
There’s also a beautiful and heart-rending honorable mention scene in this ep where Rick wipes Michonne's tears and Michonne opens up with Rick (and even makes reference to her son Andre 😭) while trying to help him heal at Hilltop instead of running out and about to get away from his grief.
But Rick still has a bit of savage Rick to get out of his system, so he and Morgan go hunt down some saviors first.
(Side note: while we're talking season 8, this 100th ep kiss in the season 8 premiere also deserves a big honorable mention because...🥵🔥🔥)
When Rick returns to Hilltop after wildin out with Morgan, he’s finally gained clarity on what he needs to start focusing on and who he needs to be healing with. Which leads to him saying those three very special words to the very special woman in his life. 🤗
So the scene starts with Rick returning to his room in a clean fresh tee, showing a clean fresh start to me. (Also Rick + a white tee has been a great combo since season 1, y'all) And he finally knows it’s time to let his wife and son guide him and read Carl's letter.
Michonne enters sorta hesitant I think because when Rick and Morgan returned they def looked like they had dabbled in the dark side out in those woods, and so she might be wondering what headspace Rick's in after whatever he just did.
But the thing about magnets is they always find their way back to each other and so Rick's not grown more distant but rather more aware of how he needs to navigate this season with her.
She finds him holding the letter, and Rick first says, "Thank you." Again, I love that Rick always thanks Michonne. Like as early as when they were strangers in s3, Rick has always vocally expressed gratitude for Michonne. And, in this moment, he knows how much Michonne has been his rock during this unbearable time as well as still fighting for their son Carl and his wishes, and so Rick thanks her for it. Her presence in his life is invaluable and he knows it.
Also, I adore the shared breath they both take when he says this. #TheyAreOne. And Michonne's so relieved that Rick has arrived at this point in his grieving journey.
Then Rick says he’s sorry which is also great cuz he knows going out and handling all this alone is not how magnets do. And Michonne is so understanding when she says, "You don't have to be."
It's just more proof that she is the exact kind of loving presence Rick needs in his life because she’s so good at both accountability and empathy. (Also in 4.09, Rick tells Carl sorry, and Carl also responds with, "You don't have to be." 😭)
And then Rick, knowing how blessed he is to have Michonne love him and stand with him through it all, turns to her and so tenderly says, "I love you." Beautiful x10. 🥹✨
I love how melodic it's said. 🥰 It’s this lovely quiet moment and Rick says it truly like it is a reassuring reminder of something he has expressed to her often and feels deeply.
I love that he turns to really look her in the eyes and has this little nod and subtlest smile when he says 'I love you.' And you just know he genuinely means this. It’s so great, and I could replay it 1000 times idc.
And Michonne really does complete the perfection when she so movingly says, "I love you too." 🥹✨
Again, you can feel how much she means this. The emotion on Rick's face, when he hears his wife say she loves him too shows that he also can feel how much they both mean this, especially as a small tear can be seen. They are everything to each other. 🥲
(Side note: One of the many reasons why I was so elated to hear Rick call Michonne his wife in that TOWL trailer (which I'm still there btw - haven't left since I first heard it 😋) is because we who love their love story of course already knew he views her as his wife (since 2016) and that he'd refer to her as that in the spinoff series, but by saying it in the trailer it showed that this isn't some big reveal they have to wait to say in the new show. Michonne has been his wife for the longest. Rick has viewed her as his wife for seasons.
Their marriage is not a new TOWL development, it is an element of TWD. And scenes like this ily scene in season 8 make that crystal clear. (also I cannot wait to hear Rick call Michonne his "wife" even more and to hopefully hear Michonne call Rick her husband 😊)
I adore that we had so many moments of Rick and Michonne communicating 'I love you' to each other in different ways leading up to this point, and then this scene gifted us with the actual direct ILY exchange between them, and of course it was perfect and proof that...
I really feel confident this wasn't intended to be R&M's first time ever saying "I love you" directly either. In this scene, both of them seemed to communicate it in a way that said this is something they've said before and often. (like it feels like they don't show Michonne's facial expression upon hearing Rick say 'I love you' because this isn't a first. She's heard that man tell her this several times before 😋)
I like to think that why these season 8 'I love you's carry so much weight right here and now is because it might be the first time they've said it to each other post-losing Carl. 😭
How heartwarming is it to know that even in a sea of pain, Rick and Michonne still want each other to know that while their whole world has been changed, the one thing that hasn't changed is their love for each other. 🥹
Their love story is just heavenly. To go from staring at each other through a prison fence and thinking they’d patch her up and then she’d be gone to now declaring their love. Perfection. 🙌🏾
And ILY’s do not seem like a phrase either Rick or Michonne take lightly or would just say to anybody. For them to express this and fall in love with someone, the connection was going to have to be deep and special. And what they found with each other is the deepest love so of course they can tell each other these 3 words with ease.
And because Richonne is the gift that keeps on giving the scene doesn’t stop there. Michonne then approaches Rick and lovingly takes his face in her hands as they share a sweet kiss. 🥹
And only Richonne can make their movement after the kiss feel as passionate and intimate as the kiss itself. Cuz after finally connecting like they’ve been longing to do, Rick and Michonne stay in the moment, looking deep into each other's eyes before leaning their heads against each other with that blessed mirror giving us all the angles. 😍
I love that mirror, y'all. 😋 I'm deeming that mirror and the set designer who placed it there some Richonners cuz, baby, they knew what we needed to see...
The way Rick and Michonne touch each other is always electric, and I love that they seriously feel like one as she rests her hand on his heart and he gently moves his hand up her side. These actors are so gifted at not wasting a single moment or action because they communicate Richonne's love in every second of a scene.
(and when richonne inevitably does that signature forehead touch in TOWL, after years apart...y'all I just might ascend to the heavens right then and there 😇)
It’s also sweet the way Michonne looks at Rick before leaving for him to have this time alone to connect with his son and read the letter.
Having the scene end with Rick reading his son's letter in a whole mirror as opposed to the shattered mirror he saw himself in earlier in the ep, is lovely. And it speaks to the power of Richonne that Rick could arrive at this point, ready to slowly but surely start healing.
“I love you” really is communicated in every Richonne scene. And while season 8 was a weak one overall, one thing it did well was illustrate the stunning strength of Rick and Michonne’s exquisite and powerful love.
And I love knowing that, thanks to TOWL, we're sure to have some more Richonne "I Love You" moments in store. #GiftThatKeepsOnGivingAndGiving 😌
I Wanna Know - Where Would This Scene Land On Your Top 30 Richonne List?
One of her few superstitions is that there’s luck in odd numbers, as Rory O’More is quoted in the poem. Thirteen has played its part in her life. From the date of her birth on the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month following her mother’s marriage, through the production of “Hamlet” where her name was thirteenth on the program, to her arrival in Hollywood and her first assignment to work on stage thirteen, the number has pursued her. Strangely, the number of her house is 8401, and her automobile license is 1-W—750. Both combinations total thirteen.
Following the thirteen thought—1930, the digits which add up to thirteen, has been a fortunate year for her. And in ’31—which is 13 reversed—you’re quite sure to see the girl on our cover a star in her own right. For Kay Francis is one of the brightest prospects to illumine the film firmament since the days when pictures were speechless.
