Theory: Michonne's going to wind up on a [spoiler].

This is going to sound batshit because she is supposed to be maybe the second-safest main character in the show but I think Michonne is going to wind up on a pike at the end of this storyline. Below is a list of potential groundwork the show might be laying out for it...

1. Saying Danai Gurira is sticking around through next season as a series regular. Series regular is virtually meaningless as a term because the story sometimes has recurring guest actors who are in two-thirds of the episodes and series regulars who sit out half of them. The plot right now has a six year time gap to play with and has already showed that it wants to dive into it-- that might not end just when we know what happened with the scars and the community breakups. Who is to say that we won't see Michonne in S10 in a couple of flashbacks and that's it? That suddenly puts her into the mix when it comes to who could be on a pike and then you could argue that the story might be headed in that direction.
2. Rick's consequences & RJ. When Rick inevitably returns to Alexandria, it can't be a 100% purely happy reunion. He's been gone forever and so much has happened in between-- to him and the communities both-- that something has to give. With RJ in the mix now, you could almost see RJ's existence as being all he has left of Michonne when he returns. RJ & Judith are alive but he never sees Michonne again. Brutal? Yes. But, I mean... Glenn and Maggie, man. (Not for nothing but this would be quite a parallel to that because of the whole... head-related... aspect of it and Negan's moment of brutality in one story and his potential redemption plot set up in the other, as it seems likely he will go after Alpha.) Trust me, I'd rather a Rick/Michonne reunion but this might be just as likely.
3. Michonne's present redemption plot. Right now, Michonne is presently stuck in how she couldn't let go of Rick (sort of almost how Rick couldn't let go of Carl, but even worse in a way) and it is breaking apart the communities. The same communities that are going to have a fair by the end of it. Along the way, Michonne's story arc is going to be to move towards mending those (pardon the expression) fences and rejoining the communities. Getting her to this point in the story would be a big character arc that ultimately is about redemption before she does something heroic but winds up on a pike.
4. Judith & Negan. While Michonne is Judith's mom, Judith and Negan are each other's story arcs so far. Their bond is Judith's only storyline and Negan's entire redemption plotline basis-- that's pretty big stuff. As it is, Negan is kind of Judith's substitute dad as it is and if everything goes to hell, he might wind up one of her main parental figures. The fact that the groundwork so far includes establishing more of a Judith-Negan baseline than a Judith-Michonne-or-really-anyone-else baseline doesn't bode well for Michonne lasting much longer in the series.
5. Judith's family picture on her bedroom wall. The writing says that her family will always with be with her. Michonne is the only one in the picture who is still alive while the picture shows Rick and Carl. It could be that, in the future, it's *entirely* Judith's late family.
6. Her hair. It's especially distinctive this season. Kind of screaming out for the braid on the pike.
7. The Abraham-like twist of it all. The shock of the Lucille scene on the show was thinking Glenn had escaped his comic fate in a twist and Abraham had taken it instead, only to then realize that it would be both of them. On the show, Michonne went to help Eugene earlier in the season. In the comics, her closest counterpart at this point in the story, Andrea, dies after going to help Eugene when a herd sent by Alpha takes over Alexandria. Andrea gets bit and dies. A remix of this might be someone else gets bit but "the Andrea" still dies as a result of The Whisperers' attacks. That maths out to Michonne in danger of winding up on a pike.
8. Ezekiel says he looks forward to signing the charter in the future with all the leaders of the communities, including Michonne. While this could also be seen as more dooming of Ezekiel to his comic fate, it's also worth noting that it was Michonne who wrote up the charter. There's something to be said about the irony of her never being able to sign it. It could be that Ezekiel somehow makes it through this and Michonne takes his place as one of the two bigger characters to wind up on the pikes.

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Submitted February 27, 2019 at 10:36PM by maryssmith https://ift.tt/2T2hyQt