Despite being the most popular show on television for the majority of its run, The Walking Dead didn’t have the smoothest ride over its twelve-year tenure. Due to a lack of story variety and character depth in some of its middle seasons, the show experienced a significant low that it never managed to fully recover from even if its final few seasons significantly upped their game. But one of the biggest attempts to mix up the show’s formula as it headed into its final years was to remove its main character and allow some of the supporting cast to carry the torch instead. But one does not simply kill Rick Grimes (unless you’re the Walking Dead comic books of course), and it was guaranteed that we would see Rick again in the future in a trilogy of Walking Dead feature films that would act as the end the franchise. Following a series of delays, rewrites, and a global pandemic, the film trilogy was reshaped into a six-part miniseries.
Along with the other new Walking Dead spin-off shows, Dead City and Daryl Dixon, The Ones Who Live is currently only available in the U.S via AMC+. But despite being prepared to pay to watch it there are no plans to release any of these shows internationally as of yet, so bootleg Chinese blu-ray’s from eBay it is then! It’s a crying shame too, because The Ones Who Live isn’t just a perfect ending to The Walking Dead, it’s arguably the best the franchise has offered since the very beginning.
Eight years after seemingly sacrificing himself to save his community, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) has been forced into serving the Civic Republic Military (CRM), a powerful military community that is reclaiming America by force, bombing communities from the air to decimate any potential threat before they have a chance to strike. He is kept under control by the threat of his rescuer, Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), threatening to reveal the location of Rick’s home, Alexandria, which would become a target for the CRM.
But when Rick is reunited with his wife Michonne (Danai Gurira), the pair must hide their affiliations for the safety of their children and friends, whilst also trying to find a way to dismantle the CRM and stop their crusade across the American wasteland.
It’s tough to work out if The Ones Who Live is genuinely impressive or whether I’ve been so consistently let down by The Walking Dead over the years that this is just average but feels better than it is.
Either way, I found myself very much enjoying what The Ones Who Live offers up and felt like it closed off Rick & Michonne’s story meaningfully in one of the show’s most ambitious and emotional storylines.
Along with the other new Walking Dead spin-off shows, Dead City and Daryl Dixon, The Ones Who Live is currently only available in the U.S via AMC+. But despite being prepared to pay to watch it there are no plans to release any of these shows internationally as of yet, so bootleg Chinese blu-ray’s from eBay it is then! It’s a crying shame too, because The Ones Who Live isn’t just a perfect ending to The Walking Dead, it’s arguably the best the franchise has offered since the very beginning.
Eight years after seemingly sacrificing himself to save his community, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) has been forced into serving the Civic Republic Military (CRM), a powerful military community that is reclaiming America by force, bombing communities from the air to decimate any potential threat before they have a chance to strike. He is kept under control by the threat of his rescuer, Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), threatening to reveal the location of Rick’s home, Alexandria, which would become a target for the CRM.
But when Rick is reunited with his wife Michonne (Danai Gurira), the pair must hide their affiliations for the safety of their children and friends, whilst also trying to find a way to dismantle the CRM and stop their crusade across the American wasteland.
It’s tough to work out if The Ones Who Live is genuinely impressive or whether I’ve been so consistently let down by The Walking Dead over the years that this is just average but feels better than it is.
Either way, I found myself very much enjoying what The Ones Who Live offers up and felt like it closed off Rick & Michonne’s story meaningfully in one of the show’s most ambitious and emotional storylines.
I must admit, I was never sold on the idea of Rick & Michonne being a couple in the mainline Walking Dead show. I felt like it was awkwardly introduced and as though the writers were desperately trying to give Rick something to do following the death of his son Carl in Season Eight.
So, whilst I was excited to see the characters return in The Ones That Live, I had my apprehensions about the focus of the story being their relationship. But Lincoln & Gurira’s performances here are superb, and the fact that they are the sole focus of the show without any distractions also strengthens this. I believed in this couple for the first time, and I felt a genuine connection between them.
The first two episodes cover the time since we last saw each character. For Rick it’s the best part of eight years’ worth of trying to escape, and eventually accepting his fate as a member of the CRM. Whereas Michonne it covers a little over a year as she encounters new groups of survivors and witnesses the brute force of the CRM on settlements.
The following four episodes depict the strain their relationship is placed under by having been apart for so long, as well as having to contend with the threat of a tyrannical military wiping out Alexandria. But what these episodes nail is the balance between zombie action and character driven drama. The action sequences in The Ones Who Live are grand in scale and generally more complex than what was seen in the mainline show, but despite this the story never loses sight of its intimacy.
The CRM are also an excellent enemy faction, mainly because they’re not all bad, and it’s the closest thing we’ve been exposed to in The Walking Dead to a survivor settlement that not only retains the values of the old world, but also has the strength and resources to continually expand and recruit. The problem is of course that despite this strength they can’t take risks with established settlements in case they become hostile, so any they find are viewed as a threat that must be exterminated.
It’s an intriguing moral dilemma that Rick and Michonne are caught up in as the CRM have a plan and it’s working, and those it rescues are genuinely safe and happy. But is the cost of that too great?
So, whilst I was excited to see the characters return in The Ones That Live, I had my apprehensions about the focus of the story being their relationship. But Lincoln & Gurira’s performances here are superb, and the fact that they are the sole focus of the show without any distractions also strengthens this. I believed in this couple for the first time, and I felt a genuine connection between them.
The first two episodes cover the time since we last saw each character. For Rick it’s the best part of eight years’ worth of trying to escape, and eventually accepting his fate as a member of the CRM. Whereas Michonne it covers a little over a year as she encounters new groups of survivors and witnesses the brute force of the CRM on settlements.
The following four episodes depict the strain their relationship is placed under by having been apart for so long, as well as having to contend with the threat of a tyrannical military wiping out Alexandria. But what these episodes nail is the balance between zombie action and character driven drama. The action sequences in The Ones Who Live are grand in scale and generally more complex than what was seen in the mainline show, but despite this the story never loses sight of its intimacy.
The CRM are also an excellent enemy faction, mainly because they’re not all bad, and it’s the closest thing we’ve been exposed to in The Walking Dead to a survivor settlement that not only retains the values of the old world, but also has the strength and resources to continually expand and recruit. The problem is of course that despite this strength they can’t take risks with established settlements in case they become hostile, so any they find are viewed as a threat that must be exterminated.
It’s an intriguing moral dilemma that Rick and Michonne are caught up in as the CRM have a plan and it’s working, and those it rescues are genuinely safe and happy. But is the cost of that too great?
It’s tightly paced at just six episodes, and because of its reduced length it’s able to spend its budget in more interesting ways. Everything looks better, from sets and costumes to special effects and score. You can see the money on screen and it’s clear that this was truly a passion project for everyone involved. We aren’t talking the same budgets as shows like Stranger Things and House of the Dragon, but it must have a meaty portion of that Walking Dead budget behind it to achieve this kind of standard.
The Ones Who Live is designed for long time fans only, those who have been through the ups and downs of the mainline show for its eleven-season run, and it acts as an epilogue to two of that shows most important characters. It’s got all the action you would hope for, whilst also having a surprisingly moving emotional core to it. Lincoln & Gurira see these characters off beautifully in a love letter of a miniseries. For Walking Dead fans this is something worth seeking out by any means necessary.
The Ones Who Live is designed for long time fans only, those who have been through the ups and downs of the mainline show for its eleven-season run, and it acts as an epilogue to two of that shows most important characters. It’s got all the action you would hope for, whilst also having a surprisingly moving emotional core to it. Lincoln & Gurira see these characters off beautifully in a love letter of a miniseries. For Walking Dead fans this is something worth seeking out by any means necessary.