The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live might be the best of all the spinoffs. I was initially hesitant about watching these spinoffs considering the last few seasons of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead was so up and down (and the other spinoffs have been downright awful) but I've actually really enjoyed all three of the new spinoffs much more than I anticipated. This one, Daryl Dixon and Dead City are all really good. This is the one everyone's been looking forward to for years now. They originally announced a 3 movie deal about continuing Rick Grimes story that was suppose to happen back in 2020 but it never came. Then they changed it to this spinoff and I love it. Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira return to their roles of Rick and Michonne. I'm pretty sure this is only a one season show but I hope they continue to do multiple seasons of this like they are with the other two spinoffs because I don't want to say goodbye to Rick and Michonne again.

After years of waiting, it's finally here. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who live brings back the story of Rick and Michonne. We've been waiting for 4 years for this and it does not disappoint. This has the look and feel of a blockbuster movie. Rick and Michonne are two fan favorites and two of the main from the original. They ended up falling in love and starting a family and this show continues their love story. Andrew Lincoln (Rick) and Danai Gurira (Michonne) are as good as ever. Everyone who's waited for Rick to return won't be disappointed. This has the solid writing of the good years of the original and the great acting that made us love these characters in the first place. I can't say enough about the three new spinoffs so far. All 3 have been better than anything TWD has put out in year.

First and foremost I would like to start off by saying that this new spinoff series in particular was quite extravagant in its own way because of the simple fact that this new spinoff series in the franchise had some incredibly insane stunts performed that I never ever would've thought could be pulled off so with that being said it was quite eventful and was insanely action packed. But this first season in particular made me realize that not only are they fighting for they're survival living in the dark world of the walking dead but they re also fighting for they're sanity. Because realizing that being in a world where I've seen the different kinds of people places and settings and the way certain groups that were encountered throughout the seasons of the walking dead made me realize that living in that there is so much more to living in the world of the walking dead then people understand. People go batshit crazy and loose they're minds,yeah they've survived the apocalypse for the most part but how many people can say that they've come out of the apocalypse the same person that they were when they first started out in the city of the dead..?

Film: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived Year: 2024 Directors: Bertie Ellwood, Michael E. Satrazemis, Michael Slovis and Amber Templemore Writers: Scott M. Gimple, Danai Gurira, Nana Nkweti, Gabriel Llanas, Matthew Negrete and Channing Powell Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira and Pollyanna McIntosh

Review:

This was another off shoot of The Walking Dead. I was a fan of season 1, aside from the ending. I thought that season 2 and what followed was good for a solid stretch, but I lost interest after the Saviors came. Even when the Whisperers showed up, I was there. The problem for me is that it got too repetitive. Upon competition of watching this, I learned that this was the movie they were going to do. It then shifted to a trilogy and they ultimately decided to do it as a mini-series. Since this is listed as a film on Letterboxd and it doesn't look like they're going to continue it, I'm doing a review.

Synopsis: the love between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Changed by a world that is constantly changing, will they find themselves in a war against the living or will they discover that they too are the walking dead?

What we're getting here starts with what happened to Rick. We see when he was taken on the helicopter to the Civic Republic Military. He's depressed so he's trying to find a way to escape. He was brought here by Jadis Stokes (Pollyanna McIntosh). He started with Pearl Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt) who was in a similar place to him. She sees what the CRM can do for her and buys in. Rick gets to meet Major General Beale (Terry O'Quinn), who changes his mind. There's also Donald Okafor (Craig Tate). He's the first commanding officer for Rick and Pearl. He knows that the CRM is doing horrible things and wants to change it from the inside.

We then see that Michonne has never given up and is still searching for Rick. I love how these two come together in this series. She almost dies multiple times. It also becomes dangerous for him if their superiors learn the truth. There's also a complication that if the CRM finds out about Alexandria, they will wipe it out. Even more so if Rick and/or Michonne flee back to it now. There are layers under this as well.

Since this is a mini-series that I'm assuming is concluding Rick and Michonne's tale within The Walking Dead universe, I'm going to leave my recap here. There are years and seasons from the start to where we end up here. What I like about this is the heart that is brought in here. Lincoln can showcase even more Rick's psyche and how every decision he's made wears on him. The thought of not getting to go back to Michonne, Judith and he doesn't even know about RJ until Michonne finds him. The thought of Carl keeps him going, but that is wearing thin on him as he can't remember his face. Seeing him deal with depression, the fear of the CRM wiping out Alexandria and then seeing the love between him and Michonne was good. It caps things well for the character.

I'll also commend Gurira. I love how difficult she is and won't listen to things that she doesn't agree with. Rick sets up a plan for her to escape, but she can't leave without him. I forgot that she made a promise to Judith that she would bring her father home. It tugs at heartstrings that if they don't get out alive, these children are orphaned. There are good people around them, but it isn't the same.

Let me then shift to the villains here. My issue with the show is that we get great groups and leaders like the Governor, Negan and the Saviors as well as The Whisperers. I know the last season had the corrupt government. This group that we're seeing here is the CRM who were introduced in The Walking: The World Beyond. We know their corrupt already. This feels on par with the last couple seasons of the OG The Walking Dead. I guess you truly can't top government corruption as the villain. I like Jadis as someone who is a grey character. The true villain though is Mjr Gen Beale. He seems nice, but there is that dark side underneath. Part of that is credit to O'Quinn. I also like that he has blind followers like Pearl under him. I don't find this as exciting or tense though as earlier villains.

There is one last thing for the story that I wanted to tell. Beale does give what the CRM scientists believe to be the timeline for the walking dead. I thought that was an interesting concept to toss out there. It makes me wonder though if this is going to be like the novelization of Night of the Living Dead, where anyone comes back after that and if precautions need to be taken.

I've already been discussing acting performances so let me say that Lincoln, Gurira, McIntosh and O'Quinn are great. I'd also say that Brandt plays a solid character that gets introduced. I love how she complicates things late in this series. I liked the appearance by Seth Gilliam as Gabriel Stokes and how he softens Jadis. I also liked Matthew Jeffers, Breeda Wool, Cailey Fleming and Antony Azor to round this out as well.

All that is left then is filmmaking. The cinematography here is good. They know how to capture the world we're in and the framing helps there. We get different locations around the United States since the CRM has that capability. Also, how these ties in with events from other storylines as well. I love the effects. The zombie make up is great. There is CGI that I don't love, but it at least looks good. This has the budget there. Other than that, the soundtrack was fine for what was needed. More credit to the sound design, especially for the zombies.

In conclusion, if you know me then you know that I'm burned out on all the Walking Dead. It doesn't capture that spark for me anymore. I still enjoyed what they did here. This would be a good send-off for the Rick and Michonne characters if that is truly what we're doing here. I like the story that this tells and how it wraps up things from the show. The acting is great with special credit to Lincoln, Gurira, O'Quinn and McIntosh. This is well made from the cinematography, framing and the effects. Just slight issues with CGI here and there. If you love these shows or a completionist like me, then I'd recommend it. If you've fallen off, I can't blame you for avoiding this.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Incredible take on Michonne's turbulent journey in her quest to find and rescue Rick Grimes from the CRM (Civic Republic Military).

Writers of this anthology series (collections of shorter works) made a good move shortening the stories. The pervious approach to the main Walking Dead series was a little long winded, I thought. This miniseries was direct, in your face, no nonsense drama. Great written lines. Character dynamics, cinematography, sound effects, emotional scenes done to perfection.

The Echelon Briefing scene in Final Episode 6 blew me away. So much raw tension! The plot in that scene gave me flashbacks of the zombie game, Resident Evil 2. In the game's plot, Umbrella Corporation with the backing of the US goverment contained the outbreak of the T-Virus in Racoon City by deploying an experimental thermobaric missile. Organized killing, ruthless efficiency at the highest level. In my view, the CRM is a modern day equivalent of the Schutzstaffel (SS), a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) during WW2. Just bone chilling. I hope there is a season 2 in the future.