#danai the writer that you are

[machonnes]

THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE (2024) 1.04 | What We

[riickgrimes]

THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE | 1.04 — "What We" Directed by Michael Slovis Written by Danai Gurira

[whateverisbeautiful]

The

Only

Time

I

Feel

Safe

Is

When

I’m

With

You

[alokarotativa]

If I got a coin every time my favorite ship did a scene where a panic attack was comforted with a steady hand above the heartbeat

I'd have two.

Not that much but it's AMAZING that it happened twice.

[superpowered-dirt]

i might never get the "you're the love of my life. i couldn't just let you go. it felt like my heart ripped itself out of my chest and walked out the door" line out of my head

[iccedays]

Happy Birthday Danai Gurira! 💘💘💘

Our Valentine’s Day Beauty

“I'm a storyteller. I'm always willing to serve the story, a story I believe in, in whatever way is necessary. If I need to write the story I believe in, I will write it.”

“I want women and girls of African descent and of color to be able to not have to keep searching for stories about themselves.”

- Danai Gurira ~ February 14th, 1978

[tllgrrl]

March 22, 2024 - Episode 252

Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).

This week, Danai Gurira joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about her return to The Walking Dead in The Ones Who Live, writing and serving as showrunner on the episode, and why telling Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and [her character] Michonne’s love story was important. The playwright also opens up about whether those skills can translate to Marvel and what she learned about the industry after what happened with [HBO] Max’s Americanah.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Showrunner Segment starts about 15 minutes in.

[youledmehere]

THE ONES WHO LIVE EPISODE FOUR: WHAT WE

[WRITTEN BY DANAI GURIRA]

-> Vulture: After some tedious lies and deceptions, in Michonne’s words, they needed a time-out. That’s exactly what they get in one of the best stand-alone episodes in all of The Walking Dead. (…) It’s like watching a two-person play, which makes sense, as the episode’s writer, Danai Gurira (Michonne herself), is an acclaimed and Tony-nominated playwright (…..) “What We” is not a bottle episode. Multiple sets in a single location, two characters with an internal conflict, and the special-effects budget make it a “Suitcase” episode. Editors Rating: 5 stars

Bloody-Disgusting: Andrew Lincoln once again showcases a masterclass of acting as Grimes cycles through his damaged psyche, desperately trying to figure out how to connect with Michonne. Gurira matches Lincoln’s emotional performance, evoking Michonne’s desperation and anger with authenticity. Letting Gurira take over writing duties for this specific episode proved extremely beneficial given the emotional legwork the character trudges through in this particular installment. If there’s anyone who can understand Michonne the best, it’s Danai Gurira.

The Hollywood Reporter: As the writer of the episode, Gurira felt she clearly understood Michonne’s arc, but she wanted to make sure her co-star and fellow executive producer Lincoln had enough meat to sink his teeth into, as well. “You want to give an actor like him everything you can,” she says. “Andy’s such a fantastic actor who throws everything into it. I was keen to give him that workout.” Lincoln added to THR, “It was thrilling to do all of this with friends, but Danai had one heck of a role as well as showrunning the fourth episode as an added responsibility. I thought the work she did on that was an astonishing testament to her skills, especially because apparently she only needs two hours a day to sleep.”

Den of Geek: To call it a bottle episode is dismissive. Certainly, there’s one major setting, and most of the episode contains little in the way of special effects (by the standards of the average Walking Dead Televisual Universe show). However, most bottle episodes aren’t this interesting, or this gripping. “What We” feels like The Walking Dead taking a stab at doing a spinoff of the Richard Linklater Before trilogy, not wallowing in the usual zombie action or soap opera frippery. It’s almost certainly going to be polarizing, but it’s one of the most captivating, emotionally-deep episodes of television from this universe, and it’s all down to the powerhouse that is Danai Gurira.

SpoilerTV: “What We” is a captivating exploration of love’s transformative force. Rick and Michonne shed their pretenses, abandoning deceit to forge a profound reconnection. Andrew Lincoln’s performance brilliantly resurrects Rick from the abyss of a living man who is dead inside, courtesy of Danai’s masterful writing.

Bleeding Cool: But it’s Gurira pulling double duty that deserves all of the attention and tons of praise. Proving that she knows this couple and their dynamic better than anyone, Gurira presented us with what felt like a real couple going through the problems with real reactions- even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. I know that reviews can sometimes go to the extremes-positive or negative- but in the case of “What We”, we have an easy contender for one of the best single episodes of the franchises run.

[thosewildcharms]

i'll be thinking about 1x04 for the rest of my life probably, but currently i'm thinking about how genius it was that instead of the episode being about convincing rick to fight the CRM, as I originally thought it would be, it ended up being a battle to bring rick himself back to life. it's both rick and michonne fighting to revive a dead man who is doing anything he can to stay dead.

the show had already established that rick metaphorically killed himself and made okafor's mission his own instead of committing suicide and that from the moment she arrived he went into panic mode and was doing everything he could do put himself between her and the many threats aimed at her. like, we knew all of that going in.

and then this episode blows that wide open in the first, what, ten minutes? the CRM thinks they're dead. they can leave. and still, rick clings to okafor's mission. and in the hands of lesser writers, in the hands of any other production team who did not understand these characters as profoundly as danai and andy understand them, that's where it would have ended. rick would have genuinely been fully brainwashed and have been coming from a place of misplaced egotism, and they'd be having a very different fight. it would be rick insisting he had to fight the crm alone and michonne arguing that they can fight them together with nothing deeper than that going on.

but of course that's not it, because that's not rick grimes, and this is danai gurira's pen. he's not brainwashed, he's broken. he's so deeply and profoundly traumatized that clinging to this mission as a way of maintaining his own metaphorical death has become the last and strongest wall of his self-defense mechanism. and he spends the whole episode desperately trying to keep that wall up, and failing.

when he sees michonne's scar, he immediately looks for the PRB. because the physical proof of how much danger she will always be in reminds him of how much he can no longer bear to witness it. when michonne tells him about RJ, he asks her to give him the PRB and when he learns that RJ calls himself Little Brave Man, he doubles down on okafor's plan. because he can never lose another child (the way he lost carl twice) if he never knows or meets him in the first place. when michonne blows up about how scared and guilty she feels about not being with their kids he goes completely cold and blank and tells her to go back home. because if they're all out of sight and together they'll always be alive in his mind. because he's already dead, but they don't have to be. he becomes truly recognizable to michonne, to remain unmoved in the face of her pain like that.

and yet. he lasts about ten seconds before sprinting after when she leaves the room. he fusses over her when she can't stop coughing and refuses to leave her side when she's in danger. several times michonne checks in, to see if her rick is still there ("do you still love me?" "I just needed to hear you say it") and confirms that yes, he is. he's emphatic that he has never stopped loving her and never will, that she never has to thank him ever, for saving her life or for anything else. over and over, his love for her wins out even though he's trying so hard to keep that wall up. to remain dead so she will leave and keep living. he's trying to convince both her and himself that he's already gone, but always breaks at the last minute because the immediacy of seeing her right in front of him is more powerful than his own fear. tries to shut himself down, can't resist her, rinse and repeat.

and god, michonne. i've been yammering about the intensity of rick's love for michonne for weeks now, but michonne has done nothing but prove that she's right there with him, if not more. to reveal that rick is the only person who has ever made her feel safe, only to have him continually reject her and be a stone wall against her anger and pain and fear and confusion was so fucking heartbreaking to watch, and still she spends the whole episode banging and scratching and tearing at that wall around him, begging to understand why he's lying to her, why he's being so antithetical to the man she loves. and once she figures out that there's something else going on, that the rick she loves is undoubtedly still in there, she knows exactly what to do to save him. she forces him to say how much he loves her, how much he can't bear to actually let her leave him, so both of them can hear it and then reminds him of how he loves her. this woman spent a decade alone, afraid, raising their kids and facing horrible trauma herself, almost dies trying to find her husband only to meet a stranger once she does, and still does not give up on him. fucking incredible.

i said in a previous post that the only thing that could keep rick grimes from doing anything to get back to his family is a threat to their lives. and it's still true - his grief and trauma is so profound that even the nebulous threat of losing them is so horrifically terrifying to him that he's refusing to go home to them, keeping himself dead to protect himself from their possible deaths. but ultimately, michonne's love for him is even stronger than that. it took almost a decade for the CRM to break him, and michonne brings him back in a day. because the love they have for each other is more powerful than anything. as she says, it can't be denied.

it's honestly the most romantic hour of television i've ever watched. there's so much more that i can say that i haven't even touched on here, and i'm sure i'll be thinking about it for a very long time.

[terriblegam2r]

I am so, so happy that Danai has finally been given the opportunity to write for TWDU, and especially to write for Michonne. Screeners are saying that episode four (the episode Danai wrote and showrunned for) is the best episode in the show so far and I’m not surprised by that in the slightest. Danai is a very talented writer (writing is what she’s most passionate about) and I’m so happy and glad that Danai can truly give the respect to Michonne (and her journey thus far) that she deserves. :’)

You see AMC, this is what happens when you give the reigns to talented people that actually really care about their character’s journey. Magic happens ❤️

[richonnesbitch]

Me at Scott’s and Danai’s and Andy’s doors begging them for more: You can’t just leave us like that. I don’t even want a story. Just get together and film some scenes of what live at the Grimes’ is like now. It doesn’t have to follow a big narrative arc or anything. But I do need to see it. What type of activities and the likes does Rick do to spend time with his kids and get to know them? What does Michonne do to ‘make up’ for the year she missed? How do they adjust to being now a 4 person household? Where is it seamless? Where do they struggle a bit? How does Rick occupy his kids when he needs some alone time with his wife (that man is not done, ok lol)? Rick being the most attentive and present father to be there has ever been during Michonne’s pregnancy (listen, she’s already pregnant, it’s not up for debate lol). What incredible heartstopping declarations of love does Rick keep dropping on Michonne? What little gifts does he keep finding for her? I need to see all of this and so much more. PLEAAAAASE. Who do I need to bribe??? What do I need to do??

This is why the world needs fanfiction writers 😭😭 I hope all the richonne fanfic writers don't go back into hiding again. Now is when we need them the most!!!

[baifengxis]

danai gurira you're my favorite writer in the whole damn world, please write every tv show ever from now on, YOU CAN WRITE MY LIFE TOO I TRUST YOU I LOVE YOU PLEASE

[myobsessionsspace]

AMC DOES NOT play about Richonne

The said in their press tour and press releases.

They said in their interviews.

The writers, producers and main actors said it over and over again. It’s a LOVE STORY.

Forbes article

Not a bromance, not a continuation of The Rick Grimes Show, not the return of ASZ Leader Rick,

“If you look at [“Daryl Dixon” and “Dead City”], they have that ‘Walking Dead’ DNA of those larger-than-life characters and that real emotion,” Gimple said. “It isn’t just zombie storytelling. The stories that you’re going to get are going to have these features that are consistent throughout all of the expressions of these stories, however different they are. We value that character and emotion above all.” The Wrap

Lincoln says that, “This has been a long time coming, this story. Essentially the DNA of the original series was a man in search of his family, and that DNA is very much in this story, but we wanted to make it a bit more operatic and, hopefully show what the grownups have been dong while we've been scrambling around in the dirt for, you know, ten years.” Forbes

A LOVE STORY, a RICHONNE LOVE STORY.

Rick went through YEARS of struggle

Michonne went through YEARS of struggle

Nothing was easy

Love was always the message

“I loved returning to the role, and I love working with Danai. That was always the attraction, to continue telling this love story of these two characters that are so similar and found each other in this crazy apocalypse,” Lincoln told TheWrap. “When we did have our first scene, everything made sense, the reasons for completing the story and reviving these characters.” The Wrap

Lincoln insists that his and Gurira's new series, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, is, in fact, a love story. MovieWeb

This was a show about them, love, family, home. TWD has been a show about love, family, home.

“It's an epic love story. But it's a survival story too, because here's a wild question: Would Rick Grimes have survived coming out of the hospital if he didn't have a wife and a kid? I'm not sure he would have. What drove him was his love. MovieWeb

Lincoln describes the new TWD series as a love story that the world needs right now. The show's creators and cast are committed to portraying the love story accurately, despite the usual focus on survival and enemy threats in The Walking Dead world. MovieWeb

They did what they came to do and did it spectacularly.

🧡

[whateverisbeautiful]

Now that TOWL is over, what do you say is your top five favorite moments from the show and your not favorite top five moments from the show? From the start of their relationship, people were against this coupling, and some still are what do you have to say about that? Did TOWL exceed your expectations of what the show was going to be about, and what pulled you into liking this couple? Sorry for so many questions, and I love your breakdowns. I started to reread them all from the beginning. 😍💓

Hi! Thank you! I always enjoy answering so thanks for asking these questions and for rereading the breakdowns. 😊 I wrote out what drew me to this couple here. And for the rest of the questions I wrote out my response below. ⬇️💗

#1: Did TOWL exceed my expectations of what the show was going to be about?

TOWL for sure exceeded my expectations with the love story they promised. When they announced it was going to be a love story I figured we were going to get some pretty heartfelt scenes between them. What I didn't realize is that every scene of the show was going to be rooted in Richonne's love because their love was going to be central to each aspect of the plot. That was great and refreshing to see.

I appreciate how TOWL solidified that Rick and Michonne and the family they created are the most important in the world to them. Richonne's love and relationship have long been such a powerful thing and a massive motivator for these two characters and I love that TOWL didn't hold back in depicting how vital they are to each other. The passion and love displayed in TOWL felt very true to the characters. And allowing Rick and Michonne's relationship to take centerstage gave room to really explore the character's humanity in fresh and focused ways.

#2: Thoughts on people being against this coupling?

I think one of the great things about being a Richonne fan is that we really don't have to make anything up. The content speaks for itself. So while I have my thoughts on the people who hate on this couple and who have commented negative things about them for literal years, I feel like the TWD/TOWL content always ends up affirming what we know to be true and proving all the Richonne slander false.

People who are against this pairing can comment for years that Richonne came out of nowhere but there are seasons worth of pre-canon scenes that confirm the seeds of Rick and Michonne's attraction and love were planted long ago. They can say Richonne feels forced or like fan service but Gimple has said he was seeing the potential for Richonne when he was a writer crafting Clear long before any fan had even seen Rick and Michonne together on screen.

They can try to say that Rick's relationship with so many other characters is more important but TOWL especially set the record all the way straight on the person Rick prioritizes and loves most. They can try to knock the chemistry and say they just don't see it "for some reason," meanwhile it's on record that part of why the writers kept writing so many scenes for Rick and Michonne is because of their undeniable chemistry.

And especially after TOWL, which is Andy and Danai taking their chemistry to another level for six straight episodes, still not seeing the chemistry is certainly a choice. There's a reason many viewers said they tuned in to TOWL just from seeing the chemistry between these two actors and characters. What those two have is unparalleled and magnetic.

People don't have to like Richonne. We're all entitled to our opinions. But I have yet to see any substantial critique of the pairing, as people tend to just say they don't like it or buy it but never seem to pinpoint specifically why. (Although for many (not all) but many, we know why they don't see or like it.) The negative things said about Richonne are often either purely biased opinions or easily disproved. But again, it doesn't even have to be argued because the actual media shows, and has always shown, that Richonne is a beloved fact within fiction.

With 7 seasons of Richonne content on TWD and their closing TOWL chapter being heavily focused on the love they found with each other, it's clear that everyone behind these characters understands the absolute importance and value of Richonne. All these years later and Richonne being something special and meant to be is still proven true every time.

#3: TOP 5 Least Favorite Moments In TOWL

1. Jadis & Father Gabriel Scenes (1.05)

These are the most skippable scenes in TOWL to me. And I think there were a bit too many cuts back to their scenes which weakened the episode's pacing.

2. “If We Don’t Who Will?” “No One.” (1.06)

I was really not a fan of the writing for those two lines. 😅 It just didn't feel like how those two characters or any people would naturally speak. The visuals were beautiful tho.

3. Museum Scene & The Bumbling Trio in General (1.05)

There were a few decent moments in the museum scene but some of it felt a bit like clunky shenanigans. I also wasn't crazy about the bumbling trio of siblings in general. TOWL had done such a good job of making even small characters feel real and lived-in but those three siblings felt more like walking plot devices.

4. Final Fight Scene Dialogue (1.06)

This is another time where I didn't like the heavy-handed dialogue. It felt like they were saying things that should have just been left on a poster, like "In a dead world love is dead" and "love doesn't die."

5. More of an alternative opinion: Okafor should have lived & took Beale's place

It was sorta hard to think of a 5th thing I disliked since I loved so much of this show. So instead I figured I'd just say a personal change I would have been interested in seeing.

I think Terry O'Quinn is a great actor but he didn't really get screentime in TOWL. And so since they didn't give him more of an opportunity to show off his chops, I would have rather seen Beale be the one who dies in the helicopter with Rick in episode one and then have Okafor be TOWL's main antagonist.

Okafor was one of the most compelling characters to be added to the franchise in years and he played off Rick so well. They were great foils to each other. I think Okafor being the one left alive would have complicated things in a really interesting way both for Rick & Michonne and the CRM. Especially if they added some more layered villainous motives to his agenda, Okafor would have made a great and perhaps even stronger series antagonist.

#4: Top 5 Favorite TOWL Moments

Now this one is tough because there are so many scenes I love. Every episode of TOWL has some Top 10 worthy moments. One day I think I just might sit down and really try and see how I'd rank my favorite TOWL moments because I still don't know just yet where I'd rank certain scenes. Which is a great problem to have since it shows TOWL really did give us an abundance of riches. But until I have time to figure it out and elaborate on my top five, one thing I always know for sure is that the masterpiece Episode 4 features my favorite Richonne content of all time. 👌🏽

Thanks again for asking these questions and for your patience with me answering @theoneswholive32! 🫶🏽 I'd love to know yours and other people's least and most favorite moments from TOWL if any want to share! 😊

[restesdelune]

I've been cooking, I've been cooking...

Let me share the cover art and a few stills from the next installment of my Richonne videos.

How Richonne Was Born #2 - Dandy On Set and Off

I've also been writing my first fanfic (Richonne of course)! I'll share it here before venturing to ff or ao3 because I'm brand new to this and that is a lot. I've put 7000 words down in two days but as usual, the rewrite hurts like a *****.

We'll see...

Finally, I'm still researching my bigger (essay/podcast) project #TheOnesWhoLoveLiveOn inspired by Danai Gurira, Michonne Grimes and bell hooks' work about belonging & the labor of love. This is my biggest endeavour to date and will hopefully include political and cultural commentary, from TWD/TOWL to tv/movie/genres from a Black feminist /Afrofem perspective.

You can find me on youtube, twitter or here as moonsoul or restes de lune. I had forgotten that tumblr was so much more pleasant and appropriate to follow up on and share projects. I really hope they all make it to the end, I feel empowered and motivated but my fellow adhders know that consistency and hyperfocus rarely go along hand in hand.

Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to feel less alone. I wouldn't be making any of this if it weren't for the inspired (and yes, sometimes unhinged and worse) fandoms. I hadn't written or edited anything in forever and it's the screeners, the richonners, fanfics writers, and the overwhelming enthusiasm that brought me back to the fold and to my geeky antics.

Keep an eye out on my youtube for the next edit

How Richonne Was Born #2 - Dandy On Set and Off

Happy shipping

ps: sorry for the mistakes, English is not my first language.

[lilgoblinbitch]

THE ONES WHO LIVE EPISODE FOUR (spoilers)

my reactions while i watch this masterpiece of an episode:

HELP OMG MY HEART IS POUNDING

why is there a roomba

HOLY FUCK THEY LANDED IN THE OCEAN OKAY

WHAT IS THIS GIANT BUILDING THEYRE IN

“we needed a time out” YES YOU DID TELL HIM BAE

“the hell is this place” ITS WHERE U AND MICHONNE ARE GONNA-

why are they both so sexy omfg this is ...

OMG MICHONNE HAVE MERCY Y ON ME

rick that stare is making me feel things, STOP.

IM SCREAIMUNG INTO MY PILLOW SO MY ROOMMATES DONT HEAR ME FOLDING OVER TWO FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

MICHONNE I COULD SEE U AS A CREATIVE WRITER OMGGGG

the queen is so smart and witty and STRONG HOLY SHIT???

no because if i was her at that moment i would be on the ground sobbing and convulsing

“CHILDREN?” HELP PLEASE SOMEONE

rj…

oh god.

WHAT THE FUCK RICK

WHY DO U THINK SHE PULLED YOU OUT OF THE HELICOPTER YOU DUMB MALE

have sex already please

MY TV PARENTS ARE FIGHTING :(

michonne it’s not that simple you can’t just go home yet :(

“what did they do to you” bad things :(

“do you still love me? :(“ MY POOR BABY MICHONNE

“little brave man” i can’t.

please smack some fucking sense into him michonne.

poor rick he’s so fucking broken. and poor michonne i can’t imagine what it feels like to find your husband after 8 years and he’s just…gone. 😔

STOP IT I DONT WANNA CRY AGAIN

THE WAY HE SAVED HER FROM THE BUILDING COLLAPSING

OH FUCK THE KNIFE OH NO OH NO THEYRE GONNA FIND OUT

LMFAOOOOOO MICHONNE IS SO SASSY I LOVE HER SM “I DONT EVEN HAVE A WEAPON, COMMANDO”

okay he deserved that shove from her.

ANDY AND DANAI DESERVE AN AWARD

oh god mich again i’m so sorry. rick is gone he’s got stockholm syndrome or some shit

rick lost his manners fr he is not treating his wife well, the blood on her face the “DAMMIT HUG THE WALL” UM RICK DO YOU KNOW WHO YOURE TALKING TO HELLOOO?????

uhhhhhh what is happening….

oh! i like this part :) (they’re kissing)

oh! i like this even more (they’re fucking)

OH FUCK YES I NEEDED THIS

oh poor rick my baby he waited for this moment for way too long

omg the look in their eyes STOP THIS IS SO MAGICAL AAHHHH

i’m actually fucking sobbing.

i love them sm i don’t ever want them to leave that bed (unless they go back to their children ASAP)

DARYL MENTION!!!!

“sit, rick.” YES COMMAND YOUR HUSBAND

“we, our family, are real. our love doesn’t get denied.” 👏👏👏👏

CARL MENTION PLEASE HELP HELP HELP IM NOT OKAY :(

rick sobbing makes my heart drop. this tissue box is my new bff.

the CARL DRAWING….

i’m still fucking sobbing. like, hysterically.

THE ELEVATOR MAKE OUT YESSS

THE CAR MAKE OUT YESSS

“WE CAN MAKE THIS WHOLE DAMN WORLD OURS IF WE WANT TO” YES YOU FUCKING CAN RICKY DICKY DOO DAH GRIMES!!!!

MY TV PARENTS ARE BACK TOGETHER YIPPIIEEE

holy shit that was truly an emotional rollercoaster. honestly this was my favorite episode. danai, you are fucking amazing, thank you for feeding us this delicious richonne meal today!!!