***The following contains spoilers for the season finale***

I've been a fan of this series for a good, long while, and a writer for longer than that. I became a Richonner almost instantly in season three. It was a ship I didn't actually believe would come to fruition. Each year at SDCC in Hall H, I began to subtly inquire about this pair that electrified our screens. By season six, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) had consummated their relationship. For they and their family unit had been canon since season four. 

Fast forward to both Rick and Michonne's respective departures from the flagship series of The Walking Dead, a long drought, and then... 

The light. 

Gimple, Gurira, and Lincoln got together during that down time and worked out how the future for the Grimes would look. This evolved from features to a (now) limited series of six episodes. But more than that, they gave their fans damn near everything. The finale was no different.  

- a Richonne opening sex scene
- a solid monologue by Terry O'Quinn
- resolution to CRM and Thorne
- fight scenes, including Michonne and that historic sword
- Rick finally going HOME
- a Grimes family reunion
- Rick finally meeting and hugging Junior

There are a few things I would have done differently or added, but that's purely from a nitpicky, creative's perspective. As a fan, it is hard to properly elocute what it means to not only have resolution, but a conclusion on par with fanfic, where fans recreate the worlds of beloved characters, changing what the canon fell short of. I can honestly say that this big three, who I believe came up with the conclusion before anything else, have left we fanfic writers with little to nothing to work with, and that is an astoundingly amazing thing. The only thing the ending was missing for fans was a heart shaped bow. 

That being said, I do hope we get to spend more time with the Grimes and their children, growing up, day to day dramas. At the end of the day, Rick Grimes deserves to not only live, but to live in peace. 

Thank you, Scott, Danai, and Andy for your dedication to these characters and their story. Thank you.