The show starts with a classic TWD montage, which I think is kind of confusing but this one shows some important events that have or will happen at some point, I think.
After the montage Rick dreams about Michonne showing that he misses her and wants to live a normal life with her. Rick narrates the show as if he is writing letters to Michonne which paints the picture that he will never give up on escaping the CR (Civic Republic) camp Jadis sold him to in TWD season 9.
Rick half heartedly befriends a CRM (Civic Republic Military) officer named Okafor, who tries to reason with Rick by asking him to join the CRM. Okafor tells Rick that he would be a good addition to the team Okafor leads.
After a lot of convincing Rick joins the CRM and meets a woman named Thorne, another CRM trainee. Rick and Thorne graduate CRM training and join Okafor’s team.
Okafor explains the difference between the A people and the B people in the CR. The people listed as A’s are leaders, free thinkers, the A’s are doers, while the B people are followers and blindly accept rules thrown onto them to retain a sense of normalcy. Okafor then says the CR kills all the A people so the public has no chance of overthrowing the government. Because the B’s merely follow rules they think helps them live better lives, they have no desire to change their reality.
In a private conversation Okafor tells Rick and Thorne they are most likely As, and that he needs their help to take over the CR because the CR leaders are corrupt. I think Okafor knew about the CRs plan to destroy the Campus Colony, which happened in The Walking Dead Worlds Beyond.
In TWD Worlds Beyond the CR lured a horde of walkers to the Campus Colony and blew up the walls so the horde could gobble up all the people living there. In Worlds Beyond Jadis explains that the plan was necessary due to the fact the campus colony was not providing any support to the main CR settlement. Jadis made sure another “leach” colony, Omaha, shared the same fate as The campus colony.
Rick has a conversation with a CRM officer, Major General Beale, where Beale asks Rick if Okafor is up to any shady business, then questions Rick’s reasoning for joining the CRM and asks him if this is just another escape plan, Rick denies the accusations.
Then Okafor monologues about having the power to change the world they have become accustomed to, the monologue plays over yet another classic TWD montage.
I can’t really tell if the montage is events that happened in the past, like during a time skip, or if it’s things that will happen in the future. It seems like TWD producers try to use these montages as B-roll, but every time I watch one of them I just get confused and I feel like I’m being brainwashed or something. Who knows maybe the montages hold a greater purpose than showing off the Walking Dead universe in a “oh that was cool” kind of way, anyhow, I digress.
Following that epic montage, Rick visits his old pal Estaban, who is the Deputy Manager of Water and Power of Ward 3 of the CR colony where Rick lives. Rick needed Estabans help in constructing an escape plan because Rick still wants to get back to Michonne. However, Estaban tells Rick not to go through with the plan because he doesn’t want Rick to end up dead.
After a time skip Rick narrates the escape plan as if he is writing a letter to Michonne while acting out the plan Estaban helped him make.
Rick ends up staying in the crm and hears about the “fall” of Omaha. With prior knowledge of the CRs antics, Rick writes one final letter to Michonne telling her he will always love her but he needs to do his part to take down corrupt CR leaders.
After another time skip, Rick is flying a helicopter while talking to Okafor about a dream he has been having about his father. I think it’s important to note that Rick is no longer dreaming about Michonne, this scene shows us Rick has fully moved on from his past life.
During the helicopter conversation an unknown entity fires a bomb at the helicopter where it finds its way inside of Okafor’s chest. The bomb explodes killing Okafor instantly, Rick crashlands the helicopter.
Upon exiting the shattered remains of a trusted whirlybird, Rick throws on his CRM helmet and orders his team to retreat to a safer position. While retreating, the assassination of each team member can be seen behind Rick. The assassin; a masked figure wielding… a white katana!
The figure catches up to Rick and pins him to the ground, and places their sword firmly on Rick’s neck. However, rather than splitting open his esophagus the figure takes a second to identify the man SHE is about to murder.
While locking eyes with a confused yet angry Rick Grimes the figure unmasks herself. Revealing that she is none other than the woman Rick has been trying to so desperately reach for the entire episode.
The two stare at each other and Michonne steps back and begins to cry, cut to one second of a confused yet happy Rick Grimes then hard cut to black roll credits.
My thoughts:
All in all this was an awesome way to start the new spinoff, I enjoyed the first episode. The cinematography was awesome, the Walking Dead guys always get super cool shots, and I love all the call backs to other TWD shows. Every actor is amazing and they really bring the Walking Dead universe to life.
While I do wish Okafor could have stayed alive longer, his death scene reinforced Rick’s character in the coolest way possible.
First by having the conversation with Rick about the dream that Michonne was not in, showing that Rick really is one of the A’s. Proving Rick has moved on from his personal problems and wants to fix the world in a way his son Carl described it in the original series.
Secondly Okafor’s death shows how strong of a leader Rick truly is. As soon as the helicopter crashed Rick sprang into action taking command of a leaderless team in order to ensure their safety. However, they were no match for Michonne but Rick still tried to save them which shows he has not forgotten how to be a leader while under the rule of the Civic Republic.
I cannot wait to see how the rest of this spinoff plays out. Mostly because the cliffhanger ending left me with so many questions, like now what? Are Rick and Michonne going to fix the CR or just say forget it and go back home to their kids? Or how did Michonne find Rick? Was it a coincidence? It would be pretty cool if it was but I know there will be a long winded explanation for that question, and then I’ll have to wait another week to see how the story progresses.
If I had to give this episode a number rating I would give it a solid 9 out of 10, but I won’t give it a number rating and you can watch the show and decide for yourself.
