The Ones Who Live episode 4, two interesting timeline clarifications

The fourth episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live spinoff was written by Danai Gurira and directed by Michael Slovis, who previously directed TWD episodes. It is a Rick and Michonne-centric episode that saw the two take a timeout, as Michonne put it.

This article contains spoilers for episode 4, "What We" of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

In season 9 of The Walking Dead, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) was thought to have died in the bridge explosion where he attempted to sacrifice himself to save his loved ones. He was actually rescued by Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) and taken to the CRM (Civic Republic Military), where he was forced to work in a culling facility, which was the first line of defense against the undead. He would eventually be brought into the military and groomed by a man named Okafor (Craig Tate), who believed he could create a group that would carry out significant changes in the CRM.

The next time Rick is seen in the series final of The Walking Dead is an event that occurred years after he was whisked away to the CRM. By the beginning of The Ones Who Live, the timeline still wasn't 100% clarified until episode 4. In the fourth episode of The Ones Who Live, the timeline is cleared up when Michonne tells Rick that his son RJ is almost eight years old. This means that she was pregnant before the bridge explosion and cements the timeline of this series to over eight years since the bridge.

This is an excellent piece of information because even knowing Rick's timeline with what was supposed to be a six-year stint at the culling facility, which was cut short, and his one-year preparation at the Cascades, it wasn't absolute. Michonne's new info gives a definitive timeline.

How long did it take Michonne to recover from the chlorine gas exposure?

The second piece of information that has been clarified with this episode is that after being bombed by the CRM's chlorine gas, Michone and Nat (Matthew Jeffers), RIP, convalesced for one year! It was apparent it was quite some time with the change of the seasons, but it seems like months. This is significant in Michonne's search for Rick. She lost so much time with this and overall has lost much time with her children, who viewers know are thriving in the newly formed Commonwealth.

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