Warning: General spoilers ahead

After 2 wonderful, fast-paced episodes opening the back half of the season and then, last week’s intense re-introduction to Negan (Jeffrey Dean-Morgan)  and the Sanctuary, we slow things down a bit this week. Actually, we slow things down **a lot**. Even though the new alliance with the junkyard group appears to be good news, there is that nagging problem of Jadis’ demand of “Guns. Guns. A lot of them.” So, Rick (Andrew Lincoln)  and Michonne (Danai Gurira)  hit the road on a gun-run, which, as an added bonus, gives the happy couple some much-needed alone time.

If you’re a Rick/Michonne shipper and have been waiting patiently for that big Richonne episode, well, you’re going to be beyond thrilled come Sunday. Lots of Richonne alone time spells lots of getting down to business (now, get your heads out of the gutter! Sorry, no nudity and honestly, the scenes are relatively tame), whether it’s in their van or on the gym mat of an old school. Over the past few episodes, Rick has been showing the world how strong his feelings are for Michonne with all sorts of cute, romantic gestures — like his getting the cat sculpture for her at the junkyard. Awww, how sweet! Well, this week, we get to see the flipside, with Michonne revealing her true feelings. In one very memorable scene, Rick is injured, and when Michonne runs over to help, she sees a group of walkers munching on something and immediately thinks it’s Rick. At that moment, it’s like her world ended, and she just stands there, completely oblivious that she’s about to be swarmed by walkers herself. Of course, that walker chow isn’t Rick after all, but even still, the entire thing impacts Michonne tremendously. I don’t normally include any quotes in these Advance Previews, but later in the episode, there is a great one from Rick to Michonne after she completely breaks down saying there’s no way she can lose him. She just can’t.

It’s not about us anymore. It’s about a future. And, if it’s me who doesn’t make it, you’ll have to lead the others forward — Rick to Michonne

And, there’s the Catch 22. Michonne wants Rick to lead, but that in itself puts Rick right in the middle of the crosshairs. Ultimately, Michonne accepts the reality of the situation, but it still doesn’t alleviate her immense anxiety and fear.

So, while Rick and Michonne are out scavenging and stockpiling guns for Jadis, trouble’s brewing at home, especially for Rosita (Christian Serratos).  I tell you, this girl is a loose cannon and completely out of control. Rosita is stitching up her face, and when Tara (Alanna Masterson)  shows up and offers to help since Denise did teach her basic first aid, Rosita is rude and ends up telling Tara off again. Her next stop is the church, where Rosita blames Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam)  for what happened to Olivia and Eugene, culminating with her telling Gabe off as well and storming out.

Ultimately, Rosita’s patience runs out, and she leaves Alexandria to go to the Hilltop. Once she arrives, can you take a wild guess whom Rosita encounters first? Oh, yes, it’s Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green)  visiting Abraham’s grave. Oh snap!! Cat fight, perhaps? You would think so, but no. As it turns out, she ends up asking Sasha for her help. Umm, careful Sasha! After all, with these 2 women’s history and Rosita’s state of mind, I’m not entirely sure I would trust her.

All in all, this is a decent episode, but probably one of my least-favorites of the season, 2nd only to the Tara bottle episode “Swear.” And, there’s 2 main reasons for that. First, I found the episode to be particularly slow, and a few times, I caught my mind wondering, thinking about something else which rarely happens when I’m watching The Walking Dead. What’s more, some scenes just felt like “filler,” doing virtually nothing to advance the plot and appearing to just burn time. Second, I’m not much of a shipper (although I am intrigued with the possibility of Carol ending up being Ezekial’s “Queen”), and so, any episode whose focus is on Richonne I wouldn’t expect to get super-excited about. Even so, I knew the writers would eventually give the Richonne fans an episode like this, and all I can say, if you’re one of those fans, it definitely won’t disappoint.

Episode 7.12 of The Walking Dead  is titled “Say Yes” and airs Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.

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