♥️ Ranking Richonne
#18: We Will (S7E16)
The beauty of this whole scene is just breathtaking to me and I appreciate this moment so much. 😭 I once saw Rick and Michonne's dynamic described as “healthily reliant on each other” and that’s really a great way to put it. I mean there's a reason TOWL's description says, "Without each other are they even alive?" And this s7 finale scene illustrates how Rick and Michonne breathe life into each other. I always love it when Richonne’s deep love is so visibly poured out, and this moment just perfectly captured how much they love and need each other, and how they truly are one...
This scene arrives after all the wild events of the season 7 finale. Rick and Michonne had a day, y’all. 😣 Like being harassed and betrayed by Jadis and her people, losing Sasha (😢), Michonne having to fight for her life on a balcony, Rick and Carl on their knees devastated thinking they just saw the matriarch of their family fall to her death, and Negan coming this close to killing Carl before a whole tiger saves the day. Safe to say they’d been through a lot and needed to now be back in the arms of the one who makes them feel most safe. And so that’s exactly what happens. 😌
As soon as Rick and Carl are able to go check on Michonne they urgently run over to find her, and I love how much her boys love her and how happy they are to see it wasn’t her that fell. If my eyes don’t deceive me, Rick really does look upward and seems both relieved and impressed that Michonne took care of business.
So then Rick enters this room where Michonne is leaning against a wall and all bloodied and it’s heartbreaking to see. I always think about how she must've been so seriously hurt to have to just stay in that room during the battle 😢 cuz I know if any ounce of her could have continued to fight with the others, she would have.
Rick immediately gets rid of his gun when he sees it’s her and he is so gentle with her when he stoops to her side and calls her name. At the same time, you can really hear and see the utter concern he has as he worries if she’ll respond. He loves her so much, y’all. 😭 It’s always so clear. Especially the second time he says her name, you can just tell that losing Michonne would break him.
I'm sure he knows it too. Like in the van in 7.12 he expressed knowing it was possible they could lose each other, but for both Rick and Michonne, seeing the other "fall to their death" and thinking they lost them just really confirmed that the loss of the other would be pretty unbearable.
Also, the way he takes the biggest breath when he finally hears her breathing. My heart instantly melts. It’s beautiful. And it is such a vivid illustration of the way she has his heart. Like truly, it’s like her little breath put breath back into him.
It feels like Rick now knows the exact feeling Michonne felt when she thought she lost him in Say Yes. He experienced that same emptying when thinking he saw her fall. And so being back with her just brings him back to life, and I feel like it confirms to him how much he can’t lose her. Like they still can technically, but also they can't.
I love the tender way Rick places his hand on her face and whispers "you’re alive" with so much relief. And you can tell this whole time he’s trying to figure out how to touch her without hurting her. #Magnets.
And the way Michonne can’t even fully open her eyes but just hearing his voice and feeling his touch puts a smile on her face. Y’all...their love is so palpable, and they are seriously the best soulmates on TV. Just had to reiterate that. 🙌🏾
The way Michonne clearly reaches for him too. I feel like it has to be such a relief to her that he’s also alive after the last thing she saw was basically him getting grazed by trifling Jadis before the fight broke out.
Carl joins them, and I know having her boys back with her after all the chaos that ensued really does cement to Michonne that they’re the ones who live.
And then I absolutely adore that it seems Rick kisses her hand. And then, even in so much pain that it hurts to talk, Michonne, the resilient queen she is, still nods and tries to instill encouragement and belief in them by trying to say their ever-so-important and always true motto - we’re the ones who live.
But that Rhonda Rousey trash chick really did a number when choking her, so Michonne can’t fully get the words out. So, to just make the scene even more romantic, Rick knows exactly what she’s trying to say, and he says in the warmest sweetest voice, "I know" three times.
Y’all, it makes me teary the way he speaks to her. 🥲 Both of their Richonne tones are A1 always. It is so caring and gentle, and I love that he sees that she’s in pain and he again softly touches her and lets her know it’s okay cuz he knows what she’s trying to say, and he believes in their motto too.
And he shows how much he believes it even more when he says with conviction “We are. We will.” Genuinely romantic and moving. 😭😭 Like genuinely no one should be surprised that Rick and Michonne's return to the franchise is being marketed as an epic love story because their journey has always been a love story. And a love story for the ages at that. 😌
I love the way Rick looks right at Michonne this whole time, again just letting her be the sole focus over anything else going on. And it’s sweet cuz in the s7 msf she was the one reminding him they’re the ones who live, and in the finale, it’s them both knowing and believing it together. 🥰
There's also something so powerful about the two of them affirming this to each other after their previous partners both didn't have that same 'we can live and make it' mentality. It just further shows how Rick and Michonne are truly more aligned at their core.
And then you really see those magnets kick in cuz Rick is like somehow someway I still need to hug you. And I just adore this hug. 😭 I love it because it’s Rick wanting to offer comfort to her, but it’s also very much a comfort for him too.
You can just see it in the way he leans into her like this is the one moment in the day where he can just release and be Rick the human being, in the arms of the woman who loves and takes care of and offers the utmost warmth to him.
I so appreciate that Rick and Michonne are able to equally be that invaluable source of comfort for each other - because they’re strong for everyone else, but with each other they can just be all of themselves.
And I love how, even in her pain, Michonne still passionately embraces him (with her hands in his curls once again, cuz of course 😋) You again just see how much this husband and wife can be human with each other and how much being in each other's arms is where they feel most at home. After everything they'd been through that day, just being back with each other began to restore them.
It’s also really sweet that Carl is right there to see all this. I love that during this time Carl and Judith got to grow up in a home where their parents so deeply loved each other. irl, it’s important for kids to see their parents value each other.
(also the only thing that could have made this scene better is if we got to see Carl eventually join in on the hug. i tease that this is 'the greedy hug' because Rick really said look I need my time with Michonne and Carl is just gon' have to wait his turn lol 😋)
And I notice how Carl had been being strong all episode but it’s only when he sees Michonne that we see him get a bit more emotional. Michonne has always meant so much to him. That's his mom. So it’s sweet that it’s in this moment where Carl finally can’t help but react with a bit more emotion.
Also it makes me think of how little Carl was there to witness that bullet exchange between Rick and Michonne in Clear, where his little self seemed to be picking up on a vibe between them. And now here he is older, and seeing exactly the love that was deep under the surface between Rick and Michonne back then.
(Side note: of all the deleted TWD scenes I’ve seen, the one from this ep with Michonne giving a speech to Carl (and Rick) really should’ve been kept in imo, especially as a full circle moment to this scene here)
And I love that they really stay in that hug for a moment. Richonne never rushes when expressing their love. And the visual of the three of them, the golden trio, is just beautiful. 🥹
Season 7 made a lot missteps but truly when it came to Rick and Michonne’s love story this season they never missed not once. In the area of Richonne content, season 7 is one of my favorites for them because there's just an abundance of Richonne gold throughout.
And concluding Richonne's s7 arc with this gorgeous moment where they seem so relieved to be alive with each other and to be the ones who live and to hug so passionately is great.
And then later to see Rick tending to Michonne while she healed. It was a lovely way to close out the Richonne content of their first full season as a couple. Every season, Rick and Michonne always land on unity and love no matter what they go through.
Scenes like this #18 one make it so clear that what we’ve always been watching is a love supreme between Rick and Michonne Grimes (as Rick has now made perfectly clear for the people in the back #MyWifeIsMyChoice). And I love to see it. 😌
I Wanna Know - Where Would This Scene Land On Your Top 30 Richonne List?
Higher On My List ⬆
Lower On My List ⬇
#18 Is About Right 👌🏽
Not On My List 🙅🏽♀️
