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whateverisbeautiful · 6 years ago

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Reveling in Richonne

122: The I Love You’s (8x14)

First of all…

I have so been looking forward to breaking down this solid gold moment right here. Cuz y’all, it’s everything. 🙌🏾 So you already know I have to happy dance in advance lol.

Wait it’s still not out of my system. 😋

(Side note: I’m already extra when it comes to even their smallest moments so this is about to be extra x10. So thank you for putting up with me lol 🙏🏽😂 And this post is particularly long (cuz of course), so I’ll spare your TL with this one 👌🏽😊)

Lemme tell you, every time I see or even just remember this moment I cannot help but react to it with the same high energy I had when I first saw it. This moment gives me complete and utter joy and it also really moves me, so this will always be me when it comes to this scene…

Cuz y’all...they said it!! 🎉Won’t He Do It! Yes He Will! All the time! Forever and Ever! Amen. 🙌🏾😌🙌🏾😌

And I love that while it was a big celebratory moment for us, it was such a normal thing for them. All the way here for it. 👌🏽😊

It’s funny cuz I generally avoid spoilers but, the week before, I had been hearing murmerings that 8x14 might be the episode where they say it, and just the mere notion of that had me turning up. So literally the whole episode I was just waiting and watching like...

Cuz ever since I boarded this ship the thought of what those “I love you’s” would be like and when they would come was on my mind often. And we finally got to see it! And of course Danai and Andy knocked it out of the park. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

But first, to back track just a little bit, in the few moments prior we see Carol open up to Ezekiel about her daughter.

(Side note: I wish Carol and Michonne would talk more. They’re different in a lot of ways but also have a lot of similarities too. Like in Carol’s conversation with Ezekiel she shares about how these people helped her find a better version of herself and that’s the case for Michonne as well.👌🏽)

The main reason I bring up this moment tho, is because, when they cut to the wider shot, Carol and Ezekiel are holding hands which is sweet, and what I love most about it is that you can see Michonne sitting in the background, almost center with the hand hold. And y’all that’s not a coincidence. 💯

How did Richonne’s romantic relationship start? With a glorious hand hold. 🙌🏾😋 And it’s cool that we get some parallel to R&M’s 6x10 moment in the same episode that we get to witness another long awaited exchange. 😊 (And this also sort of suggests that Carol and Ezekiel might be joining the couples club that I think only Rick and Michonne are in rn.)

But seeing Michonne sitting alone made me kind of sad too cuz it makes me think about how she would totally be spending that time with Carl if he was there (or Rick if he wasn’t out wildin 🙃)

So they hear the gate open and then Michonne springs up cuz she knows her man has come home, which is probably a big relief for her, knowing his recent inclinations to leave and get himself in serious predicaments.

My favorite thing about seeing Michonne spring up like this is cuz, as many have pointed out, it’s so reminiscent to when Rick heard her arriving at the gate in the season 4 premiere. Y’all their magnetic connection is still going strong all these seasons. 😊

So then Rick and Morgan walk in looking like two bad kids who can solemnly swear they’ve been up to no good. 😂

And when Michonne sees him, she has a look that says she’s both relieved and also that she can tell her man has likely spent the day wildin all the way out.

Morgan walks up to Henry and tells him he was able to kill the Savior who killed his brother. And rather than relish the vengeance, Henry actually expresses sympathy that Morgan had to kill again and he tells him sorry.

And then I get hit hard upon hearing Morgan tell Henry “Don’t ever be sorry” cuz it’s exactly what Morgan told Carl back in “Clear.” 😭

I’m always here for a “Clear” reference in this show even tho it’s also a heartbreaking reminder that Carl isn’t there anymore. (And I hope this show knows that in no way will Henry be a legitimate replacement, so TWD don’t try to make fetch happen. Just saying.)

So while that’s going on, Rick is walking towards the main house and people are looking at him cuz Homeboy def looks like he’s been suspect. And he’s just sort of looking right back at people like “Say something, I dare you.” 😅

One person he doesn’t look at tho is Michonne and y’all I admit I was not feeling that. I was like; Rick don’t you walk past your girl without acknowledging her in some way. Like I know he’s in a daze and probably feeling guilty but at least nod or something bruh, especially after likely making her stressed all day about where he went.

As he walks away, Michonne watches him go and they emphasize her having this look.

Seeing this reaction from her briefly made me worried that maybe this show was heading towards another moment of distance between them or even disappointment cuz tbh Michonne wouldn’t be out of line if she did feel a little disappointed. So at first, when it came to where they stand, I was like…

But the thing is, Sis is so understanding and the epitome of a great wife so any worry that maybe this was going to cause an issue between them was quickly dispelled in the final scene of the episode.

So now onto the scene that has kept me on cloud nine for months. ☺️Lol. Lemme get prepared.

The scene starts with Rick walking into their room seeming freshly showered, and I love that there seems to be this comfortability with him returning to him and his woman’s room. Like I think they have him enter the scene this way to hit home that this is Rick at the most settled he’s been in a while.

And it’s significant to see him putting on a clean white tee cuz it really does feel like it’s meant to imply a clean slate as well as the lighter side he’s coming back to. He’s leaning into the good again, (now that he’s gotten some of the savagery out of his system lol)

Also I love that there’s this candlelight glow that’s totally paralleling the precious candlelit dinner proposal scene in 7x12. 🙌🏾 I think having that similar glow going just helps to set the tone that he’s more in that 7x12 headspace again, rather than the headspace we saw in the dive bar.

We then see Rick have a visible moment where he knows this is the time to open his letter, like his North Star told him to in this very room earlier in the episode. Everything that’s happened today has shown him that now is the time to stop running. So he goes to the drawer and takes out the letter.

So then, Michonne walks in and stops at the doorway and this whole moment is super similar to the scene earlier. Cuz just like Rick walked in and found Michonne holding her letter near the dresser, Michonne walks in to find Rick holding his letter in the same spot.

Their reactions are different tho cuz where Rick saw her holding the letter and felt a sense of fear and anxiety, Michonne sees him holding the letter and you can tell there’s a sense of relief.

Like she definitely seems a little surprised too with finding Rick right there with the letter, but also happy that whatever he did outside the walls led to the letter and not more suppressing or running from coping.

So the first thing Rick says is “Thank you.” And Rick is a real one for knowing he needs to thank her. And I love how Rick so often says thank you to Michonne in this series cuz Homeboy knows he’s with a queen and he’s grateful. 😊

Now, you know my extra self had to really reflect on what each line of dialogue meant in this scene, and to me Rick’s thank you was for her getting him to see the light slowly but surely, and for fighting for Carl and for himself, for being by his side this whole time, for loving him, and sharing with him, and for everything she is. 👌🏽😊

It was also thanking her for being patient as he took a little detour to where she knew he needed to be. But I think most of all, at the root, this is Rick telling her thank you for not giving up on me. 💯

I love how it’s so visible that a weight is taken off Michonne when he says this cuz it lets her know that he’s in a much better clearer space than before. She was carrying so much for the both of them, to the point that I was like Sis is overdue for a shoulder to cry on, but in hearing and seeing Rick like this, some of that load on her is lightened.

What I adore most about this moment is the way they both take this deep breath when he says this. They are legitimately one and so in sync. 😍🙌🏾

In seeing that Rick is in a clearer headspace she knows they’re making some progress and it’s a relief that he’s more present and stable cuz again, if he’s okay she’s okay and you see that in the synchronicity of their body language.

They both seem to just loosen up due to knowing/sensing that they’re a little more centered than earlier. It’s not that all their external problems are gone, but they’re centered with one another, which is enough to make them feel a lot better. 💯

I love that seeing he’s okay means the world to Michonne and in both of them taking this breath it reminds me of the moment in This Is Us where they all take a deep breath to take a step towards releasing the pain of their loss. As TIU said, when you don’t deal with your grief it’s like your holding your breath, so it’s big for R&M to be able to take this breath together.

The next thing he tells her is “I’m sorry” and I was very proud of Rick for telling her that.

Like hearing him apologize had me like…

And to me, the sorry was for the way he’s been running from her and the pain, for not being there for her the way she’s been there for him, for leaving and putting himself in harms way, and doing the opposite of what she and Carl wanted, for letting irrational Rick dictate his actions and not the Rick that knows to listen to her, and for distancing himself when he knows that’s not the way they are meant to be.

Rick knows he owes her better cuz in all this grief he has every right to wrestle with it but again, when it comes to Michonne he also has every responsibility to be there for her too, for so many reasons.

To name one, he wanted her in season four to continue this bond with Carl and she did and they became best friends so she opened her heart so fully to Carl and raised him with Rick, so Rick knows that as the husband he has to walk with her in this, and he’s apologizing for not doing that fully.

But Michonne stays out here teaching how to be a great wife cuz with so much love and compassion she tells him “You don’t have to be.”

I love this. 👏🏽😊 Cuz it’s not that she’s just passively letting Rick slide, she just understands that since they can’t reverse the past, all they can do is move forward, learn from it, and be better. And this is her way of showing she’s still here for him and they can be better together.

And I feel like in her telling him he doesn’t have to be sorry it’s not just her saying you don’t have to be sorry for what you did (cuz y’all Michonne and Rick are cut from the same cloth so she can understand what he did cuz she’s capable of going ham on the Saviors like that too) but it’s also saying you don’t have to be in a sorry state forever.

I appreciate that she chooses not to linger on this or reprimand him and make this cause a wedge. Also probably part of why she feels he doesn’t have to be sorry is because she knows his grieving journey has finally led him to the letter, which is where the healing process will begin.

She wants him to know he doesn’t have to be sorry for his grieving process cuz she knows this specific process very well considering she’s experienced it twice now. I love that she understands him so fully and so deeply and more than anyone else I think Rick has ever come across. 🙏🏽😊

Cuz low key someone who wasn’t his soul mate might not have had a response like “You don’t have to be” when he apologizes but more like “you better be”, but Rick’s got himself the best of the best who supports him through literally thick and thin. 👏🏽👸🏾

Rick seems to often be waiting for someone to tear him down or doubt him or be disappointed in him (probably cuz of his past) but she never does. 🙌🏾

Michonne always uplifts him and this moment was yet another way of saying “I’m still with you” and you know Sis always means it. 😌

So after she tells him this, Rick faces her and finally really looks at her with clear eyes again and it makes all the difference. He’s got himself the best wife and he knows it. Cuz she’s so compassionate and understanding and just genuinely wants the best for him without judgment. At the same time she’s not passive and naïve, she knows what’s up but she always chooses to see the man over the mistakes. #RealLove 👌🏽

And then comes the words we’ve been waiting for. Cuz Rick turns and faces Michonne and with the sweetest sincerity says, “I love you.”

Every. Last. Thing.

That “I love you” was a reminder and a promise that, as much as his whole world has changed, his love for her hasn’t. It’s still there and going strong. 💕

I appreciate that he turns to face her more head on when he says this cuz he wants it to be crystal clear that he means this. We’ve seen that when he’s not being totally honest he can’t really look at people, but here he looks right in her eyes cuz this is the 100% truth. 💯😊

I said in the last post how I was nervous that because this episode tried to make Rick’s word seem like it was questionable that they’d want this scene to be interpreted as questioning if Rick’s words are sincere or just manipulative, but all you have to do is see his face to know he’s serious.

He’s looking at her the way he looks at her when he’s in his right mind, which is like she’s his sun, moon, and stars. ☺️

And y’all, when he says this it came out so effortlessly that I had to pause cuz it was so clear that not only was this not the first time he’s said this but it was very clear that Homeboy has told her plenty of many of times. 👏🏽😊

Before this episode, I was thinking they’ve said it before but of course Andrew Lincoln found a way to deliver this line in a way where it sounds like this is something Rick says all the time. 😋

But it still feels really special and significant this time, because while I feel this totally isn’t their first, second, or even tenth time exchanging “I love you’s”, I think this may be their first time saying it since losing Carl, which is why it’s so meaningful and a milestone, cuz it’s showing they’re back to telling each other what’s always been true.

And after seeing this so many times, I’ve come to like the sort of melodic way he says it cuz there’s something so tender about it.

Also it’s sweet that he nods when he says it cuz this isn’t meant to be angsty, it’s supposed to be more like he’s saying; “you know that thing I tell you all the time? It’s still true” And it never stopped being true, he’s just now in a healthy spot to tell her again. 😌👌🏽

And once he says that, Michonne then completes this perfection by telling him, “I love you too”

And I gotta happy dance one more again.

But for real, her delivery of that line was beautiful. 😭 It was so sincere and meaningful while also sounding comfortable and certain.

And there’s definitely something emotional in her delivery because they’re expressing this sentiment post-Carl, but there’s also such a sense that this is so normal and natural for them.

Danai is so good at communicating so much in just a facial expression but also in just a tone of voice like this moment here. 👸🏾

And I love that Michonne got to say I love you to both Carl and Rick in 8B. They’re family. 😭💕

Now as I was first taking this all in, I was like why didn’t they show Michonne’s face as she said that (cuz y’all my extra self would have wanted a split screen so I could see both of their every move in real time lol 😂)

But what works about doing it this way is that it just goes to show that those three words are so normal for her to hear and say that it didn’t need this reveal of her reaction. She said it like she means it and like she knows he means it too cuz he’s said it fourteen thousand times before. 😋

And Richonne tones for the win, y’all. Like the way they speak to each other is always so loving and genuine and melts my heart. 🙌🏾

I actually have live footage of my heart when I heard them exchange I love you’s:

Lol so if my heart turned into Simone Biles, and I’ve only been waiting like two years for this, I can only imagine how gratifying this moment must’ve been for those that had been waiting for this since season 3 and 4.

Like y’all have been going strong for this couple for years and that allowed people like me to jump on board down the line to see what’s always been there between them. So I was celebrating not just for me but for y’all who believed this day would come as early as the moment R&M laid eyes on each other. 😊 And y’all were so right. Won’t He Do It! 🙌 🏾😋

And I love that this moment had so many of us like...

So while I still would have loved to see Michonne’s reaction, I do love that we get to see Rick’s reaction to her.

Rick nods when she tells him, cuz she’s told him this plenty of many of times too. Amen. 🙌🏾☺️

And y’all I already adored this scene and watched it a ton of times lol, but I never noticed, until I saw it pointed out recently, that Rick actually subtly sheds a tear when she tells him she loves him.

And seeing that has me even more emotional than I already was. 😭

It makes this moment even more moving because even tho these “I love you’s” are not some new profession for them, it still means the world to them. 😊

And I think for Rick to hear his woman so genuinely express that she loves him too, it moves him in this way because he’s reminded yet again that he still has extremely valuable love left in his life.

After losing Carl, he’d been convincing himself that he’s a failure. But Michonne is here and showing him that he’s still loved, and seen, and cared about, and forgiven, and believed in, and that hits home for Rick and makes him really grateful. 😊

Y’all we really are so blessed that this relationship is in such capable hands with these actors. They’re so skilled at making these moments feel so authentic and personal because they’re characters are so lived in and it really does feel like we’re getting just a peek into the deep closeness and intimacy R&M have in everyday life. It makes you feel like it’s too personal to have an audience almost, but it’s perfect. 😌👌🏽

Like every night since 6x10, R&M get ready to go to bed in a room they share and this is how they talk, except more weighted this time given the circumstances.

I appreciate that they’re also so in tune with the characters so they knew to play this moment as meaningful but also casual because it’s a sentiment often expressed between them. They don’t just know they love each other, they clearly tell each other often too. ☺️

8x01, 7x16, 7x12, 7x10, 7x09, 7x08, 7x05, 7x04, 6x11, and even as early as the day they went canon in 6x10; those are all the episodes where I love you’s could totally have been exchanged. Here for it. 😋

And y’all I have to have my reoccurring epiphany that this is Rick and Michonne. The Rick and Michonne that met at that fence, and constantly found themselves staring each other down when they were just strangers in season 3.

The Rick and Michonne who were glad to see each other at the gate in season 4. The Rick and Michonne who knew the rules had changed for them in season 5. The Rick and Michonne who just needed a pair of mints to finally embrace the fact that they were in love in season 6. And now we’re here. It’s a blessing. 🙌🏾🎉

I love thinking about any Richonne scene prior, especially pre-canon, and then thinking about this glorious “I love you” scene following it. Cuz y’all these two have been expressing “I love you’s” to each other in so many different ways for the longest. And it’s just so great to get crystal clear undeniable confirmation that their journey, starting way back in season, 3 was about these two falling in love and now being this strong couple in love. 🙌🏾😌

My favorite is thinking about their moment in the season three finale which parallels this one. In both scenes Rick apologizes and she’s understanding, but in s3 he tells her that it “must’ve been something else” that led him to bring her in. And now in s8 we can pretty much confirm that the “something else” was cuz Homeboy was falling in love. 🙌🏾🎉

Y’all there’s just no denying that what these two have is the real deal. It’s crazy tho cuz even now, with the literal ILYs having been said, there’s people who still completely overlook their relationship or “don’t see the chemistry” or don’t get that Michonne and Rick are a soul mate package deal relationship, which just confirms that…

And again, I acknowledge that everyone absolutely has a right to their opinion on it. 👌🏽 But imho, if people can’t see that Rick and Michonne’s relationship is a soul mate relationship now, then it’s cuz they don’t want to see it since in every scene Rick and Michonne are in the “I love you” is evident.

Whether it’s in action or in different words, and now in those exact special three words. They are in love. And they are going to stay in love til the end. 💯

So to the people who specifically hate on them, I low key feel like this scene was also a way to say…

But regardless of who’s on board, Richonne only gets stronger and stronger and better and better, so it’s all good.

And y’all the scene doesn’t just end with the I love you’s! There’s more gold to witness. 🙌🏾

Cuz after they share these wonderful words, Michonne goes to Rick and reaches for him cuz he can finally receive it, in fact he needs that.

The way he looks down before she walks over, I feel like Rick doesn’t think she’s about to kiss him, probably cuz he still doesn’t think he deserves that.

But again, Michonne quiets those doubts in him and gives him the love and connection they both need and y’all it’s beyond precious. 🙌🏾

Like this reminded me of one of Richonne’s most life-giving moments with the Kiss of Life in 7x05, in the way Michonne reaches for him and reminds him why he’s got a bomb ride or die wife. 👸🏾

I love that they’re able to share this kiss and just be completely enraptured in this moment. And you can tell they’ve both been wanting to connect this way for a while. 😊

And that mirror showing us all the angles. 👌🏽That mirror is a Richonner and I’m here for it. 😋

And then the looks they share tho…like y’all this love goes deep. ☺️And it’s great how Richonne can’t help but do everything passionately when they’re with each other. 👏🏽

And then the forehead touch, making them like a perfect heart, is such a beautiful establishment of the strong unit they are and the way they lean on each other and are magnetically connected. This right here is unbreakable. 😌💯

To see them both just be fully locked into this moment and not fight the connection their meant to have is so refreshing. 🙌🏾😊 #magnets

And seeing them in front of this whole mirror is def meant to contrast the broken mirror Rick was in at the bar. In the broken mirror he was alone and troubled, but here he is focused and with the woman that’s his rock so he’s much more whole.

Even during their distance in 8x13, I knew we wouldn’t have to wait long until they were back in each other’s arms, and just an episode later they’re right back where they’re meant to be. 👌🏽

So then, still so close and connected, they both look over at this letter and it’s kind of like these two are looking at Carl in a way.

And it’s deep cuz Carl really was their North Star and such a driving force for these two as individuals. But he still is their North Star because he helped to give them each other, which is how they are able to get through this. 😭

Rick lifts the letter to imply he’s ready to take her words to heart and read it. And Michonne walks away cuz she wants to allow him time to fully take this in on his own.

Before leaving, she looks at him in a way that says; alright it’s time to take this leap, no more running and once you jump I’ll be right there with you. 👌🏽😊

And having gotten his strength from his everything, he’s able to sit and finally let Carl speak to him one last time, cuz I think part of him knows now that Carl won’t end with that letter.

Like Glenn said; the dead live on in the living. So Carl lives on in Judith and in him and in the woman he’s in love with especially, Michonne. So long as they have each other and love each other, they’ll never lose Carl. 😌

Before Rick reads the letter, he looks up and it’s like he’s trying to look up towards Carl cuz now the roles are switched and Rick has to look up to his son.

This episode concludes with Rick reading the letter and emotionally taking in the words. It’s clear this whole scene is not to suggest that Rick is continuing to be jaded, but to show he’s rising above that unhealthy space.

He’s open to the letter, he’s opening up to Michonne again and focusing on what he loves over what he hates, cuz real Rick is returning.

Y’all love covers a multitude of sins and, while TWD does not get a pass for all the baffling dumb decisions made this season, those “I love you’s” def sustained me for a good while lol.

That day was Easter, it was I Love You’s, it was a good celebratory day.👌🏽😊

And this special moment between Rick and Michonne was such a beautiful way to end the episode, having that moment be the final thing. It just goes to show how Richonne only get stronger and closer through adversity. They endure things that should break them, but together they’re stronger than all of it and they always find their way back to each other.

So I truly adore this scene for giving us the golden “I love you’s” and for showing us how lovingly and authentically they’ve found their way back to each other after the hardest adversity yet. And as long as they have each other they’ll thrive, because they are really and truly soul mates. 💯☺️

Rick and Michonne need each other, y’all. And they’re perfect together. And most importantly, they love each other.👌🏽😌🎉🙌🏾

gif sources: michonnegrimes gekari danaigurirasource spideyys andy-clutterbuck supagirl ricksmichonne

#richonne #richonne family #richonne fandom #michonne #rick grimes #michonne grimes #s8 #8.14 #ILY"s!!!!!#at last #Won't He Do it #Yes He Will #thank you so much for reading!#Reveling/Rejoicing in Richonne

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