'Walking Dead' star Danai Gurira talks about Rick and Michonne's intense reunion in episode 1 of 'The Ones Who Live'

Ever since the injured Rick Grimes was whisked away in a Civic Republic military helicopter while an unsuspecting, devastated Michonne cried over his presumed death, fans of The Walking Dead have been dying to see the lovers who survived the apocalypse reunite. New spin-off The Walking Dead: The Survivors sees this finally happen – and actor Danai Gurira has longed for it just as much as long-time viewers.

As the show opens in the UK today (31 May), Black Panther Star reminds of GamesRadar+ how Rick and Michonne’s stunning encounter, in which Michonne nearly kills Rick (Andrew Lincoln) after mistaking him for another CRM soldier, was captured early in filming – and that the weather during filming perfectly matched the mood on set.

“We shot the sequences where he dreams about her and then the reunion. It was extremely intense,” says Gurira. “I was so happy for (Michonne) because, you know, she had held on for so long and believed so much that it happened right when she was trying to let go, it was just kind of poetic. It was great.”

“It rained, hailed and snowed while we were filming,” she continues. “It was insane. It was crazy, but it was somehow this kind of pathos that comes from the moment. It was really great.”

Set over the course of just a few days, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live sees Rick and Michonne teaming up to uncover the CRM’s true intentions, process their shared trauma surrounding their years-long separation, and ultimately find their way back to each other. Speaking about how actively involved she and Lincoln were in the creation of the show, Gurira, who was credited as a writer and producer on the film, explained, “It’s been great. I mean, at this point, after being a part of the show for so long and with the characters for so long, it felt very natural for me and Andy to become a part of the creation of this show and to be very, very, very involved in the story arc and the narrative.

“It felt like a very natural progression from everything we’ve learned and everything we know and how much we’ve lived in these characters to then really working with (showrunner) Scott Gimple, who’s now a good friend, to create something together as a unit. I think it allowed us to definitely tell the story we wanted to tell, which was very satisfying.”

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is now streaming on Sky and NOW. For more, check out our handy guide to watching The Walking Dead series in order, or our list of the most exciting new TV shows coming our way.

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