The Ones Who Live reveals Rick and Jadis have a secret deal that the CRM doesn’t know about, but Michonne’s arrival just made it more complicated.
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Summary
- Jadis and Rick’s secret deal adds complex elements to The Ones Who Live, hinting at a significant role for Jadis in the series.
- Jadis may have been working with Okafor to stop the CRM from within, suggesting she could be an ally to Rick.
- Jadis’s unpredictable nature makes it unclear if she’ll be a hero or a villain in the show, with her true intentions still a mystery.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
The Ones Who Live episode 2 revealed that Rick and Jadis have a secret deal, but it has some complicated elements. Having appeared in three different Walking Dead shows, Jadis has become an important character in the franchise, and it looks like she’ll have a very significant role in The Ones Who Live. Rick and Michonne’s spinoff is telling The Walking Dead‘s biggest story in years, and Jadis’ appearance at the end of episode 2 suggests she could be crucial to the show’s plot as her dynamic with Rick may make escaping with Michonne much more difficult.
After saving his life in The Walking Dead season 9, Jadis takes Rick to the Civic Republic. While Rick is far from grateful for Jadis’ actions, it does provide her leverage over the protagonist. This leads to a deal that Jadis refers to at the end of episode 2, but despite her supposed loyalty to the Civic Republic Military, she doesn’t tell them about Michonne. With how unpredictable Jadis is, there is some confusion about what her deal with Rick entails, and what her true intentions are. However, the spinoff offers some information about Jadis and Rick’s reluctant arrangement.
The Ones Who Live airs Sundays on AMC and AMC+.
What Happened To Jadis After The Walking Dead Season 9
World Beyond Reveals What Happens To Jadis After Her Walking Dead Exit
While The Ones Who Live is finally revealing what happened to Rick after the bridge incident, the franchise has already given an update on Jadis’ story after season 9. The Walking Dead: World Beyond explains Jadis’ backstory and CRM involvement, detailing some of her history before the Junkyard as well as how she joined the CRM. While the Scavengers had a loose relationship with the CRM that involved trading, Jadis only became fully associated with the military group after trading Rick. Jadis lied about Rick being a B, but this trade still got her into the CRM.
After initially struggling to find purpose within the Civic Republic, Jadis fully bought into the CRM’s mission and became part of the group. She was trained by Huck, a central character in World Beyond, before continuing to climb the ranks. Eventually, Jadis became a warrant officer, hence why she mentioned to Rick that “this is technically an investigation.” While Rick’s story has a lot of dark turns after his season 9 exit, Jadis’ life seems to improve. She managed to secure herself a much safer place to live, while also finding a new purpose as an important CRM officer.
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Jadis & Rick Have An Arrangement In The Ones Who Live
Rick & Jadis Have A Secret Arrangement That The CRM Doesn’t Know About
Rick and Jadis have always had a complicated alliance, and this continues with their deal in The Ones Who Live. As Jadis confronts Rick at the end of episode 2 about Michonne’s return, she says to him “Let’s continue to keep certain things between you and me, as we have.” This suggests the two have kept their history a secret from the CRM, or at least haven’t given them the full story. Although Jadis has betrayed Rick multiple times, she obviously feels some sort of debt to him, leading to the two making a mutually beneficial deal.
Jadis tells Rick, “This doesn’t fall under our long-standing deal“, leaving no doubt about the fact they have a secret arrangement. While the details of this deal aren’t explicitly stated, it can be presumed that it involves not telling the CRM about their past. With the CRM being the strongest group in The Walking Dead, Rick and Jadis keeping their history a secret will prevent anyone in Alexandria or the Hilltop from being killed. Limiting what the CRM knows about them was presumably supposed to prevent them from finding out Rick was an A and avoid exposing Jadis’ lie.
Jadis Can’t Tell The CRM About Michonne Without Putting Herself In Danger Too
Jadis Telling The CRM About Michonne Would Expose Her Deal With Rick
Despite threatening Rick regarding Michonne and his family, Jadis can’t tell the CRM everything without putting herself at risk. Jadis makes it clear if Rick tries to escape with Michonne, everyone he loves will be killed, since Jadis knows where they are. However, to take a group of soldiers large enough to take out a community like the Commonwealth – which Jadis has never actually seen – she would need to tell the CRM the truth. In doing so, she would put her own life on the line, by having to reveal how she actually met Rick.
The Ones Who Live also highlights the CRM’s desperation to keep the Civic Republic’s existence a secret, which Jadis’ connections to outsiders would expose.
This would involve telling the CRM that she knew he was an A, that she had a former alliance with his group, and that she knew where his friends and family were the whole time. The Ones Who Live also highlights the CRM’s desperation to keep the Civic Republic’s existence a secret, which Jadis’ connections to outsiders would expose. Therefore, telling the CRM about Michonne would likely lead to consequences for Jadis, with the CRM presumably killing her. This shows that Jadis has as much to lose as Rick, which is likely why she hasn’t told the truth about Michonne.
Were Jadis & Okafor Working Together To Stop The CRM From Within?
There Are Some Signs That Jadis & Okafor Were Working Together
Custom Image by Simone Ashmoore
Jadis’ cameo in The Ones Who Live episode 2 suggests she will cause problems for Rick and Michonne, but she could secretly be an ally. Okafor’s Walking Dead journey didn’t last long on-screen, but he survived the apocalypse for over a decade and was a prominent member of the CRM. Unlike other soldiers, Okafor wanted to change the CRM from within, and Jadis may have been working with him to do so. Jadis’ poker face is better than anyone else’s in the franchise, and while she may seem like a villain on the surface, she could end up helping Rick.
Okafor wanted to change the CRM from within, and Jadis may have been working with him to do so.
Okafor and Jadis being CRM rebels would make sense given Rick’s role in the CR. When Jadis traded Rick to the CRM, they were looking for As, which doesn’t align with The Walking Dead‘s A and B explanation. However, if Okafor was using Jadis to recruit As, Rick’s Walking Dead exit would make far more sense and explain why the CRM was looking for As despite usually killing them. Okafor wanted to change the CRM for the better, and Jadis’ final arc in the main show suggested she had reformed, indicating that she and Okafor could have been working together.
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Is Jadis Good Or Bad In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live?
Jadis’ Unpredictable Nature Means She Could Be A Hero Or A Villain In The Ones Who Live
At this stage, it is impossible to know whether Jadis is good or bad in The Ones Who Live. Her past makes it hard to know whether Jadis will prioritize Rick and Michonne or the CRM. From her history in The Walking Dead, it would be fair to assume Jadis will selfishly choose her own life over Rick and Michonne’s by either telling the CRM the truth about them or making up a lie to save herself. It would be fitting with her story in the past, but the silent respect and admiration she has for Rick could change this.
Jadis has had opportunities to kill Rick in the past and could have signed his death warrant when she found him after the bridge, yet she has always chosen to give him a chance to fight for his survival. This is likely because Rick has given Jadis numerous opportunities to redeem herself, and because they share a mutual respect. Their history indicates that Jadis may end up helping Rick, even if it goes against her better judgment. Jadis’ involvement in The Ones Who Live creates plenty of tension and mystery, with her character’s true intentions and motivations still unclear.