Warning, spoilers ahead:
Episode 1 left the audience on a cliffhanger with Michonne's return to Rick's life. At the beginning of the second episode, it seemed the audience would finally get an inside look into how Michonne found herself shooting down Rick's helicopter.
Early in the episode, the audience learns Michonne had signs pointing to Rick's new camp, showing he was alive. An easter egg from the old season is the couple Michonne helped in Season 10, Aiden and Bailey. They are part of a group whose leader, Nat (portrayed by Matthew Jeffers), has a "leave no man behind" policy. Nat tries to convince Michonne to stay but eventually gives Michonne a horse so she can find Rick's camp.
Michonne, Aiden, Bailey and Nat part ways, but Michonne does not get far. She finds herself facing a large group of walkers migrating. Connecting back to the episode's opening scene with a walker strapped to gas cans and "gasman" written on it, Michonne attempts to blow up the migrating pack. She launches a rocket at the "gasman" walker, knocking her off her horse and leaving her to face the migrating pack alone.
Luckily, Nat, Bailey and Aiden went after Michonne and saved her. They set off explosions to split the walker pack in half to make a safe tunnel through. As they wait for the walkers to clear, they make camp. Michonne promises that once she finds Rick, she will return them all to Alexandria, a reference to the original series.
Unfortunately, it does not end well for the camp. While traveling onward, the Civic Republic Military, CRM, drops a chlorine gas bomb on the camp. The bomb kills many members of the group, including Bailey and Aidan. When chlorine enters the body due to breathing, swallowing or skin contact, it reacts with water to produce acids. The acids are corrosive and damage cells in the body.
Something that does not make sense at this point of the apocalypse is where the groups are getting the technology to create these bombs. While it makes for an interesting storyline, it is logistically confusing how they obtained the materials to make the bomb. It was also interesting that the audience never saw the group passing through the pack of walkers, so it almost felt pointless to include it.
Outside of this, the special effects of the bomb and the migrating walker pack were captivating to watch. The scenes were not overdone, and they almost felt real. The actors' emotions were fantastic and brought the scenes to life.
The bomb seriously injured Nat and Michonne, and they spent a lot of time together recovering. Once they recovered, they headed to Bridgers Terminal, another reference to Season 10 in TWD, where Michonne finds Rick's boots in a pile of burned-up walkers. The safe haven is gone, and Michonne loses hope of finding Rick.
The episode continues to the present, showing Rick's CRM helicopter and how Nat was the one who shot it down. The emotions shared between Michonne and Rick are heartwarming, and this is the first time we hear Rick ask about his daughter Judith.
The CRM comes after the shot-down helicopter, and Rick thinks quickly on his feet to save Michonne from being killed. While formulating a plan, Nat is killed by one of the wounded soldiers Michonne did not kill in the helicopter crash.
The CRM picks up Michonne, who goes by the name Dana, to avoid having affiliation with Rick. She shares a fake backstory, and the CRM council allows her entry into the camp. Here, Rick and Michonne are able to meet and catch up on the last six years. This is where Michonne learns Rick tried multiple times to get back to her, losing his left hand in the process.
When Rick returns to his apartment after meeting with Michonne, a CRM member, Jadis, is waiting to confront him about Michonne being in the camp. If Jadis were to inform anyone who "Dana" really is, everyone in his home, Alexandria, would be killed. The episode ends on a cliffhanger with Jadis asking Rick, "What the f--- are you doing?"
This episode mostly caught viewers up on how Michonne found Rick, which now ties the story together for the rest of the series. So far, the story is progressing slowly, but now that the catch-up part is done, it may be exciting for the remaining episodes.
Episode 3, "Bye," will be released on March 10 and can be streamed on AMC+.
