The first three episode titles for Rick and Michonne’s The Ones Who Live spinoff include a Walking Dead callback and reveal a hidden meaning.
Summary
- Episode titles in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live reference the main show’s pilot “Days Gone By,” suggesting hidden meanings.
- The return of Rick Grimes and Michonne promises a tumultuous continuation of their story and poses an epic challenge for them.
- The episode titles hint at Rick’s adjustment to the CRM and his struggle to reunite with Michonne, adding depth to his journey.
Episode titles for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live are a callback to the main show’s first season and include a hidden meaning. In The Walking Dead franchise, details are often incorporated into minute aspects. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s title alone highlights this as it’s taken from Rick’s season 5 speech about doing whatever is needed to survive. Another common motif in the franchise is that episode titles are often said by characters in their respective episodes, again highlighting The Walking Dead‘s attention to detail and the significance of the episode titles in the storytelling.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live series brings back Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira), which indicates a long-awaited continuation of the duo’s story that halted when Rick was taken by the CRM in season 9 of the flagship show. How their story continues is the main question, as The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live trailer reveals a seemingly unbeatable Civic Republic Military, Michonne’s search for Rick, and Rick’s supposed cooperation with the CRM. This all highlights an epic challenge for Rick and Michonne, which the revealed episode titles amplify even more through their hidden details.
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The Ones Who Live Episode Titles Reference The Walking Dead Pilot
The first three episodes of The Ones Who Live combined are “Years Gone Bye,” and The Walking Dead’s pilot is titled “Days Gone Bye.”
With many things fans are hoping to see in Rick’s Walking Dead spinoff, the first three episodes titles provide more insight into some of these, like Rick’s whereabouts after season 9 and his adjustment to the CRM. The first three episodes of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live are “Years,” “Gone,” and “Bye,” which are extremely similar to the parent show’s pilot (via Undead Walking). First airing in October 2010, The Walking Dead‘s pilot is titled “Days Gone Bye.”
When Rick was taken by The Walking Dead‘s powerful CRM, he was badly injured and passed out. Before the zombie apocalypse started, he was shot and also passed out. Both The Walking Dead pilot and The Ones Who Live, therefore, suggest a hidden meaning that involves Rick finding himself in unfamiliar circumstances. The CRM is unlike any other villain group Rick has encountered before, which is echoed in the confirmation that Rick will be in situations that are new to him, like his acclimation to the apocalypse in the pilot of the main show.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s First Three Episodes:
| Episode Name | Episode Number | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| “Years” | 101 | February 25, 2024 |
| “Gone” | 102 | March 3, 2024 |
| “Bye” | 103 | March 10, 2024 |
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The Ones Who Live’s Episode Titles Hint At A Reimagined Rick Grimes Story
The title parallel suggests Rick’s making a major switch from what he knew up until his time at the CRM.
Adding to the parallel between Rick in the pilot and him during The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, the episode titles both tell the same story but with different contributing factors. “Days Gone Bye” was about Rick leaving one world of normality and entering another riddled with zombies. “Years Gone Bye” similarly signifies another large shift for Rick from zombies to CRM rule.
In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Rick’s shift to the CRM also suggests a sense of normal life returning and saying “bye” to life as he knew it. This marks the spinoff as a full-circle nod to when Rick’s Walking Dead journey started. If just looking at the implications of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s episode titles, there’s gentle confirmation of already expected aspects of the show.
“Years” suggests the first episode could include a time jump and not necessarily pick up right where fans last saw Rick. “Gone” naturally could reference Rick’s disappearance from his friends and family or even hint to his escape from the CRM. This happening in the second episode would make sense as it aligns with the teaser shown in The Walking Dead series finale, where Rick had both hands unlike in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s final trailer which shows Rick with a hook-hand.
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What The Ones Who Live’s Episode Titles Could Mean For Rick & Michonne’s Reunion
Rick’s new role indicates why reuniting with Michonne is such a long process.
“Gone” and “Bye” could directly address Rick and Michonne’s struggle to reunite. Particularly if these early episodes include Rick’s attempted escape, “Bye” could have a heartbreaking meaning as it could point toward his realization that he may not be able to reunite with his family as soon as he’d hoped. This also ties into the clues left for Michonne’s with the cell phone and the Japanese message saying, “Believe a little bit longer.” Thus, the episode titles also imply Rick’s coping with the long period away from his home and family involved having to temporarily say goodbye and re-strategize.
Adding to this, a farewell neatly leads into the notion of Rick willingly adopting the CRM’s command under Major General Beale in order to survive and eventually get back to his family after “years.” This fits with the titles’ implication that Rick’s isolation from his loved ones is lengthy, leading to him abiding by the organization’s expectations to potentially defeat them and adjusting who he was when Michonne last saw him. Overall, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s episode titles and their link to the main show’s pilot suggest a multi-layered journey for Rick’s franchise return.
