The Walking Dead: Those Who Live

This Blu-ray release of the much acclaimed THE WALKING DEAD franchise will most certainly please the many fans of some of the series’ best loved characters, Rick and Michonne. Continuing five years after the Bridge incident, Rick is alive although a broken man, while Michonne leaves no stone unturned to search for the love of her life… but will the many obstacles along the way turn this search into an impossible task? More importantly: can the strong bond between them still be the same?

At the start of this mini-series spin-off, we learn that Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) was airlifted after the Bridge incident in Season 9 of The Walking Dead and is now held by an organisation called CRM (‘The Civic Republic Military’), which sees the return of another character: Anne aka Jadis Stokes (Pollyanna McIntosh) who happens to be the organisation’s warrant officer. Prior to this, however, he was forced into doing work on the outskirts of the Civic Republic (formerly known as Philadelphia) before he could even enter the city and as if it weren’t depressing enough, several escape plans failed, including one during which he was forced to chop off his left hand (a gut-wrenching-scene indeed). Despite the hardship and the frustration, he still has one thing left that no one can take away from him: his dream of one day being re-united with his beloved Michonne (Danai Gurira). For better or for worse, he accepts a proposal from Lt. Donald Okafor (Craig Tate) to join the CRM.

Meanwhile, in another part of the country, Michonne proves that she still is every bit the sword-wielding warrior we have known her to be from the original series, if anything, she looks more fearsome than ever in her mission to find Rick, who so far is unaware that she was pregnant when the bridge incident occurred and thus is now not only father to his daughter Judith Grimes but to a son he has yet to meet. Along her hazardous journey through an increasingly apocalyptic landscape, Michonne encounters peril at every corner, including an attack courtesy of a CRM-helicopter which, in an ironic twist of fate, finally reunites her with the long-lost Rick…

From that point onward, the plot not only turns into a story of survival of the fittest what with the usual zombie slaying scenarios thrown in for good measure but more to the point, this is a story about the rock-solid love between our two heroes who must outsmart others if they want to escape successfully. To ensure the success of their plan, Rick comes up with a cover story introducing Michonne as a different character with a different name and why she would make for a perfect asset to join CRM, of course, once the others have fallen for the lie it would make it easier for the couple to escape. Pity that Pearl Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt), Command Sergeant Major in the CRM and an alleged friend of Rick’s, somehow smells a rat and so does Jadis… Once again, after an initially successful escape thanks to Michonne, who pushes Rick out of a helicopter with her when she jumps and both end up in a river, it is Rick who begins to have doubts whether both he and his partner will ever be truly free and can be a family again. Worried that the CRM will come after Michonne, he even proposes to return to the Civic Republic, a proposal which confuses and infuriates her but just as the barrel of emotions is about to explode, another CRM helicopter attack changes everything, including Rick’s mind…

This hugely intense and emotionally charged spin-off furthermore features Terry O’Quinn as CRM commander Major General Beale, who has his own agenda and plans for Rick, plus Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes – priest of the Alexandria Safe-Zone and Jadis’ former lover. Here, the flashback dialogue scenes between them are as revealing as Jadis’ reason for initially allowing Rick and Michonne to escape. The conclusion takes place at Cascadia Base and makes for a truly nail-baiting finale and yes, there is a happy ending for our love-birds though it has to be said, it doesn’t look much like a cliff-hanger.
The performances are outstanding, especially from Lincloln, Gurira and McIntosh and it’s great to see that in this drama-series, the focus firmly lies on raw emotions as opposed to non-stop zombie slaying.

Bonus Material includes Previews, Show Me More: The Walking Dead and subtitles.