The Walking Dead season 10’s thirteenth episode marked the end of the road for Michonne. Danai Gurira’s katana-wielding heroine has been on the show since season 3, but she’s now the latest long-running star to exit the AMC drama. Following on from Andrew Lincoln’s season 9 farewell, which pulled off something similar, Michonne’s final hour explored a high-concept premise, as we got to witness an alternate version of the TWD timeline.
The episode explored a different string of events starting with Michonne leaving Andrea to be killed by walkers, instead of saving her as she did in the real world. This caused her to never meet the Alexandrians and later be taken in by the Saviors, becoming Negan’s right-hand woman. Thanks to some retooling of archival footage, this stroll through an alt-history brought back many familiar characters we haven’t seen in awhile. And fans had a lot of feelings about that.
You can see a clip from the episode below, which sees Negan recruiting a lonely, feral Michonne to his side:
https://twitter.com/FTWDFans/status/1241901542774579201
At the other end of this alt-Michonne’s life, she was ultimately killed by Rick during the All-Out War arc. Given that we’re used to seeing the pair as lovers, fans didn’t enjoy seeing this horrible scenario play out.
https://twitter.com/luciecordeIias/status/1241902756094328832
Having Andrea come back meant a lot to some, as Michonne and Andrea’s friendship was a strong one back in the day.
i love that andrea played such a huge part in michonne’s storyline i adored them #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/9ggbsDvzVt
— lauren (@viIIaneve) March 23, 2020
This flashback also allowed for the show to right a wrong. When Michonne is first glimpsed in the season 2 finale, she wasn’t played by Gurira, as she hadn’t been cast yet.
I was so excited when I saw this moment on the opening of tonight's #TheWalkingDead b/c we never got to see Danai Gurira as Michonne on the season 2 finale. It was a stand-in at the time. pic.twitter.com/i8MgTjMAwp
— Kirsten (@KirstenAcuna) March 23, 2020
Hey, remember the orange backpack guy? Now that’s a neat easter egg.
https://twitter.com/FTWDFans/status/1241901161243914241
Savior Michonne is the new Dark Rey.
SAVIOR MICHONNE!!!??? OH MAN I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW INSANE THIS HALLUCINATION IS!! THIS IS AMAZING!!! #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/M6mI0jeKT8
— Sara 🎬💖👑 (@writtenbysara) March 23, 2020
Savior Michonne is a savage!
https://twitter.com/FTWDFans/status/1241901708302843911
Does anyone else now want a Marvel’s What If…?-like series exploring alternative stories from the TWD universe?
I think a "What If" spinoff or have an anthology with characters in diferent circumstances like Michonne would be very good, imo. Can you imagine seeing Rick as a savior or really, the "Negan" of that timeline ? Negan being Rick, The Governor being with Negan, etc. 🤯🤯🤯 #twd
— Francisco (@NeganoJojo) March 23, 2020
Michonne’s storyline will continue in Andrew Lincoln’s movie trilogy, but in the meantime, The Walking Dead season 10 airs every Sunday on AMC.