Glory Hallelujah, praise be. It has finally come to pass.
Michonne, to whom I now affix all hopes of salvaging this wreck of sweat and stupidity called The Walking Dead. I’ve been waiting for Michonne to come save those sorry bastards for so long, and after an entire season of idiocy and inaction, she’s finally arrived – a little late but still with due pomp and badassery. Glenn, Daryl, T-Dawg, and maybe Andrea can stay, everyone else can GTFO at this point. Especially you, Carl and Lori.
So now what? What can this all mean for the rest of The Walking Idiots Dead?
It Just Got Real
For TWD comic readers, we know what Michonne’s arrival means, what she brings with her. For TV-only watchers, however, let’s just say this: shit’s about to go down. No, really.
Just from a few seconds-long glimpse of this mysterious hooded stranger, we can already glean the promise of better things to come. She obviously has no problem handling herself and is incredibly smart and resourceful, as demonstrated by her pet walkers. She will be a heavy hitter and a much needed asset to the survivor group, especially if my guess about the locale of that ominous aerial shot is correct.
No More Lori-Rick-Shane
Fine, wishful thinking, but thank all fuck we no longer have to deal with their selfish brooding and the love triangle hogging the creative resources. Yes, Lori, her pregnancy, and her very public marital problems are going to garner a lot of attention, but with Shane’s exit and Michonne’s arrival, this could force the writers to give much needed screen time to our secondary characters. As they pick up their lives (yet again) and acquaint themselves with this newcomer, Michonne can demonstrate her bad-ass skills while adjusting to group living.
Tension in the Best Way Possible
Not only does Michonne’s arrival bring new blood, it forces a change in the group’s dynamic. And after all the BS that just went down, a change is very much needed. Rick and Shane’s selfish antics and power plays have really jeopardized the group this season, especially because they were unable to deal with their emotions, history, and (ultimately) each other. On top of that, everyone’s selective silence and refusal to keep the “leaders” in check when it was crucial just led to disaster and a barn full of burning walkers. But no longer!
Rick, all I’m saying is you better learn to put your money where your mouth is and prepare to be publicly called out. Do you really think a sword yielding woman with pet walkers is going to take shit from you? No, I didn’t think so either.
Oh, the OTPs (and OT3s) – Possible Spoilers ahead
I know you see the way Daryl looks at Carol, and the way she’s latched onto him with affection that is misguided and desperate, but affection and need just the same. Now enter Michonne.
If you were Daryl – racist brother issues and a necklace made of walker ears and all – wouldn’t you appreciate this lovely stranger who shares your approach to survival? This nubile priestess of death who can totally make it on her own and prefers to be in the fringes? Oh yes you would. Now here be soft spoilers for TWD comics.
I’m going to go out on a limb and theorize that Daryl is essentially Tyrese, which means that his pending romance with Carol is going to be nipped in the bud when Michonne decides to swoop in on that fine piece of redneck Sherlock Holmes (as Moxie calls him) ass. This not only sets up a love triangle I can get behind, but also sets the stage for the already emotionally and mentally fragile Carol to fall apart, amidst the dirt, Cherokee roses, and graves. If Glenn wants to join in on that love action, I wouldn’t be mad about it either.
Yes, it could be said that T-Dawg is Tyrese, but no, Tyrese is not a character that’s off in the sidelines or missing for several episodes at a time. If T-Dawg was a Tyrese-like figure, he would have been in the spotlight all season, setting up his zombie apocalypse sex-den in preparation for Michonne. Alas, he’s been in our peripherals this entire time, thus being nixed from the list of potential suitors. Sorry, but you can’t romance a figment of your imagination.
Basically, I’m already shipping Michonne with Glenn and Daryl (with or without each other). Everyone else can hit the jump off.
Now to wait for Season Three. Not having to hate-watch this show is going to be a very different experience this time around.
I love this, but you have written down my biggest fear about the show, which is that even as they add a strong female character, another female character will collapse, and it will be because of the loss of a man.
Moretta,
Like you, I’d rather not sacrifice any more female characters to bad writing or the “I lost my man!” trope, especially since Carol has a lot of potential for growth. I am mostly theorizing based on the story arc as presented by the TWD comics.
If if it is of any consolation, there is always the chance that none of my theories will come to fruition as the show seems to operate independently of the comic arcs now. Michonne may not end up with Daryl at all and do bad all by herself, which is totally fine by me too.
But, just between you and I, I don’t have that much faith in the writers.
Is it worth going back and watching Season 2 in preparation for Season 3? I couldn’t get through two eps of S2 before giving up… it was just so disappointing compared to the comics.
Also – what’s this I hear about Carl not killing Shane? So, not only is the kid about 1000% dumber, his entire original character arc/goddamned point is ignored?
If I were you, I’d skip the season and watch the last three episodes where things start to pick up once again.
As for Carl, it seems that they’re downplaying and editing a lot of his character’s tendencies, most likely due to all the pearl clutching that would happen otherwise. He technically did kill Shane, but this weird “keep some traits, lose some” is turning him out to be a very dumb and naive 10yo child.
Listen guys, for me Michonne means The Governor, and The Governor means shit’s gonna get REAL. That character is one of the most cringeworthy, gag-inducing, skin-crawling bastards in the history of baddies, and I cannot WAIT for that story arc to get televised. In all of its bloody, torturous glory. I want to see Michonne cut him from temples to testicles and flay him like a fish. MAKE ME THROW UP, AMC. DO IT.
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and out of these lovely word a OTP was born
Daryl+Michonne = DARONNE