#anyway not me writing twd meta in 2024

[nerd4music]

The thing about the CRM in The Ones Who Live, is that it was never meant to be the main focus, outside of its relation to Rick and Michonne. We're shown more about how it works through Rick's eyes, as a consignee trying to escape what amounts to prison labor, and the setup of the military, that it operates as a separate entity from the Civil Republic. With Rick we see their tech advantages, military strength, and the sheer scope of their reach. In Michonne, we see their destructiveness, with the chlorine gas drop and the murders of her travel companions. We're given so much information about who they are, what they do, and what they're capable of, and how the writing parcels it out is related to how it moves Rick and Michonne's plots.

That's why Jadis is the main antagonist, and not Beale. She is the CRM obstacle Michonne and Rick have to eliminate (and why Pollyanna was the only cast member in the damn credits besides Danai and Andy). She is the one who poses the biggest direct threat to them, their kids, and their friends/home, until Rick finds out what the hell is in the Echelon Briefing, and Michonne learns about the kidnappings and plans to gas Portland, and that's what makes them decide to blow shit up.

I'm not sure what else people wanted to see. Like they were expecting to sit in with Rick on briefings? Because the writing laid out just how bad the CRM was over the course of six damn episodes. One could argue about Beale not being as prominent, but he was impactful enough to the narrative in the time we did see him, that the buildup to the last episode and his Echelon plans revealed feel truly villainous and sinister, and that's why Rick reacts so suddenly. He became a direct and immediate threat, not just to Rick, but to the whole damn world and that's why he's swiftly taken out, because Rick is impulsive and saw the chance. Like props to Terry O'Quinn who looked like he had a blast, but how quickly he was killed was good writing, because it was unexpected, and fixed TWD writers' problem of dragging out their villains. There is a reason we're not immediately shown just how awful the man is, until the last possible moment, when he's revealing his intentions and offering Rick something terrible, leaving Rick no choice but to kill him, as his last act of finally being free from the CRM's control.

And between that, is the persistent theme of fire and burning things to bring something new. It was only ever going to end in a big blaze. The Frontliners were destroyed which is only a small portion of their military. There's still a ton of story left to tell with the CRM and the aftermath, because they're still a threat, considering the sleeper agents all over the world. But the direct tie to Rick and Michonne was wrapped, and the CRM in relation to them served the plot exactly how it was always meant to.