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The first episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, “Years,” brings us the long-awaited return of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). The premiere episode is narrated through letters to Michonne (Danai Gurira) that serve as diary entries, telling his story through the years that have passed since the bridge explosion and his untimely exit in mid-Season 9 of The Walking Dead.

Giving a play-by-play of the scenes wouldn’t serve to explain this opening episode as it courses back and forth through this time period, his dreams of Michonne, and a whirlwind of backstory. What I will do is touch on the essential elements that serve to lead us into this new chapter of Rick and Michonne’s story.

To begin, for those who, like myself, are fans of The Walking Dead universe, you will have previously come across the Civic Republic Military (CRM) through the girlfriend of Al in Fear the Walking Dead and the plot of The World Beyond where the CRM play a central role throughout. Both left us safe in the knowledge that the CRM makes the Commonwealth’s class system appear a diplomatic walk in the park (The Walking Dead’s Commonwealth, not the one that involves the royal family).

The CRM are essentially an army, with helicopters, secret missions, explosives, and more secrets even from each other, essentially just very dangerous. Then there are the workers, or “confinements,” on the outskirts that do the dirty work (literally): killing and clearing the dead, sewage, fuel, and a whole host of other things that they do in the hope of joining the more fortunate within the city. Lastly, the aforementioned hundreds of thousands of people living within the city–safe, sure, but utterly clueless as to the extracurricular activities of the military. The one common theme between the three is simply this; none of them can ever, ever leave.

From the start, we are shown that Rick has tried four times to escape, leading them to place a leash around his arm. During his fourth attempt to escape, he volunteers to clear the dead at night and cuts off his own hand to shed the lead and escape, but this serves no other purpose than to slow him down when he is caught and put back to work clearing the dead again with the other consignments. It’s during this that we are introduced to a character called Donald Okafor (Craig Tate), who I have to admit, made my blood boil when telling Rick that he is “the best friend you ever had.” We find out during this conversation and from Rick’s narrative that he has been asking Rick to join the military for years and has been seemingly protecting him from death. Though as his motives unfold, we finally find out something that has been bothering any Walking Dead fan for years–what an A is and what a B is–but I’ll get to that later.

While Rick is sat staring out over water to the city beyond that we have learned early on is the reward for years of hard work to the consignments, he is joined by a bubbly character called Esteban Garcia (Frankie Quinones), whom Rick apparently took two years to have accepted as a friend. It’s in talking to him that he makes a passing comment that he’s surprised Rick hadn’t agreed to be a soldier to gain their trust as a means to escape during a supply run. The idea plants a seed in Rick’s mind and another montage leads us from consignment to military training, to soldier. A soldier with a brand-new Luke Skywalker-style black hand with a nifty spring-loaded blade to boot.

Soon after the introduction of Okafor, we meet another confinement named Pearl Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt), who apparently has a penchant for affectionately breaking glass (it happens twice, but on both occasions accompanied by compliments). Her story intertwines throughout his from consignment to military training.

Back to the A’s and B’s of it all. Before “Space Junk” by Wang Jung played out Rick’s exit from The Walking Dead, we heard Jadis talk to a mysterious voice on a radio, referring to Rick as a B before they are both taken away on a helicopter. So, in Rick’s story during a secret meeting with Okafor, Rick, and Thorne, we finally hear from Okafor that A’s are considered those of strong will who think for themselves and die for their beliefs. They are, in essence, strong leaders, seen as a danger to the CRM and inevitably sent away and killed. Whereas B’s are ordinary survivors brought in. Okafor tells Rick and Thorne that they are both A’s and should be dead (in World Beyond we hear Jadis reference Rick when stating that she lied about bringing in a B so that she would be accepted into the CRM and so he wouldn’t die). During this conversation, the true motive for promoting Rick, someone who has attempted to flee on four occasions, and Thorne, who tried to kill Okafor, is revealed. The fact that they think for themselves and do what he needs to for the greater good is the very thing that Okafor believes can make the CRM everything it should be.

After the first meeting, Thorne warns Rick not to get in her way and to accept the fact that he will never be allowed to return to his loved ones, just as she herself never will. But eventually, a friendship forms, albeit at arm’s length.

We briefly see inside the city when Rick visits Esteban for some advice (now proudly Ward 3 Water Manager). He makes a final attempt at escape, but his plan is thwarted when, in true Rick Grimes style, he backs out to save a child. On the same mission as him, Thorne sees that he was trying to escape but covers for him and later goes to his room to tell him that Okafor knows everything about him and he would have been forced to kill Rick, Michonne, and anyone else he was with. She reasons how much good they can do together (cue affectionate glass throw number 2). This leads to a confrontation between himself and Okafor where Rick learns the true depth of the CRM’s ability to find and silence him if he flees. Okafor has planned a promotion for both Rick and Thorne to logistics to build a forward operating base. It’s here that Rick begins to make peace with the idea of doing some kind of good when he realizes the alternative would only hurt his loved ones.

After this, resigning himself to his fate, it’s almost painful to watch as Rick drops nearly a decade of letters onto a fire, along with drawings etched into the screens of long-forgotten phones. They have finally found each other, but with Rick knowing what he now knows, what exactly does that mean for the two of them?

Things to note: Another character we are introduced to is Major General Beal (Terry O’Quinn), who seems to think he is exceptional at reading people. He confronts Rick regarding his desire to leave but also shows his cards when he attempts to push him for information about Okafor, suspecting a revolt.

An entire city is conveniently destroyed, which seems to match the dark covert antics of the CRM in The World Beyond spinoff who always have a hidden agenda and don’t think twice about wiping out entire cities. “Secrets on secrets,” as Rick says during a conversation with Okafor.

The story itself, alongside Scott M. Gimple, was created by Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, which made me smile ear to ear knowing the amount of love they truly must hold for their characters. It really is a testament to the faith they have in the Walking Dead franchise.

Though the episode moves fast through time and covers many aspects of Rick’s life in 55 minutes, it’s done so affectionately and with enough detail that it doesn’t feel rushed or taken lightly. It still honors our need to know exactly how his life has unfolded since the bridge.

New episodes of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live drop every Sunday at 9/8c on AMC and AMC+. Check back next week for the Episode 1×02 recap!

Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC