The Sum of Her Purpose: Choosing Hope in The Walking Dead: Michonne (What We Deserve)
SPOILER WARNING: The following focuses on the events leading up to and including the final decision in The Walking Dead: Michonne, during Episode 3: What We Deserve.
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Game: The Walking Dead: Michonne
Episode: What We Deserve (Episode 3)
Location: The Fairbanks' House, near Chesapeake Bay (Virginia)
Summary: As the Fairbanks homestead is engulfed by flames after Norma's onslaught, Michonne braves the burning wreckage for Samantha's brothers (Alex and James) with moments to spare. Poised to escape out the upper-story window, images of her lost daughters suddenly appear, beckoning her to join them. Michonne is forced to confront her past and decide whether to succumb to her guilt (letting the fire consume her) or forgive herself and move towards a possible future.
Note (TW): Due to the sensitive nature of this discussion, allusions to suicide, the potential loss of a child, and PTSD will only be referenced as relevant to Michonne's character and not explored in-depth.
More information: What We Deserve | The Walking Dead Wiki | Fandom
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Survival and Resilience in a Heartless World
In a rare moment of agonising self-doubt, Pete questions the merit of his choices as he and Michonne prepare for the final assault: How a search for missing friends led to a disastrous chain of events endangering everyone around him. Michonne reminds him that he is not at fault for all that has transpired; in a merciless world, Pete has been the moral core by which the crew of The Companion thrive, giving hope to the otherwise bleak days ahead. But "What is the point?" he questions, reflecting on the aftermath of Munroe's destruction and the death of Sam's brother and father. Every good turn is punished.
But what is the point if we don't try to do the right thing? The sensibilities of the post-collapse world are thus divided. But for the characteristically reserved Michonne, her gesture of reassurance is a turning point in itself - a reflection of her transformation into someone who stands at a crossroads in her life and hasn't completely given up hope.
Unlike the start of her tenure aboard Pete's ship, Michonne's "present" isn't just about survival and existence. It's an intersection of the past (where Michonne processes her feelings of grief and regret) and the future (how she determines the kind of life she wants to build for herself and others). This will play a vital role in how she responds to the apparitions of her daughters after defending the Fairbanks' settlement.
Stay with Them (Daughters)
The Michonne Hawthorne of pre-apocalyptic times was a typical workaholic: Independent, driven, and able to helm a successful career while providing for her family. Yet the cost of her work taking precedence over time spent with her daughters is now a truth which haunts Michonne relentlessly: An unforgivable act of misguided priorities that resulted in her absence the day it all fell apart.
Michonne is on her knees tempting suicide with a loaded gun when Pete finds her on the shore, the unbearable guilt of her neglect triggered by trauma-induced hallucinations of Elodie and Colette. Michonne's anguish is visceral and frightening during these sequences as she "relives" the events leading up to their perceived demise - blood-curdling phone calls, abandoned toys, an empty apartment within the city smouldering around her. As flashes of their silhouettes appear, Michonne reaches out only for them to repeatedly fade away, her instinct to nurture and protect crushed by frustration.
At last, Michonne has the chance to set the record straight as she veers between life and death in the burning house at the end of Episode 3. "Stay with us", plead the life-like mirage of her daughters, tearing at Michonne's conscience and endearing her to commit the one act she failed to fulfil before. It is a cry of the subconscious, a longing which promises a kind of exoneration and sense of peace from her torment. It brings the end to a life in which Michonne endures rather than thrives, where her trauma alienates her from those around her despite their kindness. Who would want to live in such a world, especially without their loved ones? Death is the answer Michonne has beseeched over and over again, and now it has been granted her in a fateful act of mercy.
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Leave the Daughters
The destruction of the civilized world resulted in one immediate effect: Our pasts became irrelevant, and how people survived no longer became a test of who they were but who they became in the wake of the apocalypse. But is Michonne herself deserving of moving on?
Michonne suffers survivor's guilt: The idea that she lives while her daughters may have perished is incomprehensible to her; the only reason to keep going is the hope that Elodie and Colette did escape and are waiting for their mother to find them. Yet the sum of her purpose extends even further than this - the chance to find redemption in the act of helping others.
Michonne's self-revelations are not entirely fraught with sorrow but reveal a gradual healing as she finds solace in the company of Pete's crew and the resurfacing of her maternal instincts to protect the vulnerable. From intervening with Zachary and Randall to comforting James, Alex, and Sam as they grieve for their family and prepare for Norma's attack, Michonne becomes a role model who advocates for the kind of future that she would want for her own children. Preserving childhood innocence and teaching compassion while taking a pragmatic approach to survival in a cut-throat environment is a balance that any guardian would struggle to maintain, yet Michonne proves herself more than capable.
This is also true of Sam, whose loss of her future and family (mother, brother, and father) becomes more tragic as her only home perishes in flames. Yet she perseveres, resisting the ever-encroaching impulse to let the darkness of the world change who she is. For Michonne to give up would let this darkness take hold, placing a burden of despair on Sam and Pete's crew who would question what they could have done to save her.
For someone like Sam to move onwards, so too must Michonne. Perhaps she will find her daughters again or help another community the way she helped Sam, finding love, acceptance, and healing in the process. The world needs to be rebuilt, after all - and if this story arc has shown us anything about the characters we encounter, it is that hope often becomes the singular power which gives us promise for the future.
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Spoilers affecting choice:
Michonne's decision to remain with her daughters in the burning house will cause Sam to throw Michonne out the window in an effort to save her. With no time left to spare, Sam is trapped inside the house and tragically consumed by fire. This leaves Sam's brothers without their sole care-giver, placing the burden of their responsibility on Michonne who will suffer further guilt after Sam's selfless act.
Leaving the daughters still allows Michonne time to show remorse and say goodbye, while acknowledging that there is still purpose in this life while she can continue to help others; she evacuates in time and rejoins the family with Sam. Pete asks Michonne what she plans to do with her life: Stick around, return to her previous settlement, or go her own way. As she glances into the distance, silhouettes of her daughters appear in the forest - yet Michonne reflects with some optimism that despite the unknown, her "encounter" with them has reached a kind of resolution.
- Lucy A.
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Sources:
The Walking Dead: Michonne (Telltale Games); fandom.com; guides.gamepressure.com
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