The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live teases Rick’s CRM role, and a season 5 speech in the main show hints at how he can survive the organization.

While Rick’s fate is up in the air and set to be decided in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, one of his speeches in season 5 of the main show gives insight into how he can survive. Pre-release details about Rick’s future have been limited, but not without creating substantial intrigue about how his and Michonne’s story will continue. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live trailer reveals a look into what Michonne and Rick have been up to, such as Rick’s seemingly bigger CRM role than the main show’s finale implied.

Since Rick’s exit in season 9 and Michonne’s exit in season 10, fans have longed for the two powerful protagonists to make their return to the screen, especially after the originally planned Rick Grimes movie trilogy was scrapped. Beyond learning where the pair have been in their pursuit to reunite, their spinoff also teases to be a deep look into arguably the most powerful organization in The Walking Dead, the CRM. Much like the CRM has been teased in the main show and its spinoffs, Rick’s survival in the CRM has been suggested by a speech he made in season 5.

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The Ones Who Live Teases A Link To Rick’s “We Are The Walking Dead” Season 5 Speech

As part of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s promotional material, the official description includes “Without each other, are [Rick and Michonne] even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?” (via AMC Networks). This echoes Rick’s speech in season 5, episode 10, where he voices the famous line, “We are the Walking Dead.” In the speech, Rick tells the story of his grandfather, who was a soldier and used to pretend to be dead as a way to get through war in order to start living. Rick’s speech implies that survival is only achievable if one accepts one is essentially on borrowed time.

In terms of the spinoff, Rick and Michonne’s plot is directly linked to them finding each other. Wording their reunion as an alternative to survival hints at how their time apart will be spent. Both characters will likely have to “do what [they] need to do, and then [they] get to live,” as the season 5 speech notes. Here, living is equated with being together as a family. If drawing back to Rick’s grandfather’s story, Rick and Michonne may need to do atrocious acts to get back to each other, much like in war. While this is a bleak outlook, it makes sense given Rick’s circumstances at the CRM.

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Rick & Michonne May Need To Be On Opposing Sides In Order To Reunite

In the official spinoff description, the relationship between Rick and Michonne is called into question, stating, “Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors?“ This sets up the possibility of the pair being on opposing sides, as well as indicates there may be a losing side. As The Walking Dead‘s series finale showed, Rick’s attempts at escaping the CRM haven’t been successful. This is further addressed in the spinoff’s trailer when a CRM operative, Thorne, mentions that Rick showed her escaping isn’t an option. Thus, Rick may need to play whatever role he’s assigned to gain more influence and potentially become a victor over the CRM.

The trailer also hinted that Rick may be a CRM pilot, whereas other scenes show him working at a CRM culling facility. This supports the idea that he keeps up a loyal facade to work his way up in the organization. Keeping up a facade could theoretically help Rick gain better access to communication tools and, with the pilot role, larger geographical reach. This can facilitate easier covert pursuits for Michonne if the undercover approach is successful. Moreover, Michonne is shown running from the CRM’s yellow gas, which is presumably used to wipe out communities, further implying Rick and Michonne could be on opposite sides for some of their spinoff.

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How Rick’s Mindset Suggests A Reimagining Of His Walking Dead Season 5 Speech

Rick establishes his priorities in the trailer when stating that his life is his choice. Insinuating that living or dying is under his control, despite being supposedly confined to the CRM, reimagines Rick’s Walking Dead speech by making living his primary choice. This gives the idea of survival a more determined tone than the somber perspective it had in season 5. Unlike in season 5 when he was surrounded by his loved ones and the goal was to find refuge, he now has a much stronger motivation, as he’s isolated from all those he cares about.

His determination to find his family is clear in how avidly he’s shown fighting to reunite with them, especially because he has no update on their well-being following the explosion he caused in season 9. Moreover, Rick plays it coy when Major General Beale, the CRM’s leader, asks if he wants to kill or die, which is another clue that his CRM involvement is likely an act. By not revealing too much, he’s able to keep what little he can about his life under his control, such as his real intentions of finding his family.

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Rick’s season 5 speech also states that being in enemy territory means one is already dead. However, Rick’s “my life is my choice” line in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live trailer reframes it to mean that living is not a delayed prize after merely surviving. Instead, Rick suggests living is what one decides to do when the reason to live is powerful, such as trying to reunite with one’s family.