The ‘Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ Reunion Kiss in the Rain Was So Hot

(Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.)

Nothing says deep yearning actualized quite like a passionate smooch in the pouring rain. Yes, that’s true even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

Drenched actors in The Notebook, Spider-Man, and Four Weddings and a Funeral spring to mind as quintessential hot and heavy downpour scenes, with the likes of Bridgerton’s first season joining the horny fray. Now, thanks to its latest episode, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, of all series, can be counted among the best of those blissfully romantic scenes.

At the recent Television Critics Association The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live press conference, star Andrew Lincoln seemingly joked about the bodice-ripping Netflix series as a reference. Later, co-lead Danai Gurira confirmed that she sent dialogue-heavy scenes of the Netflix Regency-era romance to Lincoln and showrunner Scott Gimple, underscoring the love story at its heart.

Romance and horror might be on opposite ends of the spectrum, but they share potent ingredients.

From the first meeting to the first kiss, it took three seasons for Rick Grimes (Lincoln) and Michonne (Gurira) to go from battle-scarred friends to unbreakable lovers on the original Walking Dead series, cementing themselves as one of TV’s best couples—aka, Richonne. Now, the soul mates have retaken that crown in the six-episode spin-off, The Ones Who Live, and the long-awaited reunion sequence in Episode 2 satisfies emotionally and romantically.

“Years” was the apt name for last week’s series premiere, tracking the significant chunk of a decade since Rick sacrificed himself by blowing up the bridge in Season 9—and the last time he saw Michonne. Sure, he is alive, but we see him contemplating suicide, cutting off his hand in a bid to escape and reluctantly becoming a soldier in the Civic Republic Military. The nefarious CRM’s arsenal makes every hostile group Rick and Michonne have fought against look like amateur hour.

Their paths finally intersect at the end of the first episode, but we’re left with a cliff-hanger: Michonne stands wide-eyed and in wordless disbelief after holding her katana to Rick’s throat—thankfully, she removes his mask before striking. Viewers are left waiting to see how she’ll react to seeing Rick again. Is his new military role the ultimate turnoff?

OK, while that seems incredibly unlikely, no one loves building tension more than TV writers, so the clock rolls back at the start of Sunday’s second episode to reveal Michonne’s perilous journey to this rain-soaked spot. It was never going to be easy for this duo to find each other, with so many literal and human monsters blocking their path, but part of me thought they might drag their reunion out a little longer—I am thankful they didn’t.

Reunited in the rain

Despite his commando get-up, Michonne does not hold Rick’s attire against him—which he wears very well—and all thoughts of death and destruction take a back seat for two blissful minutes. The sound of their out-of-breath shock, coupled with the rain, provides the initial soundtrack to their reconciliation—until the piano kicks in as Rick rises to his feet.

Notably, these sounds haven’t been removed in the edit bay, as keeping them pushes everything else to the background. For a beat, it is just the two of them in the middle of nowhere, getting to hold each other beyond the world of dreams and memories.

Directors Bert and Bertie take advantage of the New Jersey winter in this scene. As far as I can tell, this is real rain and not a downpour courtesy of the kind of movie magic that typically accompanies a passionate embrace in inclement weather—or at least it very much looks like it. In an even more extreme sense, some of those droplets are snow flurries falling, turning this tableau into a snow globe—“It felt mystical,” says Lincoln in an interview. Okay, it's a snow globe with lots of peril, but this is the world of The Walking Dead. It might be freezing, but suddenly, things have heated up.

While much of the brutal Walking Dead universe is bombastic, big, and bloody, The Ones Who Live seems more subtle. The raindrops delicately add to the overall mood, emphasizing the cocktail of emotions at the improbability of this encounter and Michonne’s unrelenting belief that her man is still alive.

Okay, so mentally, Rick is currently a shell of who he once was, but clocking eyes on Michonne is a shot of adrenaline to his heart, body, and soul. Touch comes before words as Michonne places her hands on his face, and he buries his head in her shoulder. “I found you,” Michonne tearily announces with a smile so big that it instantly pushes away the thought of the two men she killed seconds before with her katana.

Rick immediately asks about his daughter, Judith, and almost crumples into more tears when he finds out she is okay—by the end of the episode, he still doesn’t know about his son, RJ. Deep-rooted shame about his current CRM role quickly takes over, and he can barely look at Michonne when he tells her, “I’m not… I’m not with them.” Despite his combat aesthetic, she knows in her bones that he is telling the truth.

With that “I’m not a bad guy” matter cleared up, the kissing can begin, and oh boy, do they not scrimp on this time-stopping smooch. Yes, they are surrounded by death and destruction, but that is nothing new, and the length apart (for the characters and viewers) means a tender peck will not suffice.

Luckily, everyone is on the same page. The camera pushes in on the two of them as the hopeful score crescendos—because maybe everything will actually be fine. Well, in this brief bubble, it will be. Rick’s damp hair is all the better for running Michonne’s practical but stylish shearling gloves through, and when they break apart, they break into happy sobs. The camera circles them, but their bubble is broken as she brushes wet curls from his face. This temporary spell of bliss cannot hold when the threat of helicopters is on the horizon and when one of the soldiers kills Michonne’s travel companion, Nat (Matthew Jeffers).

Rick quickly switches into fear mode, coming up with a plan to ensure they won’t be separated for too long, and yes, there is more kissing later in the episode. Michonne has to pretend to be someone else, meaning their secret rendezvous comes with an additional dollop of danger that only increases the romantic stakes.

Rom-com fantasy

All the years apart have only sharpened the already crackling chemistry between Lincoln and Gurira. As a self-professed Richonne shipper, I will freely admit that while my interest in The Walking Dead waned over the years, I never gave up on this pairing—this ship is one of the reasons I still have a Tumblr.

From the first mention of the Rick Grimes movie becoming a Rick-Michonne story to the announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022 that this spinoff was a go, I have been waiting for this duo to find each other again. It didn’t take long for me to get swept away by their shared desire to find each other. Sure, Rick has had to dig deep to endure his circumstances—and I could do with less CRM world-building—but the former sheriff has come back from the brink in the past, and with Michonne in his close orbit, the chance to escape increases.

Even before they find each other, the dial is turned all the way up on their OTP status in the premiere. Dreams have given Rick sanctuary, experiencing an alt-version of a zombie-free relationship with Michonne, beginning with a park bench meet-cute that allows both actors to switch out of battle-ready attire for cleaner—and, in Michonne’s case, more chic—threads.

Like the playful conversation that comes before it, the first kiss in this rom-com-leaning fantasy is full of meaning. But it also purposefully resembles a copy of a copy. All the pieces are there, but they don’t quite fit, and it only increases the desire to see the real Rick and Michonne back together. Oh, and flames engulfing Michonne put an instant damper on things.

Chemistry in any climate

Throughout the press tour, Lincoln and Gurira have unabashedly leaned into the notion of telling an epic love story, and how they first lock lips proves the commitment to this depiction. “When love is the driving force and it is the propelling thing on the show, when it is the thing that makes the plot move, what did that look like?” said Gurira.

Michonne’s desire to find Rick drives their return to the franchise, and the Georgia heat of the original series production has been replaced by frigid (and rainy) New Jersey February temperatures—hence, Michonne’s gloves. I’ve talked about this before, but timing when bringing a couple together is everything—whether it is the first time they lock lips or reconcile. It took three seasons for the pair to cross that line, and this initial smooch packs a big punch befitting the electrifying, much-hyped reunion.

Given the current circumstances, the only moment of feeling protected is during the uninterrupted kiss. The cold outdoor location leaves them exposed, and despite the familiar lips Michonne just kissed, there is much to discuss about Rick’s current role—oh, and the son Rick doesn’t know he has. Here, there are several layers of obstacles (looking at you, Jadis) and an urgency to reunite the whole Grimes family.

Richonne has prevailed through the various villains and tragedies that previously befell them, leading to an entire spin-off to bring them back together. After two episodes, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has already delivered a rom-com fantasy and a real-world time-stopping passionate embrace, proving this epic love story has only just begun—come rain, snow, or shine.