The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 2 recap: Michonne’s quest

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live continues with its second episode, showing viewers exactly what Michonne has been going through during her search for Rick — here’s the full Episode 2 recap.

While fans of The Walking Dead might have had to say goodbye to the long-running zombie series in 2022, they’re still as well-fed as those walkers running around.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is the newest installment in a long line of spinoffs. This time, we’re back with Rick and Michonne, who both left the original series well before its eventual end.

With Michonne still on her way to find Rick after years of searching, The Ones Who Live’s newest episode, ‘Gone’, gives viewers a lot to catch up on. From horrific attacks to heart-breaking goodbyes, here’s the Episode 2 recap. Warning: major spoilers ahead!

Michonne finds new allies

Six years after the bridge incident that left Michonne believing Rick was dead, she’s well into her journey to find him again. Armed with only her heart’s belief that her husband is alive, she’s been travelling a long road to track him down.

After helping two survivors in The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 13, The Ones Who Live Episode 2 opens with her at their community. She’s introducing herself to their leader, who thanks her for saving the two (one of whom is her own sister).

Michonne insists that she has to get back on her way, and asks for their help to get her going. She’s headed to Bridgers Terminal, where the boat that Rick loaded his belongings onto would have last been. The leader tries to get her to stay with them, but the two that Michonne saved (Bailey and Aiden), demand they help her.

Another survivor from the community, Nat, comes storming in. He’s fearless, loud-mouthed, and inventor extraordinaire. After demanding that he would set out to search for Bailey and Aiden himself, he’s relieved to discover they’re both alive and home safe. (Evidently, this particular community doesn’t go back for those they lose.) As such, he worships Michonne for helping them.

After some convincing, Michonne stays the night. With her radio, she attempts to send a message to her and Rick’s children back home. The next morning, they give her a horse and some weapons, wishing her luck as she sets off.

An explosive rescue mission

We catch up to the last moment we saw Michonne in the original series: on horseback, running towards a giant horde of walkers. She fires off the weapon Nat designed — a “scream stick” — into the crowd. It explodes, setting off a dazzling fire and luring the walkers towards it.

However, a walker emerges, carrying two tanks of gasoline. It explodes, throwing debris into Michonne and knocking her off her horse. When all hope seems lost, another explosion emerges, moving the walkers off into another direction, parting them like the Red Sea.

Michonne looks back and sees Nat, Bailey and Aiden, and a large group from the community now behind her. It seems they grew tired of the merciless approach and decided to go off on their own.

Later, she sits around the fire with her new friends. When she notices Bailey and Aiden’s loving behavior towards each other, she finds out that Aiden is pregnant. She tells them they should go back, but Aiden refuses. It seems they’re all deeply moved by Michonne’s commitment to finding Rick, and want to stick out the journey with her.

The CRM attacks

The convoy moves ahead, with Michonne growing closer to Nat and the others. While walking through an abandoned town, they spot a CRM helicopter flying above them. It turns around, and without warning, drops several chemical bombs around them that explode into clouds of toxic smoke.

AMC

The group scatters, running and choking. Many die instantly, rising up again as walkers. It’s a horrific scene — the sound of ragged gasps and screams echoing throughout the chaos. Michonne staggers forward, and she, Nat, Bailey and Aiden manage to break into an abandoned furniture store.

Inside, they continue to suffer. They can’t breathe, the chlorine bomb having already effected them. Aiden gets the worst of it, and Michonne instructs Bailey to tie her down to the bed while she runs to the medical plaza across the way.

Before she goes, Aiden chokes out her last words. She tells Michonne to go back home to her children. To leave Rick behind. Michonne ignores her, and runs out to get help.

When she comes back, she finds a tragic scene. Aiden, still strapped to the bed, has died and turned while she was gone. In the next room, Bailey is also a walker now, trying to get to Nat behind a counter, who’s lit a fire to protect himself. Michonne kills both Aiden and Bailey, finding Nat just barely alive.

A slow, painful recovery

Michonne and Nat nurse themselves back to health over what appears to be a year. They take in clean oxygen from gas tanks, and Michonne starts to train her body to work again. As they spend time together, Nat appears to be losing hope. He tells Michonne: “You’ve gotta know when to go. You’ve gotta know when to give up.” But Michonne wants to continue with her mission.

When they’re both well enough, Nat insists on sticking with Michonne. They both set out for Bridgers Terminal, using a walker to pull along their small cart of supplies.

Eventually, they reach the terminal, where Michonne runs through to look for signs of Rick. What she finds is horror: piles of burned corpses scattered around. Abandoned ships. No signs of life whatsoever.

Desperate, she begins looking through each and every body to see if one of them is Rick. However, as Nat points out, it would be impossible to tell in their state.

They sit, Michonne traumatized and cradling Rick’s boots. Finally, after all this time, she breaks down. If he was alive, she reasons, then he would have found his way back home. She sobs, coming to terms with the fact that Rick is likely dead.

However, Nat is now the one who believes. He comforts her and tells her that it’s possible for her to both go back home to her children and believe that Rick is still out there somewhere. She can do both, and he will go with her.

Bittersweet reunion

We catch up to ‘now’. Michonne and Nat are on their way home, walking until they spot a CRM helicopter heading towards them. Determined to fight and avenge their fallen friends, they prepare to attack. Nat loads up more explosives, takes aim, and fires into the approaching helicopter.

AMC

He clips it, and it crash lands in the woods beside them. Michonne runs ahead, using her Katana to slaughter the masked CRM soldiers. One by one she takes them down, haunted by images of Bailey and Aiden as she does.

Finally, she gets to the last man standing. He fights back, but she gets the upper hand, knocking him to the ground. She goes to strike, but when she removes his helmet, it’s Rick’s face staring up at her.

Overcome with emotion, Michonne cries. As they two embrace, she tells him: “I’ve found you.” Rick assures her that he’s not with the CRM, despite wearing their uniform. Quickly, he realizes more are coming, and insists to Michonne that there’s nothing they can do to escape them.

He tells her to come back to the CRM camp with him and to pretend that they have no relation. It’s the only way they’ll both be able to survive and escape for good, he assures her. But he warns her not to show her strength, otherwise she’ll be classified as an ‘A’ and likely be killed. She reluctantly agrees.

Nat appears, shocked at the sight of Michonne having found Rick. Tragedy strikes when one of the CRM soldiers, not quite dead, rises up and shoots Nat. Michonne rushes to him, holding him as he dies. There’s little time to mourn — the CRM is on the way.

Rick takes Michonne’s belongings and hides them. There can’t be any clues as to where she came from or who she is. Finally, another helicopter arrives. Michonne smiles — unsure of what is next, but elated to finally be back with Rick.

Welcome to the CRM

Michonne is in front of a committee at the CRM, introducing herself (like she was at the beginning of the episode.) Only this time, she gives a fake name and a fictional backstory. They film her, asking questions about how she survived, all of which she answers with lies.

Finally, she’s released into the base, wearing a consignee uniform. She and Rick sneak away into a garage, embracing once again. He asks about Judith, and she almost tells him about their son, who she had after he disappeared. But she holds the information back, saying she’ll tell him everything when they get home.

Rick affirms to her that he hasn’t killed anyone on behalf of the CRM, even though that’s what they’re known to do. They’re at odds — Michonne wants to stop them, and Rick knows they can’t. He gives her Nat’s lighter, which he managed to sneak from his body before they left.

At the end of the episode, paths collide. Michonne explores the base, climbing up to get a view of how big the operation is. Playing with Nat’s lighter, it seems as though she’s coming up with an explosive plot of her own. Meanwhile, an unseen figure watches back Michonne’s interview tape before sneaking up to Rick’s room.

When Rick enters, he’s shocked to see Jadis sitting there. Almost happily, she reveals that she knows who Michonne is, that she and Nat attacked the CRM helicopter, and tells Rick that if they attempt an escape then she will kill everyone they love.

After telling him that her hands can’t get any bloodier, she asks him: “Rick, what the f**k are you doing?” As the episode closes, Rick says nothing.

What’s next?

Only two episode into The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, and Rick and Michonne are already back together. Despite their reunion, things aren’t going to be easy.

First, they have to escape the CRM. Then they also have to decide what’s next: run home, or try to put a stop to the CRM’s reign of violence. With Rick and Michonne on opposite sides, the next episodes should bring about plenty of conflict, as well as another foe in the form of Jadis.

To find out how you can catch the next episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, check out our guide on how to watch. You can also get to know The Ones Who Live cast, as well find out how to watch the rest of The Walking Dead in order.