When thinking of The Walking Dead, the mind conjures up images of gruesome zombies and a grimy set of survivors, without a lot to signify hot and heavy romances. But they have existed, and many fans have wanted to see standout badass Michonne getting hers in the love department. But will it happen in Season 6 or beyond? Here’s what actress Danai Gurira had to say.
What I would like for Michonne is that every pocket of her humanity be explored. Her decision to not go back to being who she used to be, and stepping back into the messiness of a community and relationships of any sorts and caring for people even at the risk of losing them — it’s the whole thing for her. She just wants to live, and what does that look like? What does living look like? A part of what living looks like is allowing yourself to be known, which is certainly what she was not doing when we first met her. So going to the point where now I’m going to allow people to know me, I’m going to be open to people, I want people to know me a little bit more. What will that look like?
I love that idea, even though part of Michonne’s appeal has always been her quietness and an inability to truly fit in with everyone. There’s something about outsiders that will always be engaging to me, especially since she’s not quite as crass or standoffish as Daryl can be at times.
But we have definitely seen her open up to the idea of community kinship as Season 5 wore on and the group’s presence in Alexandria became somewhat normal – though not completely normal, of course, as Rick is incapable of that kind of thing. Michonne takes her responsibilities seriously, and with that sense of normalcy sometimes comes the feeling that romance is a possible next step.
Fans know that in Michonne’s pre-apocalypse life, she was dating a man named Mike and had a son named Andre. And that past has certainly fed into her hardened ways. Even though time doesn’t really heal all wounds, it certainly softens them enough to allow new experiences to be built on top, and the character may finally be at a point where she can find companionship again. Here’s what else she told EW.
I mean, that could be done in romance or not, you know? It’s not crucial that it’s a romantic connection that happens for her to really explore even intimacy, but I think she yearns for the whole human experience. She does, and I yearn for that for her also, and she’s getting so much of it now. So, you know, we’ll see. Who knows?
The question obviously then becomes: who would Michonne get entangled with? Many have called for Rick and Michonne to do the deed, even giving them the name “Richonne.” But that doesn’t seem likely, given Rick’s possible love affair with Jessie. Or maybe she will get together with Morgan, which is a relationship that comic fans are familiar with. Or maybe there’s a character that we haven’t even met yet that will win Michonne’s formerly black heart. We can’t wait to see how it happens, if and when it does. Though if we end up meeting a blacksmith with a fondness for forging swords, my money is on that guy.
The Walking Dead will premiere the highly anticipated Season 6 on Sunday, October 11.
