‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ Recap – ‘Bye’

3/11/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in Episode 103 of ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ – ‘Bye’. (Photo Courtesy of Gene Page/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

One thing that horror fans can agree upon, is that the zombie subgenre really does the best job of offering up social commentary on the human condition and our modern world. For the zombie is a creature that can truly stand in as any of our problems or concerns, and its overall design makes it scary enough that it holds our attention and allows for the lesson to be burrowed into our brains and well, that’s allowed for some powerful stories to come to life throughout the years. Ones that have explored the nature of consumerism, of post 9/11 America, and through The Walking Dead Universe, the subgenre has asked some powerful questions about the nature of who we are and what we are deserving of.

In fact, those deeper questions are commonplace commentary in the TWDU, which is why this week’s episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live on AMC was so surprising. Because for the first time in a very long time, the franchise opted to explore a more modern, relevant topic regarding some of our world concerns. After all, we live in a time where we are seeing so many people just suddenly side with people and leaders that are vehemently bad people through and through. Yet they defend them, vote for them, and believe in their mantra and we simply don’t know why. Because one would think that logic and good nature would prevail and well, ‘Bye’, took the time to ponder upon what is causing this.

That is… after it gave the fans what we wanted most… the love story that we’ve been waiting for. Because Rick and Michonne have been apart far too long. So, a fair, early, chunk of this episode saw this duo, acclimating to being in one another’s orbit once again, and celebrating the fact they could breathe again because they are in fact, one another’s oxygen. Which really did make for some lovely scenes. Ones that made it appear as though, they would soon be out of Philadelphia and on the road to Alexandria and the Commonwealth to be with their family once more. Mainly because, Jadis made sure to inform Rick that she was now watching them closely and that if anything happened to her or moves were made against the CRM… its might would come down upon them and Alexandria.

Which in turn, motivated that grand escape attempt. Wherein Rick secured a raft to get them downriver, and mottled corpses that resembled he and Michonne physically to make it seem as though they died in the wild and no one would be the wiser. Giving rise to more hope that this series would see them rekindle their love and catch up on years of longing and hurt and well… that’s when this episode took quite the turn and surprised us all. Because while it seemed that Rick and Michonne were barreling toward the rendezvous point, it turned out that Rick was only there briefly, to leave his love a note. One that informed her that she had to go back, that he had to stay behind to protect her and that shocked Michonne and prompted her to of course, disobey and stay behind, and really watch Rick from afar and what she learned stunned her.

Danai Gurira as Michonne in Episode 103 of ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ – ‘Bye’. (Photo Courtesy of Gene Page/AMC.)

In that, somewhere down the line, Rick was broken by the Civic Republic Military. To the point where he believed that it was the only way forward and slowly and surely, he was not the only one to fall into that mantra. Because Thorne went from vehemently wanting to be part of the change that Okafor spoke to, to being the best damn command officer she could be. For a meeting with Major General Beale suddenly made her super loyal to the cause, for she had ‘seen the light.’ Unfortunately, her newfound focus only helped Rick to lean into that as well, and that only further stunned Michonne. For now, the love of her life, the man she spent years in the wilderness searching for and yearning for… was nothing more than a foot soldier, spouting the nonsense of the CRM, and he was unwilling to leave it behind.

To the point… where Michonne found herself and her relationship with Rick in jeopardy. For there was a time when Rick and Michonne went up to the Cascade base to clear out the last of the dead, and that brought forth a scary moment since Thorne briefly transformed into Shane Walsh, since she thought deeply upon putting Michonne down to keep her ‘A’ personality away from the cause and of course… when there was a chance to run… to be together… Rick refused to take it. Making it clear to Michonne that Rick had lost his way and was now indoctrinated and forgot who he was and what mattered most by siding with the CRM, putting that love in jeopardy. And this bothered her so deeply and infuriated her so much, that in a fit of frustration, she tossed herself and Rick out of a helicopter to be free of the CRM’s grasp.

A move that could badly injure both of them, and potentially kill one of them. The latter of which doesn’t seem plausible because this franchise would never put either of them down like that. But that aside, such a move spoke deeply to Michonne’s frustration and the moments leading up to it, are what truly explained and explored the strange world we live in right now and how it has come to be. For Rick Grimes now represents our friends, our family members who one day went from having casual chats about life to preaching about the dangers of the border or the need to restore a country to glory once again and well… this episode pointed out… that we live in a fearful and traumatic time where old wounds have never been healed and where not everyone feels safe in the slightest.

Giving rise to idiots who now promise safety, a way forward, all by playing into fear and stoking its flames. So that those good people will happily surrender to those words and the cause in the name of safety and stability and that’s scary to say the least. Especially since we’ve now seen a man as brave and as intelligent as Rick Grimes succumb to those machinations, and well… that made for a powerful story. One that truly reflects our world and a growing problem of indoctrination through fear. As for the cure, well horror rarely offers that, it just showcases the problem so we can ponder upon it and fix it, and this episode did that well courtesy of an engaging and almost heartbreaking story. One that we can only hope will shift toward salvation or redemption thanks to Michonne. Or it could lead to a tragic love story, and the only way to know is to continue the journey and see what lies ahead. Until next time.

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