The Ones Who Live has been telling an emotionally compelling love story that perfectly flips the dynamic of one other Walking Dead spinoff.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for episodes 1-4 of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

Rick and Michonne’s love story in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live perfectly flips another Walking Dead spinoff’s premise. After being absent for many years, both Rick and Michonne finally returned to the franchise to deliver an intense and compelling love story. The show has exceeded expectations so far, with Rick and Michonne’s quick reunion coming as a shock, providing them with plenty of time to explore and develop their relationship. Despite how deeply they care for one another, the protagonists’ relationship faced tension when Rick tried to make Michonne leave the Civic Republic without him.

This decision highlighted that they weren’t completely on the same page, which is only amplified in episode 4. When the opportunity to escape finally arises, Rick and Michonne disagree on their next move, with Michonne wanting to try and head back to Alexandria as opposed to Rick, who thinks it’s best to return to the CRM. Their disagreement drives the episode forward, with the two clearly still loving each other but having completely different mindsets. While they ultimately make peace at the end of the episode, their dynamic throughout “What We” is the perfect flip of another Walking Dead spinoff.

Rick & Michonne’s The Ones Who Live Dynamic Perfectly Reverses Maggie & Negan’s

The relationship dynamic between Rick and Michonne in The Ones Who Live perfectly reverses Maggie and Negan’s in Dead City. Unlike Rick and Michonne, Maggie and Negan’s Walking Dead relationship is far from romantic, as Negan killed Maggie’s husband. This caused Maggie to deeply resent him, which has been the basis of their relationship ever since season 7. Despite Negan’s redemption arc in The Walking Dead, Maggie has never fully forgiven him, yet they are forced to work together in their spinoff to try and rescue her son. Dead City‘s premise uses this reluctant reliance to create an unorthodox partnership.

While The Walking Dead has already explored this side of Maggie and Negan, Dead City shines the spotlight on them even more, proving that despite their hatred, they can work together for the greater good. The Ones Who Live cleverly flips this, showing Rick and Michonne at odds with one another despite their loving relationship. Maggie and Negan have a fairly hostile relationship but manage to work together, whereas Rick and Michonne have one of the strongest relationships in the franchise yet are essentially working against each other. Episode 4 perfectly displays their differences in The Ones Who Live.

Although they both want the same thing deep down, Rick’s cold attitude towards Michonne drives a wedge between them. Rather than uniting to try and flee the CRM and return home, they are actively trying to achieve different things. Michonne refuses to give Rick the device to call a CRM helicopter to their location, wanting Rick to leave with her instead, but Rick refuses to go due to his own insecurities. They even make fighting zombies a competition and argue about survival tactics, highlighting how their dynamic in the spinoff is the opposite of Maggie and Negan’s in Dead City.

Why Rick & Michonne Have Such Different Mindsets In The Ones Who Live Episode 4

Rick and Michonne’s different mindsets come from their individual experiences with the CRM. Having spent years with the group, Rick cut off his own hand to try and escape yet still didn’t find his freedom, and Jadis even threatened that the CRM would attack Alexandria if he ever left. On the other hand, while Michonne has seen what the CRM is capable of, she still shares the optimism that Rick had about escaping when he first arrived at the Civic Republic. Rick’s nine years with the group have broken him mentally, unlike Michonne who still believes they can make it home.

Rick & Michonne’s New Dynamic Is More Interesting Than Maggie & Negan’s In Dead City

Both Dead City and The Ones Who Live have interesting dynamics with their protagonists, but Rick and Michonne’s does surpass Negan and Maggie’s. This mainly comes down to the fact that Maggie and Negan’s complicated alliance had been explored prior to Dead City. Season 11 of The Walking Dead did a great job with their story, revealing how Negan felt guilty about what he did to Glenn and that he had genuinely changed as a person. It also avoided a cliché ending, with Maggie thanking Negan for his help while revealing that she could never truly forgive him.

This was the perfect conclusion to their story, resulting in Dead City struggling to offer anything new. Conversely, with Rick and Michonne usually being so coordinated, their tension adds a new layer to their relationship. Seeing them argue and disagree is made even more heartbreaking considering they want the same thing deep down. Rick and Michonne’s reunion has been much more turbulent than most people expected, which is fitting given how long they’ve spent apart. This hostility also explores deeper themes about the characters, making their dynamic in The Ones Who Live even better than Maggie and Negan’s.