8 characters we need to see with Rick in the The Walking Dead movies

MICHONNE

Michonne, I hope, is an obvious one. It’s true, the show has presented us with a Rick Grimes absence (and therefore a Richonne-loving gap) of six-plus years. But that doesn’t mean that the film can’t open with a memory, a dream, or a fantasy of his one true love.

In fact, as the films will be in theaters, I think it would make more sense to have a cold open with Rick reliving a happy memory at home with his family—Michonne and Judith—before waking up in whatever hell he has found himself in.

Even more than that, Rick’s relationship with Michonne sets the foundation and therefore the somber tone of the films.  Rick is desperate to get back to his family; his sense of self and joy is irrevocably intertwined with his better half. For a man like Rick to lose his family is akin to him losing everything he has held dear.

When this reunion finally does occur, it will be all the more bittersweet knowing the precious time that he lost, and the moments he missed (such as Michonne’s pregnancy that he very enthusiastically campaigned for, the birth of his second son, Rick Jr., and watching his kids grow up).

As Ms. Gurira is leaving the show this season (BOO!) and is more than familiar with a movie set, it is my sincerest wish that she will eventually join Rick in the present day in at least one of the three films (though preferably two). If there was ever an ending to the Rick and Michonne story, it should end with them walking together hand in hand, with their children, into the rising sun. Even if we don’t see it, we will have the knowledge that their story continues.