The Walking Dead has jumped forward six years in the future and a ton of things have changed since Rick’s “death.”

The communities are all predictably divided, Maggie’s absence was hinted at but not explained, new people were officially introduced, and our old faves are vastly different people. There was also small hints at a new threat looming in the future, which will surely be explored in the remaining episodes leading up to the mid-season finale.

Here’s all the big moments, questions, and observations from this first post-Rick episode:

You’ve changed, Michonne

Michonne is undoubtedly the new (and rightful) leader of Alexandria as their Head of Security and seems to be the new lead of the show despite the insistence that this is an ensemble cast. Let’s face it, fans were primarily tuning in to see how her life has been after losing Rick and they were rewarded with a ton of Michonne moments.

Her plans to build a solid government seem to be solidified with the presence of a council and an official vetting process for new people. She’s still the voice of reason and can see through BS like a boss, which is seen when she calls Magna out for lying about her pre-apocalypse life.

But, her character is also understandably different after watching Rick “die” in such a horrible way. Unlike Lori, she didn’t move on immediately and start sleeping with his best friend because she isn’t a terrible person.

Michonne “talks” to Rick about not giving up hope (in a metaphorical way) as a coping mechanism and keeps his wedding band around her neck. She’s been a great mom to Judith, whom she has trained in the fine art of wielding a katana, and doesn’t shy away from keeping Rick and Carl’s memory alive in Judith by frequently talking about their legacies.

I loved her no-nonsense attitude in terms of leading Alexandria and understood why she seems more “hardened” at this point in the story. The pressures of leadership sit on her shoulders and she knows there is always someone out there who wants to take what they have built over the years.

Her dynamic with Aaron has a Maggie/Jesus feel to it but with better decision making and the ability to listen to others overall. Her choice to escort Magna and her crew to the Hilltop (I guess Jesus is in charge now) shows she still has a heart for others, but she will not take any mess (nor questions) from Magna.

Observation: When Michonne changed into Rick’s denim shirt, she had a noticeable “X” on her lower left portion of her back. What’s up with that X? It will be interesting to see what this revelation is and what effect that experience has had on her over the years.

The Richonne baby is OFFICIAL

He only made a brief appearance during the episode, but there is officially a Richonne child in the world! It’s a bittersweet revelation because the couple talked about having a child right before Rick’s exit and now Rick is not in RJ’s life.

Rick was so excited to start a family with Michonne and had some much optimism about their future, so this stings for Richonne lovers. Again, it’s something that we should have gotten long before Rick left Virginia but he’s adorable so we will take it.

Like Judith from the past, he probably won’t have much of an impact on the plot because he’s so young (around 5, perhaps?) but he’s a chance to show a different side of Michonne.

Judith Grimes might be a cool character

Fans finally got their first full taste of Judith Grimes (gotta say her whole name) and she’s actually quite good. Judith is such an interesting character because unlike Carl, this is the only world she has ever known so her viewpoint of the apocalypse is different from everyone else.

She’s quite optimistic and hopeful with a nice dash of humor, which was at it’s best when she took a dig at Negan about being locked up. The scene between her and Michonne where she says she’s starting to forget Rick and Carl’s voices was absolutely heartbreaking and I can’t wait to see what role she will take as the Whisperers come into play.

She’s one big homage to Rick (cowboy boots) and Carl (the sheriff’s hat) with so much confidence and fearlessness that she has picked up from Michonne. Rick would be proud.

Rosita and Father Gabriel Are A Thing

I don’t think anyone could have predicted this pair. The priest made a major upgrade from Jadis to Rosita, but I ship Rosita with Siddiq because they are both beautiful humans. The time jump throws things off for pairings like this because we don’t get to see the relationship develop organically, so it just seems weird.

Yeah, they interacted and had a few moments together before but nothing that would indicate them getting together. There wasn’t much interaction between them in this episode besides a quick conversation and passionless kiss.

And, Rosita seemed apathetic about the relationship when Eugene brought it up. Her relationship track hasn’t been great on this show, but maybe she will find what she is looking for soon…even if it’s not with Gabriel.

Eugene awkwardly tried to profess his love for Rosita in the midst of a massive walker herd, but she was interested in more important things like saving their lives. Rosita and Eugene end up together in the comics and this relationship would work on the TV show since Eugene has actually found a backbone now.

Fans will just have to wait and see how it goes!

Carol still loves fire

Carol may look more like a sweet Auntie with longer hair and the occasional farmer’s hat, but she hasn’t lost her edge. For some reason, Jed and his idiot Savior friends were still hanging out in the area and plotting their revenge. Seriously…it has been SIX YEARS. LET IT GOOOOO.

They stayed true to themselves and set Carol and Henry up, stole some items (including her wedding ring), and gave Henry a few good licks. The latter really pissed Carol off, so she rolled up on their hiding place, doused it with gasoline, and set fire to all of them like a boss.

Honestly, Jed had it coming and should have been killed a long time ago after she spared his life TWICE. Why are you still a thing Saviors? And, why would you take a woman’s wedding ring in the apocalypse? It’s not like you can get money for it at a pawn shop.

It’s certainly not the first time that Carol has barbecued humans and I hope she wiped out the remaining Sanctuary members.

People always underestimate Carol and it never works out in their favor.

Another thing: It sucks that we didn’t get to see the Carol and Ezekiel wedding. Did Daryl walk her down the aisle? And, where are the Kingdom people that we love like Nabila. Hopefully, they have survived this time jump.

New Characters With Comic Roots

One of the biggest changes in this episode was a host of new characters. We met Magna, Yumiko, Connie, Kelly, and Luke briefly at the end of the last episode, but we got to know them a bit better this time.

From an outward perspective, the group is similar to Rick’s crew when they first came to Alexandria years ago – sketchy, paranoid, hardened, and broken. The characters closely line up to their comic counterparts except for Kelly, who was male in the comics.

Magna is the leader who is willing to take Alexandria by force instead of going back on the road, so it’s not clear if she can be trusted at all. Luke seems to be the voice of reason and a kind person overall.

Connie, who happens to be deaf, is a former journalist and wise addition to their group. Her sign language is translated via her sister Kelly.

Yumiko was sidelined with an injury this episode, so there isn’t much known about her at this point. These group members play a major role in the Whisperer war and many of them are still alive today.

Fans will be seeing more of them after Michonne decided to give them a chance and take them to Hilltop.

Sidenote: Alexandria looks good! They have some storefronts, nice townhomes, and a sweet windmill. It looks more like the Hilltop now, so the safe zone almost feels like a “new” character too.

Daryl the Lone Wolf

Surprisingly, Daryl didn’t play a big role in this episode. His grief and guilt over his role in Rick’s “death” has caused him to regress back to being a loner, so he’s living in a literal tent and fishing in rivers.

He does cross paths with Carol as she offers him a ride (there’s no more gas for his bike obviously) so their beloved friendship is still solid. But, he seems to have withdrawn from the other communities, which no doubt has something to do with Maggie’s undisclosed exit.

Negan and…Judith

Negan is still alive and locked up, but at least he looks like a normal person again. He seems to have gotten over Lucille and now he spends his days helping Judith with her homework.

Their scene is interesting because most people would have assumed that she was raised to view him as the “big bad” locked up in a prison, but she treats him like any other Alexandrian resident. She tells him about a math problem involving airplanes and he replies that it really doesn’t mean anything because there are no airplanes.

Well…he’s not wrong about the planes and nonsense math scenarios. They seem to have a relaxed, playful banter, which I don’t like because I can’t get past everything he did in front of and TO Rick Grimes. But, I also know that Carl and Negan developed a repertoire in the comics and it can be assumed that Judith will take her brother’s role.

I feel like they are going to shift his character like they did in the comics, but I still don’t like it. Does Michonne know they are having these conversations? And, what is her dynamic with Negan at this point? He has to know that Rick is gone, so she’s in charge of what happens to him.

Here come The Whisperers

Fans have just gotten past the Negan war, but our characters have been YEARS without a major conflict. Unfortunately, it’s all coming to an end.

Rosita and Eugene’s dummy adventure to set up a radio antenna went sour when a walker herd forced them to flee into the woods. Like Andrea leaving the Greene Farm, they ran seemingly for hours until they were able to slip down into some mud and cover their scent.

But, they got the biggest shock ever when they heard the walkers start to whisper “Where are they?” and “Don’t let them get away.” Even non-comic fans have been spoiled about the Whisperers, a lawless and nomadic group that blends in with the walkers and won’t hesitate to commit heinous crimes.

Honestly, I’m not ready for yet another round of villains but it was an interesting comic arc. Hopefully the show learned it’s lesson from All-Out War and won’t drag this on for 3 seasons.

There’s only two episodes left until a mid-season finale that will leave us with some mystery to ponder over the winter break. Will we get a formal introduction to the Whisperers?

Will Magna do something stupid? We will have to wait and see how this all plays out.