#5🍕and a wedding 💍

[ririchonne]

Any fanfic writers interested ?

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#9: The 5 Pizzas & A Wedding Ring (1.01)

gif cred: @twdfranchise

The Greatest Yearner and Loverboy of All Time award goes to…Rick Grimes. 🏆

No one is doing it like him and it’s always a welcomed sight to see how utterly in love Rick is with Michonne. In Michonne, Rick found a rare gem that brings out the most romantic side of him to the point that he could have such a gorgeous proposal dream and in it give us six words that became iconic as soon as they were said...🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕💍😊

So first, I found the timing of these three dreams to be telling, especially the third and final one.

The first dream arrives after Rick is nearly on death's door after chopping off his hand and bleeding out. The second dream arrives after Rick has joined the CRM, forced to integrate into their uniformity as a potential getaway route.

And then the third dream arrives after Rick has chosen to die while still alive. Each time he comes close to losing himself, either literally or figuratively, a dream of Michonne arrives as his subconscious' last-ditch effort to hold onto who he really is and his other half.

While his mind tells him he’s dead now - his heart still seeks out the woman who made him feel most alive. Even Dead Rick can’t lose Michonne completely. They’re far too one. And every time he needs her, just like in real life, she shows up. 🥹

Here in this dream, she still shows up even after Rick declares he’s no longer alive and can’t see her anymore because, as Michonne says later, their love can’t be denied. 👌🏽

gif cred: @kimwexlersponytail

That’s why I really love that this gorgeous dream arrives after his last letter.

You’d think this dream scene would have been placed before the letter to show the last time he sees her and then he’d write the letter saying 'I don’t see you anymore.' But no - they have the dream arrive after the letter and I believe that is very much intentional and I love what it says about Richonne’s love.

Even if her memory is fading from him there is still a part of his mind that can always find her. That’s part of why it's so sweet that Dream Michonne told Rick that she eats lunch at that bench every day in the previous dream because it’s essentially telling him 'you know where to find me. If you need me I’ll always be here.' 

gif cred: @richardgrimes

And Rick takes that to heart, eagerly waiting at that bench for her to show up. And sure enough, even after choosing to live but die, even after saying I don’t see you anymore, Michonne still shows up looking like a vision in white and like the bride Rick views her as. (Also she has on some thigh-high boots because of course Rick’s brain was gonna add some heightened sex appeal to the look knowing how he views Michonne. 😋)

I like how in the first dream, Michonne was sitting on the bench and Rick was taken aback by her beautiful self. And now in this third dream, Rick is the one parked on the bench ready and anticipating her arrival. And of course, he comes bearing the gift of food because one; homeboy loves showing love through getting things for Michonne, especially food, and two; he was like 'I’m not showing up empty-handed to this surprise lunch date.' Just like he wasn’t gonna show up empty-handed from his run when Michonne asked for toothpaste in their canon ep. 😊

Regarding the stage-play-to-their-real-TWD-journey metaphor, one thing that made these already special dreams even more special once I saw episode 4 is realizing that Rick had lost the memory of Carl by this point, and that was when Michonne showed up. Similar to their real journey, Rick lost Carl but before he could sink into the depths of despair with no way out, Michonne was able to step in and be there for him and bring him back. And she’s still doing that years later by showing up in these dreams and being the motivating light he needs during this dark chapter of life. 

So Rick sits on the park bench on a nice quiet day as he cutely taps his fingers on the fresh pizza box and awaits that beautiful mystery woman’s return. And everything about the both of them is so adorable in this dream. Their outfits, smiles, and conversation is just perfection. Like y’all, I’m rewatching to write this post, and the way I am smiling so big cuz I can’t help it lol. 🤭 They just go together like no couple has ever gone together before, in any world. 

gif cred: @nerd4music

Rick hears footsteps and looks over to see Michonne approach in her elegant white outfit and she looks surprised but happy to see he’s here waiting for her. Of course, Rick would hear that she eats here everyday and make it a priority to be there early and ready to see her. Nothing else is more important than being with her.

And Rick immediately starts explaining what he’s up to acknowledging, “This is a pretty bold move but you said you believed in me.” One; I love that he’s boldly pursuing her and two; I especially love that he again recalls how much Michonne believes in him. Her belief clearly means so much to him in his dreams and in reality.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

Also, the pizza really does remind me of the canon ep mints in that it’s something Rick is using to make his move and find his moment with her. 😋

Then Rick says, “So if you want this bench to yourself, I can take this large pizza past the big blue building and eat it alone at my miserable desk at my miserable job.” First of all - the most charming man in existence. 🥰

But also this is why I think the “job” in these dreams is a symbol of the CRM. He did eventually go to wherever that map said but he’s miserable there and that would demonstrate how he’s accepted being stuck with the CRM and he’s miserable there too.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

I love seeing Rick have this playful energy with Michonne tho. In real life she also brought that side out of him. And I love it because it just goes to show how they got to know every part of each other. Like so many in the CRM know Rick as the scowler and so many back home know Rick as their fearless leader but Michonne knows he has a happy face too and a very playful flirty side as well. 

Michonne affirms, “I do believe in you.” Which I just love. It’s so true to who she is outside of these dreams too. Always believing so strongly in Rick and letting him know it.

It's so sweet that Rick's mind continually reminds him that Michonne believes in him.  And it’s also sad because I feel like it’s only in these dreams where Rick gets to experience the gentle compassionate tenderness of someone who loves and believes in him.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

And then she cutely adds, “And I do like pizza” while giving Rick such a sweet smile and sitting next to him on the bench as he turns to give her all his attention. 

gif cred: @lousolversons

As she sits down she tells Rick, “But shut up about your misery. You’re not stuck anywhere.” And I love that this shows how Rick loved the part of Michonne that could always call him out too. In TWD, Michonne never shied away from letting Rick know when he might need a shift in perspective.

That's part of why they're a perfect match - they can call each other out and call each other higher and it only makes the other respect them even more.

gif cred: @riickgrimes

Michonne was always so good at helping Rick see things from a fuller and more positive vantage point. It’s why Rick so assuredly told her she led him here in Say Yes. So I really appreciate that his mind recalls that side of Michonne and how it shows he loves everything about her including her direct honesty. 

Rick looks out for a second, looking like he still believes he’s stuck a bit, and then he says, “Well you said you’re not where you want to be” in a tone that’s just so gentle and tender it makes me melt.

And once again him repeating her words back to her is so true to the character. In real life and in his dreams, Rick will always take every word Michonne says to heart, so of course he remembers what she said from the other dreams and brings them up here.

gif cred: @riickgrimes

And the way he looks at her after he says this...There’s a couple moments in this one dream where Rick is the heart-eyed emoji personified and that was one of them. 😍

It’s interesting that he brings up how Michonne said she’s not where she wants to be. It’s like this is him saying, “Aren’t we both stuck?”

And while irl Rick and Michonne are in less-than-ideal situations because they’ve had to go so long without each other, Rick’s mind then accurately envisions how Michonne would approach their unfortunate circumstances. She acknowledges she's both not where she wants to be and not stuck, when she tells him, “I’m not. But I’m not stuck either.” 

gif cred: @riickgrimes

Going back to the metaphorical side of things, I think this is Rick’s mind telling him that while Michonne isn’t exactly where she wants to be because she’s not with him, she hasn’t been living life like she’s stuck. With raising kids, she can’t. She’s had to keep going even with a whole part of her heart missing and trapped with the CRM. 

Then signature to Michonne, she gives Rick a major motivating dose of encouragement when she confidently tells him, “We can make this whole damn world ours if we want to.” Love it. 🥰

gif cred: @twdfranchise

And Richonne really can conquer the world and save it and I love how Rick’s dreams are reminding him of the power of Richonne and how the two of them could do anything. I’ve always said Rick relishes and is fully aware that he and Michonne are a power couple, with eps like TWD 7.10 making that clear. 

Then Rick has another heart-eyed moment as he hears her say this. 😍 He looks at her with a smile, adoring yet another part of Michonne - the part of her that always believes in their ability to overcome, rise above, and make the world better.

gif cred: @alwaysthequietones

Rick irl didn’t have aspirations of being some world leader with giant world-conquering goals - he truly could be content building a thriving small community so long as he had his wife and kids every day. But he’s more than willing to take on the world with Michonne.

And this dream shows that she is the one who makes him feel like even when they feel stuck or miserable, they can still win and not let the world defeat them. 

After saying this, Michonne gives Rick the cutest playful smile and I adore it so much. 😊

gif cred: @twdfranchise

And honey, Rick adores her smile so much too because the way he looks at her and lets out a little laugh...I’m telling you right now that man is so aware that he's wrapped around her finger and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

It's clear Rick loves seeing Michonne like this. You can just feel how much he loves her, admires her, and enjoys her. And their chemistry just leaps off the screen. 

gif cred: @alwaysthequietones

This dream also reminds me of when we saw him hallucinate Michonne in his final TWD ep. There as well he just knew Michonne would be a presence that calms him and motivates him like no other.

And truly falling in love with Michonne is one of Rick's proudest achievements because even in his last full episode of TWD he hallucinates her talking about why she fell in love with him. By having this proposal dream after feeling he died a failure, it’s almost like his subconscious is recalling one of the biggest ways he succeeded, which is in landing the baddest chick in the game. 👌🏽

And I adore how each time we’ve ever seen Michonne in Rick’s mind she always has this radiant smile which shows it’s something Rick really loves about her. And where so many might know Michonne as more serious, Rick loves the smiley part of her that he knows so well. 

He also often imagines kissing her which is another thing he loves. 😋

So after Rick laughs in a way that makes it feel like Michonne’s love and beauty both center him and make him dizzy, he’s basically like 'before we make the world ours, I want to make you mine.' And he starts by asking, “What if I came here one day…”

gif cred: @riickgrimes

I love Michonne’s intrigued and encouraging “mm-hmm.” You can definitely see she's charmed by this handsome man and likes him a whole lot. 😊

gif cred: @twdfranchise

Then Rick continues in just the cutest and best way ever, saying, “with 5 pizzas…” 😊

gif cred: @riickgrimes

And Michonne gives a smitten laugh which makes Rick smile, happy to see that he could make her laugh. 😊

gif cred: @twdfranchise

I love that the five pizzas call back to Say Yes when Michonne had Rick giggling as she says she’s going to eat five more of those MREs. Seeing a Say Yes callback in the premiere had me elated. 🥰

Also, call me crazy, but I’m telling myself '5 pizzas' was a hint at Michonne ultimately ending up with 5 kids too - Andre, Carl, Judith, RJ, and the way Rick and Michonne were in TOWL, baby #5 might be otw sooner than later. 😋 (even though in my ideal scenario Rick also gets some time to really focus on RJ, Judith, and Michonne before a new kid is added to the Grimes family 👌🏽)

And just the idea that Rick would playfully be like 'since you like pizza let me come back with tons of boxes for you' is sweet and very him lol. --- But he also wants to come here one day not just with pizza boxes but a very special jewelry box. 🙌🏽

Cuz then y’all, this show tries to make me pass out because this heartwarming moment gets even better as Rick smiles and looks Michonne in her eyes to say, “…and a wedding ring.”  🫠

Won’t. He. Do. It. Y’all!!!!!!! 🥳 “5 pizzas and a wedding ring” is an instant classic. I adore it with everything in me. 🥹

gif cred: @riickgrimes

This is the moment where I literally stopped breathing on premiere day. 🤭 Like I was already just swooning over the 5 pizzas thing and then he said “and a wedding ring” and I was so gagged. It was and is everything. 🤩

I had been crossing my fingers for rings in TOWL and this ep made me feel confident it was gonna happen because Rick was already dreaming about it. (And then we'll find out in ep 5 he’d actually been dreaming about it long before he was taken from her on that bridge.🥲)

Of course, Rick would want to propose to her in these dreams even after just one time on a bench together. 😋 Homeboy said 'I’ll learn your name and everything later but first will you spend the rest of your life with me?' lol.

Rick might not know her first name in these dreams yet but he knows exactly what he wants her last name to be. 🤗

I think it’s so sweet that he’s trying to wife her up so quickly. I feel like it connects to how in their actual TWD journey once Rick and Michonne became a romantic couple in s6 they weren’t girlfriend and boyfriend they were husband and wife. Also, in any dimension, all Rick wants is to build a world with her because she is his world. 🥲

And then I absolutely love getting to see Michonne’s response to Rick revealing he wants to marry her. 🥹 It makes my heart so happy. She was all just tickled by him and the five pizzas thing and then she heard 'wedding ring' and paused and smiled, seeing how much Rick meant it in his eyes.

gif cred: @lousolversons

Michonne looks right into his eyes, tilts her head (and I notice Rick moves his head at the exact same time in the same way cuz magnets 🧲 ) and she gives a beautiful smile as she assuredly nods and tenderly says, “I think you should do that.” 😭

I love the delivery of that line. Like once again Danai slayed. And Andy too. Like this moment is the epitome of Richonne gold. 🙌🏽

gif cred: @twdfranchise

I so appreciate the way this dream confirmed that in any world Rick would make the proposal and in any world, Michonne would say yes. They both are so quickly on the same page about wanting forever with each other just like in their reality. 

And Rick has just the sincerest smile and joy radiating on his face upon hearing Michonne say she does want him like he wants her. 🥹

I love that his mind knows Michonne would be so receptive had he formally proposed. Also, I adore this eye-acting moment as Rick beams and then has this realization that he’s finally going to get the honor of kissing her.

gif cred: @nat111love

They slowly lean in and have just the most precious kiss. Like they're so good at making a kiss equally sweet and sexy. It was a joy to see the first Richonne kiss in years 🙌🏽 - and little did we know we were in for literally over 100 more in this miniseries lol. Love that for us. 😋

gif cred: @nat111love

The first Richonne kiss in TOWL is so pretty and passionate...and it's also the tamest one of the miniseries. 😅 Because once those two reunite their hunger for each other really knows no bounds. 👌🏽

It’s great that through these dreams they found a way for Richonne to kiss in every ep, even before Richonne officially reunited. Also, I always love those Richonne kisses where they can’t help but smile during it and this was one of those. The joy Richonne brings each other brings me joy.

I also really like how it’s filmed similar to their first kiss on the couch in their canon ep, both with the framing from behind the bench and the way Rick looks at her before leaning in.

And I also love seeing Michonne definitely being eager too as she's the one to subtly lean in for that second kiss. 😋

gif cred: @nat111love

Ep 1 really came out the gate letting us know that when they said TOWL was an epic love story oh they meant that. This was such a top tier moment of Rick living his best Hallmark life with his wife. 😌

There’s also a shade of sadness to this moment because it’s almost like Rick has had to give up on ever seeing Real Michonne and so this is him locking down Dream Michonne, almost accepting that this is the closest he’ll ever get to having her in his life and giving her that ring he’s longed to give her for years.

It's like now his mind is prepared to live forever with the dream version of her instead. 🥲

gif cred: @msanonships

So after that kiss which is really a thing of beauty, the lovely moment is sadly fleeting as the kiss is quickly interrupted by more depressing images such as a burning walker, burning crops, and, the saddest of all, a burning Michonne as she becomes enveloped in flames on the bench. 😢

gif cred: @nat111love

Dissecting those images, I think the corpse is Rick being reminded of the fact that he’s had to die, the burning crops is Rick being reminded of why he had to die - it was to save his family like his dad saved his - and then seeing Michonne in the flames is a reminder of who he’s had to die for.

Losing the image of those he loves is such a tragic side effect of the trauma he's endured. 😢 And it’s intentional for Michonne to burn away rather than just disappear or fade away because again fire has this dual meaning - it saves and destroys. And it's like that’s what Rick‘s subconscious does with this vision of Michonne - destroys it to save her.

As she’s wrapped in flames the one thing Rick still knows for certain is his wife believes in him as Michonne says one last time, “I believe in you.” before vanishing from his mind.

Rick tries to speak to her repeating, “l think…” but he can’t get any words out. 🥺 I wonder what he was about to say. (At the pace they were moving in these dreams he might’ve been about to say “I think we should have a baby” 🤭) But fr, it breaks my heart seeing him so badly want to express something but becoming overwhelmed and putting his hand out wanting to touch her but he can’t anymore.

It’s so sad to see his moment of pure bliss with Michonne burn away and see him stutter at a loss for words as all he can do is just watch her be taken from him again and the moment be replaced with things he mentioned in his letter like blood and metal rotors. He really had to lose Michonne and Carl twice. 😥

So then Rick sees his house burning, the windmills outside his apartment, and helicopters and walker-kills from his lifeless shifts as a consignee as he’s plucked back to reality. However, even in that montage he still sees Michonne in the flames one more time. I’d like to think that shows that she is still within him somewhere. She still can show up even if just for a millisecond now. 

gif cred: @nat111love

And then most devastating of all is the final moment of this dream when the montage concludes with the bridge explosion and Rick being startled awake by the memory of Real Michonne screaming his name in agony. Oh this breaks my heart for real. 💔

So when breaking down the first dream of this premiere I mentioned how Rick hears himself call out to Michonne and then recalls the bridge moment when Michonne calls out to him, which is clearly a memory that still torments Rick all these years later. But then to cope with that painful bridge memory at the top of the episode his mind immediately took him and Michonne to this serene park bench. 

I think it’s very telling and intentional that rather than go from the reality of the bridge to the tranquility of the dream - this time around he goes from the tranquility of his dream to the reality of the bridge. It’s like he can’t use these peaceful dreams to run from the reality of how he and Michonne’s story actually left off anymore.

And it pains me so much that a dream that joyous between them now leaves Rick just with the visceral tragic memory of Michonne hurting and screaming out for him.

I know it haunts him so much that he can’t call back out to her. That he can’t comfort her when he knows she’s in pain. To know she saw him on that bridge and had to think the love of her life died right in front of her eyes. That is such a heavy thing that weighs on Rick and now that he can’t see her face anymore, it’s like all he has left is her voice - her anguished voice as they both went through the unbearable and lost each other. 

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Rick startles awake upon hearing his wife scream his name and he appears to have a heavy heart from that dream-turned-nightmare. It’s terrible that a dream so good ended so bad, especially when these dreams were quite literally what was keeping Rick alive.

A line from Carl to Michonne in his final s8 episode always comes to mind when I see this. It's when Carl tells Michonne, “Don’t carry this. Not this part.” It makes me think about how most of the time when something or someone you love comes to an end there’s so much grief surrounding the ending that it can make the sad ending louder than all the good memories.

For Richonne, there was such an abundance of good in their relationship and it’s devastating that it came to an abrupt tragic end that day on the bridge. That’s not the type of final note a one-of-a-kind soul mate pairing like that should have. And so in some ways, Rick had been trying not to carry that part by taking his mind to those idyllic dreams. And then it’s heartbreaking to see even the dream get burned to ashes as he starts to lose a core part of himself in losing the image of her.

It’s painful for us to see the last dream before Rick couldn’t see her face anymore. The trauma inflicted by the CRM has just stripped away the faces of two of the most important people in Rick’s life. That’s bound to make one lose themselves completely. 😔

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

And in the last few minutes of the episode, Rick does seem like now he’s ready to lose himself in Okafor’s mission.

But fortunately, none of that will be happening. Because just when Rick thought he’d be stuck with the CRM for good…Michonne and her genius bestie had other plans. 😏👌🏽

[richonnesbitch]

I know they did a lot of callback to 7x12 in towl but one I'm wondering is if the reason dream Rick said "5 pizzas" is because in 7x12 after they talk about reordering things together, Michonne says she's going to have 5 more of the ready to eat dinners

Just now seeing this and I have no idea how long it's been in my inbox so I apologize!

But I personally don't think it's a callback to Say Yes. Each pizza represents Rick's escape attempts. Before Michonne he attempted to escape from the CRM four times. And then his fifth and final escape attempt, also his only successful one, is with Michonne. After this is when he proposes!

Five pizzas and a wedding ring 🍕💍

[richonnebabies]

(5) Pizzas🍕 and A Wedding Ring💍

[angelthefirst1]

Pizza wedding 🍕 🍕 🍕 ♾️ 🍕🍕🍕

Rick "What if I brought you 5 pizzas and a wedding ring?"

5 pizzas and a wedding ring 💍

Season 5 Pizza in a ring 🔵 and bridal carry 💍

Beth is coming soon.

🍕💍♾️💍🍕