Gone

Granted this is a spin-off, but it's still TWD and the show has been in the gutters for years. Somehow, The Ones Who Live has pulled off the impossible and breathed new life into this stale franchise. The quality of the first two episodes are on par with some of the best episodes TWD has ever produced. I was worried that there woukd be a slump in the second episode but it really was as good as episode 1. From the acting, to the story, the progression and the way I have felt watching these past two episodes, its a return to form that rivals some of the classic episodes from seasons 1-5. Truly remarkable and a giant kudos to everyone involved. I truly care about The Walking Dead again and that makes me happy.

Episode 2, "Gone," is a tragic story with some really wholesome and happy moments. I came into this episode thinking it would have a hard time holding up to the masterpiece that was episode 1, but my god was I wrong; this episode is just as good, if not better. This episode had a lot of heartbreaking moments that really made me tear up. It was awesome to see Michonne again after so long. I'm really glad that The Walking Dead isn't playing it safe anymore and is finally taking some risks. If every episode has this level of quality, we are in for one hell of a journey. I can't wait to see what they are going to do with the rest of the season.

The Ones Who Live keeps the bar really high in terms of acting, storytelling, writing and plot progression. In her search for Rick, Michonne encounters allies and foes, but never gives up. Her heart on her sleeve, she has to make choices, and tragic consequences occur. Danai Gurira acted her ass off and continues to shine and to be one of the shining lights of TWD Universe. As she gets closer to Officer Friendly, she loses hope, but the destination is more than worth it. So many questions still. It's just the beginning. I can't wait to see where they bring the story in the upcoming episodes, but the solidity of the series so far is extremely encouraging.

Excellent episode about perserverance. Faith and courage goes a long way, i didn't want this episode to end, it was very cinematic for me as I was watching. Great build up, how can you not care about these characters in this second episode? The writing and acting from all involved had my heartbeating so fast. So far I'm all in for The Walking Dead The Ones Who Live. If we get this every week, this show will be a huge success just like The Walking Dead. Waiting patiently for the next episode. Give us more of this depth, character, action. And feelings And you will have a loyal viewer. Michonne 💙

This episode was more engaging, with better and more likable characters, and had more emotional weight to me. Even the same scene of them reuniting was more emotional to me than the last episode's (where I didn't really care much) for some reason.

I guess seeing Michonne desperately looking for Rick in this episode and what she goes through here was presented in a better way that made me care more.

This episode is surprisingly emotional too, and yeah, maybe they were trying too hard to be emotional and did it for the sake of shock value and an artificial way of making an emotional scene. But damn if it wasn't effective. I thought it was weird that in a one-hour episode, they still decided that all we needed to see from Michonne and that couple from season 10 or 11, was the interview she had with their leader. But after what happened in this episode, I'm sure this is way more engaging than whatever they would've shown as flashbacks. And it would be hypocritical of me to demand flashbacks when they can just show their journey and develop those characters through the story and not flashback, as I have said multiple times that I don't like flashbacks that much. Although technically it was still a flashback.

One thing this episode does a great job of is giving Michonne motivation and a reason to do what she did at the end of the last episode. We all know what this episode is gonna lead to, but we don't know why and how. So I think the reason they give Michonne to hate them this much is believable and warranted, and surprisingly personal and emotional. I liked it very much. I didn't think I would care about these new characters since we don't know much about them, but they did a good job of making you care in the span of a few minutes.

I also have to mention a criticism that I had from the last episode that this episode totally debunks and I probably didn't pay attention that much, so I stand corrected about that. It was about Michonne killing everyone with masks on, but only takes the mask off when it's Rick. It's way different here and I was wrong.

All in all, I thought this episode did a surprisingly good job of setting up conflicts (with the awful haircut lady), gave a good motivation and reason to Michonne, and instead of telling us why she is gonna hate all these people, they showed us and made us care. Usually TV shows drop the ball on their second episodes and not much happens and they're boring. But at least for me, this episode was better than the first one, had less nonsensical and laughable dialogue and writing choices, and overall did a better job of making me have an emotional attachment to the characters and care about them and what they're doing.