How The Walking Dead Wrapped Up Rick and Michonne's Story In The Ones Who Live Finale

A story more than 13 years in the making, there were plenty of flashback sequences in this final hour to remind us that all things are connected in the larger Walking Dead Universe, and this is just the next chapter for Rick and Michonne. But is it the last?

For more than five years now, the Civic Republic Military (CRM) has been this mysterious entity circling the periphery of several Walking Dead series. In World Beyond, we learned a lot about their experimentations on walkers, and their cold-hearted tactics.

That was where Omaha was wiped out, leaving Philadelphia and Portland as the two remaining bastions of the Civic Republic. It was also where we learned that the CRM wasn't exactly being honest about what it was doing. But we had no idea.

As this episode opened, Rick and Michonne were almost free and clear, save for that file Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) had hidden (poorly) in her room that detailed everything about them and Alexandria, their home. This was a huge factor in their decision to go back.

Once they got there, though, they learned that there was so much more going on than they had realized. Beale (Terry O'Quinn) kept the larger vision for the CRM much closer to the vest, but Rick's voluntary return convinced him to let him in.

It turns out the Civic Republic may not be such a bad thing, a city that's managed to hang on to a lot of technology. The Civic Republic Military, though, was being twisted into something monstrous. Omaha was just the start.

The timing was perfect -- convenient, ain't it? -- with Rick and Michonne's return coinciding with their big Portland initiative. While Rick was getting the download from Beale, Michonne (in disguise as a CRM soldier) was getting intel via a video presentation.

CRM had already infiltrated Portland and now the plan was to evacuate about 10 percent of its children (carefully selected) and then obliterate the rest of the city, calling it an "accident," just like poor, poor Omaha.

But it wasn't to stop there, with Beale explaining that they would use this "accident" to declare martial law in the Civic Republic, obliterate its duly-elected council and then sweep across the United States, obliterating any resistance along the way until the CRM controls everything.

Early in the season, Jadis said that Rick and Michonne together are too dangerous and capable of accomplishing anything. Well, after a perhaps too long setup, the final moments of the episode proved this right. Rick took out Beale in his office while Michonne rigged up a massive explosive arsenal that would wipe out not only the bombs set to take out Portland, but the "Frontline" soldiers who knew the whole plan, making them extremely dangerous.

The only thing standing in their way was Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt), Rick's other friend and ally within the CRM. Only, she didn't buy into Okafor's (Craig Tate) optimism that there was a better path forward for the CRM. Instead, she bought into Beale's nihilism.

She bought into the vision of a man who sacrificed Pittsburgh in the early days of the apocalypse to save Philadelphia when they were at war with the federal government. Admittedly, the feds were already wiping out cities, but how is Beale any different now? Absolute power and all that.

After an inevitable confrontation with Thorne at the end, with Beale's walker one of the mechanisms that will pull the pins of way too many grenades to count, the final destruction of the CRM played out. The bombs went off, Rick and Michonne had to fight Thorne hand-to-hand before Michonne proved to her that "love doesn't die." That's the moral, here. Thorne (and even RIck at one point) had given up, but Michonne never did.

The final scenes of the episode set the stage for what's next. Radio broadcasts saw the Civic Republic Council dismantle the CRM leadership and take managing oversight of its remaining forces. They also shifted policy, opening their borders and offering humanitarian aid to neighboring communities.

As this was playing out, Rick and Michonne finally made it back to Alexandria ... or near enough that we got an open-field reunion with both Judith and RJ (adorably played by Caiiey Fleming and Antony Azor again). It was an emotional moment, as Rick met his son for the very first time; unfortunately, no other Walking Dead regulars appeared in the finale, as most of them are currently away from Alexandria on missions for their respective spinoff shows.

And so, the stage is set for a whole new chapter for the whole Walking Dead Universe. No more is the helicopter appearance a reason for fear. The episode even ended with four choppers flying overhead appearing to carry supplies for those in need.

Is this a new era of cooperation with the manpower organized enough to start retaking control of the world? Well, that might be the case in some places. We also know that Portland is as well organized as Philadelphia. But we also learned, per Beale, that there are swarms/herds of the dead numbering a million or more.

This world is still full of very real dangers. But it seems that if you are in proximity to Portland or Philadelphia, there may be hope for expanding civilization. It's a very different look for the Walking Dead Universe in the U.S., but one that creates new creative opportunities.

It's not clear if there's any more need for another chapter of The Ones Who Live, but the franchise is still moving forward. Daryl Dixon brings The Book of Carol into its next chapter (new teaser for that above), while Maggie and Negan's adventures in New York's Dead City are also set to continue, as well as some more of the anthology Tales.

We'd bet that whatever's next for Rick and Michonne will all have to do with what Lincoln and Gurira want to do. We will give this mini-series props for bringing back a level of quality in the writing and acting that we've not seen on this franchise in quite some time, as well as enthusiasm and excitement. Yes, the ending was a little pat, but we can't be too mad at a rare happy ending, can we?