Michonne acclimates to her new role at the CRM while Rick works overtime to keep her from drawing attention in The Ones Who Live Season 1, Episode 3.
The Civic Republic Military (CRM) firmly believe they’re the biggest organization/military force in the world, despite seemingly having no contact with other countries. The CRM has a very Westernized “I’m better than you” mindset that blows its capabilities largely out of proportion. Yet, inside the walls of the Civic Republic, it has no power, or so the citizens believe.
Years ago, Rick Grimes visited the Civic Republic for the first time as a cosignee on orientation, sometime after his initial arrival. While it’s only a glimpse at a city street with vendor stands, the city looks like regular Philadelphia in the real world, just with a lot of windmills for power. Rick then meets Jadis in citizen attire and an ugly wig. It’s an understatement to say she’s a lot softer during this time than she is in the present timeline, before she was churned into the CRM’s regime.
Jadis tries to get Rick onboard with the CRM and their 500-year plan for rebuilding society, which she firmly believes will succeed. When she was the leader of the Scavengers, the CRM approached her with a resource exchange deal: She’d give the CRM “lost souls,” and in return they’d give them necessities. Now, she’s here as a citizen who got to skip out on cosignment thanks to her giving up Rick, and is about to enlist in the CRM to help them achieve their mission. She wants him to talk to her, owing to the fact she protected him and saved his life. But Rick thinks she only trapped him.
Hours before present day, Rick visits a crying Thorne who’s grieving Okafor, one of the few supporting Walking Dead characters to bite the dust. Rick asks Thorne to protect Michonne, now going by Dana, who is going to be labeled as an “A.” Rick convinces her that Thorne can continue Okafor’s work to snuff the dirty soldiers out of the CRM to make it a meaningful military. Michonne can be a part of his plan. Thorne shows doubt in Okafor’s ultimate plan, but promises Rick she’ll do what she can to help “Dana.” Some hours later, Rick and Jadis talk about Michonne’s arrival to the CRM.
Turns out, Thorne kept her promise of protecting Michonne, who is suspected to be an “A.” Jadis herself committed to moving up in the CRM. She’s a warrant officer who doesn’t take chances anymore. In the event of her death, Jadis has put a file in her possessions that states where Rick and Michonne are from. Soldiers are ordered to kill everyone in Alexandria to protect the CRM, if Rick and Michonne try to escape. She has Rick promise to stay for “security and secrecy above all.” Rick and Michonne can always just build a new life here.
Michonne is on assignment to kill walkers, and she’s a little too good at it. She’s not trying to hide the fact that she’s an “A,” and is committed to leaving. She overhears bombs going off, which another cosignee named Cleo says are “disruption charges” to spread out walker herds. Michonne saves Cleo from a walker, drawing more attention to herself. Okafor is later honored at a CRM funeral for his bravery and sacrifice, led by Beale. After the funeral, Beale openly shows his suspicions of both Thorne and Rick, especially Rick. He doesn’t believe Rick is fully onboard with the CRM, despite Okafor formerly vouching for him.
Thorne has been promoted to Command Sergeant Major, and has received the Echelon Briefing, which only 10% of soldiers know, and no citizens do. It’s a big deal for Thorne, who appears both startled and content with what she’s learned. In fact, she seems more in-tuned with the CRM’s policies than ever. Whatever the briefing is, it changes a person. Thorne now needs Rick to take over logistics at the Cascade forward operating base, meaning he’ll be across the entire country when Michonne is still in the CRM’s secret city of Philadelphia. All the high-ranking officers will be there for something big. Thorne worries that Michonne will pull her down because she’s on Beale’s radar.
Rick makes a plan to escape with Michonne using the timing of disruption charges. He passes her the note the next day, and the plan is set in motion. Only both of them aren’t leaving. Rick faked Michonne’s death so she can escape alone, and he can stay to protect Alexandria. He later informs an angry Jadis that Michonne is gone, and that he needs her to cover it up. She’s up for the task, but suspects that Rick is staying for reasons other than protecting Michonne. Unfortunately, he’s going to have to find other ways to protect Michonne, because she ends up staying.
No matter how hard he pleads that him staying is the best way to protect her, she doesn’t believe him. She starts believing that Rick is brainwashed by the CRM until she finds the artist who made the drawings of Michonne, Carl and Judith. The artist tells her that Rick never gave up on them. Now, Michonne won’t, and it looks like the Alexandria love story is temporarily moving to the CRM. Thorne begins to sound more like Jadis every single day. She openly expresses her disinterest and suspicions of Michonne, who is doing a poor job of protecting herself from exposure.
Thorne interrogates Michonne for being an “A,” drawing her knife, which prompts Rick to draw his gun. But since Thorne considers Rick family, she recruits Michonne for Okafor’s secret mission that she’s supposedly continuing. When they’re alone, Thorne finally tells Rick that she’s not Okafor — when push comes to shove, Thorne won’t protect Michonne if she shows her true colors. She doesn’t want to be responsible for hiding an “A,” and she doesn’t believe in everything Okafor was working toward now that she’s been fully briefed.
Michonne joins Rick and Thorne at the Cascade forward operating base to kill around 200 walkers that are breaching the base. She’s ordered to stay behind the line, no matter what happens or who is in trouble. But Michonne being the hero she is, she disobeys a direct order and takes initiative to push a bomb toward the herd. Rick stays by her side, moving farther away from the other soldiers. It’s the perfect opportunity to get away, but he doesn’t think it’s safe. When they return, Thorne hits her breaking point. She aims her gun at Michonne to kill her, but Rick stops her. Thorne is ready to throw Michonne back to Philadelphia.
Thorne is not up for Okafor’s mission anymore, and Michonne is a clear liability to whatever the Echelon Briefing is. She tells Rick that Beale is promoting him and will have him briefed soon. Jadis is also being headquartered at the Cascade base, meaning she’ll no longer be in Philadelphia and flirtatiously interrogate Rick anymore. Michonne sees Jadis, but before Rick can explain anymore, he tells Michonne that she’s going back to Philadelphia, and that his relationship with Michonne is over. The helicopter ride back in the storm is tense, but Michonne breaks the tension by throwing her and Rick out of the helicopter.
New episodes of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live premiere every Sunday at 9:00 PM ET on AMC and AMC+.