Andrew Lincoln breaks down Rick’s speech to Michonne in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live episode 3, revealing if he still truly loves her.
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live episode 3!
Summary
- On The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live , Rick is still in love with Michonne despite claiming their love is ” broken ,” trying to drive her away in order to protect her.
- Jadis threatens to destroy Alexandria and the Virginia communities if they escape the CRM, prompting Rick’s actions.
- Rick’s plan to drive Michonne away backfires as she refuses and forcefully jumps out of a helicopter with him, setting the stage for an escape where they both get home together.
Andrew Lincoln opens up about Rick’s speech to Michonne in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live episode 3 and reveals whether he’s still in love with her. Near the end of the episode, Rick tries to drive a wedge between him and his wife, claiming their love is “broken” and that she doesn’t belong in the CRM. His speech follows a newly-promoted Pearl Thorne trying to kill her, as well as her learning Jadis is part of the militarized organization.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Lincoln said that, despite Rick’s speech during The Ones Who Live episode 3, he is still in love with Michonne. The actor explained a combination of Jadis’ threats and Pearl becoming less of an ally made Rick want to push her away, hoping she would escape on her own. Check out what Lincoln had to say below:
That’s the ultimate question. The point is that he knows he’s stymied because of Jadis. If Jadis hadn’t been there in that scene at the end of episode 2, they’re getting out of there. She’s rekindled the love. But I do think that what’s happened with [Pearl] Thorne in that episode, the real threat that she poses and ultimately would’ve taken out the love of his life — I think it’s a knee-jerk reaction. I do think that he’s in fear for her life and his family’s life and he loves her and he wants her to live.
Rick Wants To Keep Michonne (& His Family) Safe
The start of episode 3 revealed that Jadis is willing to tell the CRM about Alexandria and the other Virginia communities if the main duo escape together. She also has a contingency plan in the event of her death, essentially preventing the pair from running away with one another. This is why, earlier in the episode, Rick tried to get Michonne to escape without him, a plan she didn’t go through with because of her determination to bring him home.
By telling her he no longer loves her, he is trying to drive her away in hopes she’ll escape on her own, giving Judith her mother back while keeping their home safe. However, his words end up having the opposite effect, as, at the end of the episode, she forcibly jumps out of a helicopter with him. Since she’s unwilling to give him up without a fight, it seems Rick will inevitably have to give in and think of a way for them to get home safely.
Due to the CRM’s 500-year plan for humanity, whatever they’re trying to build could be a key element in how the pair manage to escape. Perhaps, once Rick learns what Pearl was briefed on, he’ll be able to better assess the situation and use it as a way to get back home. With his love for Michonne still intact on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, it might not be much longer until he’s back to crafting an escape plan that will keep everyone he loves safe from harm.
