A Second Season of 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live' Is Inevitable

By Dustin Rowles | TV | March 26, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | March 26, 2024 |

Spoilers for The Ones Who Live, season one

The fifth (of six) episodes of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live did something that I don’t believe The Walking Dead universe has done since Rosita died in The Walking Dead series finale: They killed off a major cast member. Thankfully, it wasn’t Seth Gilliam’s Gabriel Stokes, who made an appearance in the episode. It would have been a lousy way to lose him.

It was Pollyanna McIntosh’s Anne/Jadis, who has been a fixture in The Walking Dead universe since 2017, appearing as an artist with a community that lived in a landfill. She was eventually pulled into Alexandria and developed a crush on Gabe, but then “saved” Rick after The Bridge incident, joined the CRM, and subsequently appeared in The Walking Dead: The World Beyond before The Ones Who Live (I think she’s the only character, so far, who has appeared in three The Walking Dead series).

She’s dead now. After Rick and Michonne fled from the CRM, Jadis tracked them down, not with the intention of bringing them back to the CRM but to kill them. She didn’t want Rick and Michonne out and about because she does believe in the goals of the CRM, but also because she legitimately did not want to endanger Alexandria. She cares for the people in that community, especially Gabe. In flashbacks, we see Gabe and Jadis meet once a year out in the woods to have long talks and also to make out.

It’s good to see Father Gabe again. I have no idea why he still wears the collar.

There’s not much point in drawing this out: Jadis was obviously unsuccessful in killing Rick and Michonne, and eventually, her attempt to do so led to her death. She was bitten by a zombie, which gave her a few minutes to make amends with Rick and reminisce about her life through flashback images. She also tell Rick the whereabouts of the dossier she has on Rick, Michonne, and Alexandria. It’s back in her room in the CRM compound, which means that Rick and Michonne have to return, break into Jadis’ room, destroy the dossier, and somehow — as Michonne promises — take down the entire CRM.

There is one episode left this season. There’s not enough time for Rick and Michonne to do all of that. A second season is inevitable. I’m not even mad about it. I even dig that The Ones Who Live is now a romantic drama set in the zombie apocalypse. To wit: In this week’s episode, Gabe told Jadis that he’d found a ring he had meant to give to Rick when Rick and Michonne married. Gabe ended up giving that ring to Jadis, and as Jadis was dying, she gave the ring to Rick, which he used to propose to Michonne.

“It’s a broken world, Michonne, and you’re the only thing that puts it back together. To my last breath, I’m yours.” When did Rick become such a sentimental sap?

Meanwhile, in the season finale, Rick and Michonne return to the CRM to take on John Locke.