Rick Grimes/Michonne

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Pairing
Pairing: Rick Grimes/Michonne
Alternative name(s): Richonne
Gender category: Het
Fandom: The Walking Dead (TV Series)
Canonical?: Yes
Prevalence: Popular
Archives:
Other:
Is in Richonne hell by asieybarbie. As of January 2019, it has over 8600 notes on tumblr
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Rick Grimes/Michonne, also known as Richonne, is a popular het pairing of Rick Grimes and Michonne in The Walking Dead fandom. They have a canon relationship in the television series, that begins in Season 6, Episode 10.

Here we were given a true relationship—two people who fully understand and love each other, and aren’t ashamed to express that amongst those they care about.

Why Richonne is Important - Jill Robi

Canon

Rick and Michonne meet in Season 3, when Michonne, wounded and in need of help, arrives at the prison. Rick is initially suspicious of Michonne, but she soon becomes a contributing member of the group. At the end of the season Rick has to decide whether or not to hand Michonne over to the Governor in order to broker a deal, he ultimately decides against it. Rick and Michonne are separated after the fall of the prison, but Michonne is able find and reunite with Rick and Carl. Michonne and Rick become good friends and she takes on a parental role with Carl. Their romantic relationship begins in Season 6, Episode 10 when they kiss and make love for the first time, from that point forward they are shown to be in a committed relationship. After Negan and the Saviors take over their group, Rick and Michonne disagree on the best course of action. Michonne tries to go it alone, but decides "I had to go my way. But when I found it ... I realized that ... I didn't want it to be my way. I wanted it to be ours -- me and you."[2]

Importance

The show was lauded as modern and unconventional for having a dark skinned black woman in a relationship with the leading white male character, "it’s an even bigger deal to see that sort of progressive coupling on a massively popular show like The Walking Dead. In this day and age it might not seem like a big deal that the white male hero might pick the strong black woman as his partner, but that choice matters to someone, and, best of all, it makes perfect sense."[3] It was also praised for letting the relationship slowly build over time, "What’s great here is that Richonne doesn’t feel like a strategic move by Walking Dead writers to give fans what they want — the reason it took so long was because they actually invested time into letting the bond between Rick and Michonne emerge."[4]

People thought it was so huge and radical that my character and the Rick Grimes character became a couple, and I guess it was. You know, I guess it was. But really, should it be? But once again, it was eradicating stereotype around who the lead man, the handsome white male lead man, could be with. But it was clear that the characters had a connection and chemistry, so what do you listen to? So that's why I said it just takes a few folks willing to truly listen, and I think right there stereotypes can break. [5]

Danai Gurira (actor that plays Michonne)

Controversies

  • Despite being a popular pairing in fandom since Season 3, when Rick/Michonne went canon in Season 6 there was some backlash. These responses were classified by some as blatant or systemic racism. "There are people who didn’t want these ships to happen because they want the show to reflect their (racist) world view. How people react to fictional things can say an awful lot about how they think things should look in the world they actually do live in."[6]
  • There were also some fans who thought that Michonne was too dark skinned and/or too masculine to be a worthy partner for Rick.[7] Some observers felt this was an example of the desexualization of dark skinned black women in popular culture.,[8]

Fandom

Statistics

Common Tropes in Fanworks

  • No Zombie Apocalypse AU: Set in the modern world where no Zombie Apocalypse takes place, often featuring Rick as a single or divorced father.
  • Prison or Alexandria Safe Zone: Set within either the Prison or the Alexandria Safe Zone, providing a calm environment during the Zombie Apocalypse to develop Rick and Michonne's relationship.
  • Futurefic: Usually where Rick and Michonne are married or have a child together.

Challenges

Example Fanworks

Fan Art

Fanfiction

Fan Vids

Meta

Metavid

Cosplay

Resources

References

  1. ^ Why Richonne is Important
  2. ^ The 21 Most Important Quotes from 'The Walking Dead' Winter Finale 'Hearts Still Beating'
  3. ^ The Walking Dead Just Cemented Its Reputation as One of the Most Progressive Shows on Television
  4. ^ Let’s Talk About Rick and Michonne’s Very Big Night on The Walking Dead
  5. ^ [1] Danai Gurira on The Walking Dead’s “Stereotype-Breaking” Michonne and Rick Grimes Coupling
  6. ^ What Shipping Richonne Taught Me About Racism
  7. ^ When you search Michonne & Richonne on Twitter…..
  8. ^ 3 Reasons Why #Richonne is a Black History Month Gift
  9. ^ The Walking Dead A03 Statistics
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