Welcome Home (TV Series)

"Welcome Home" is the sixth episode of the ninth season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the one-hundred and twentieth-fourth episode of the series overall. It premiered on November 7, 2023. It was written by Angela Kang and directed by Robert Kirkiman.

Plot
Rhys arrives home and takes charge of the situation, however, his influence may not be enough and the damage might be irreversible and he knows who to blame.

Synopsis
Rhys is sitting speaking to someone in jail, he tells them what they've done can't go unpunished and that they may never be the same again. He then tells them the council has voted on what will happen to them.

Michonne orders Judith to drop the gun but Judith tells her that she is wrong. Michonne attempts to bargain with her daughter but Carol cuts her off. Just then the back gate opens and a horse runs in with Rhys and Rosita on it. They jump off and immediately demand order.

Rhys climbs the ladder and asks what's going on. Michonne attempts to speak up but Judith cuts her off. Rhys immediately demands the gates are opened.

Once Oceanside are inside as well as the other Alexandrians, the herd nears the gate. Magna, Yumiko, Rosita and Eugene clear them before closing the gate. Just them from the back gate the two carriages arrive with the other supply runners.

Cyndie demands to know what happened, Michonne remains silent. She asks Rhys why the guards didn't arrive as they needed them. Rhys looks puzzled and says that the guards were meant to be sent out days ago and that he was on a supply run. He turns to the crowd and orders the Alexandrians to go on with their duties but the council has to assemble. He asks Cyndie to attend the council meeting alongside Michonne.

The council is in place and he asks them why the guards were not sent out, they say that the guards were sent out. They come to the general agreement that they were attacked and that the Whisperers got them despite the planned route being far from Whisperer territory. Rhys remarks that he doesn't understand how the Whisperers got all three groups of guards as there was plans in place incase one was attacked. They also inform him of the Whisperer attack.

Once the council meeting finishes, Rhys apologizes to Cyndie she states that she understands that it wasn't Alexandria's fault about the guards but Rhys remarks he doesn't buy it and that someone has sold their plans out to the Whisperers and he intends to find out who.

The next day, the final of the heard is taken out by the wall guards meaning the outside workers can go back to work. Rhys meets with Carol to ask what happened with Michonne, Carol states she refused to let Oceanside and other Alexandrians in as she stated their may be Whisperers among them. Rhys objects saying Michonne isn't that stupid, Carol agrees but sounds less convinced.

After Carol leaves, Rhys is sitting in his house puzzling over what to do when Laura shows up. She asks him what he's doing and he answers with just thinking. She asks him if he wants to have dinner at hers that night, it is revealed they were "friends with benefits" ever since Rhys returned to Alexandria. He knocks back her request and she leaves annoyed calling him an asshole.

That night, Michonne is sitting in the living room of her house crying, R.J. enters and asks her what is wrong, she tells him she did a bad thing and it caused a lot of bad things. But it is revealed Beatrice is listening in from a window that she opened a crack. Michonne sees her but she darts away. Michonne chases her. However, when outside she has already escaped.

Michonne goes to Rhys and tells him that it was Beatrice who sold the information away to the Whisperers in exchange for immunity from the conflict but obviously it backfired and then Alpha must have used the information to attack Oceanside by looking at guard routes. Rhys grabs his sword and runs to Negans door to call him out.

As they arrive at the camp Oceanside have set up, Cyndie and the Oceansiders draw their weapons immediately saying Michonne is a traitor, Michonne fires back saying that they are covering up for Beatrice and that she heard them talking. Cyndie and Beatrice look disgusted at the accusations. Rhys demands answers, Michonne says that they need to arrest Beatrice first then they can talk. She approaches Beatrice but she backs up, Michonne draws her sword but Beatrice swings her knife at her. Michonne cuts her hand off but suddenly she is punched from behind and blacks out.

The next day Michonne wakes up in a cell, Rhys is sitting on the otherside, he says that Oceanside are calling for her execution, the same way Maggie killed Gregory for his betrayal, Michonne looks alarmed but Rhys assures her that won't happen. He then goes on to say what he said in the first scene and that she shouldn't deny it and he knows that she did it because Aaron already told him what he overheard at the Whisperer camp. He said she was stupid for trying to get away with that, she said she just wanted to save Judith. He says he knows and he's sorry for what is coming.

Michonne is let out for her prison to go to her house to see Judith and R.J. where she must choose to either take them with her or let them stay, they are welcome here, but for her own safety, she is not. He reminds that Oceanside don't take well to this stuff and that he plans to get her out tonight and that he will make it look like an escape so she doesn't have to face trial tomorrow. She is crying.

She arrives home where she finds her kids, she tells them both she is sorry and that she loves them. She also tells them they are leaving now and to pack their things. Rhys is crying behind her but tries to hold it in. He prepares to say goodbye to Judith and R.J. but cannot and stays silent until he says he will wait outside.

At the back gate, Rhys and Rosita along with Negan have prepared a horse and carriage for them with supplies. Rosita is crying, she hugs Michonne before telling her good luck, she climbs up the guard tower to open the gate for her. Negan approaches Michonne and he shakes her hand telling her he's glad he met her, she says nothing. Judith hugs him and he salutes R.J. telling him he's tough but to stay strong cause Michonne's all he's got now.

Rhys begins to say goodbye but Michonne cuts him off, she turns to Judith and R.J. and tells them that she wants them to stay. Judith objects but Michonne hushes her, she turns to Negan and asks him something, he picks both of them up stopping them from going anywhere. She kisses their foreheads in tears and tells them she loves them and that they gave her a reason to keep fighting. She hugs Rhys who says he'll always take care of them, she says she knows and climbs onto the horse. He hands her something before she rides off. Rosita closes the gate as Rhys looks out at one of his oldest friends.

Co-Stars

 * Antony Azar as R.J. Grimes
 * Annabelle Holloway as Gracie

Supporting

 * Marisol Correa as Oceanside Sentry
 * Pilar Casado as Oceanside Sentry
 * Lisa Shirley as Oceanside Sentry
 * Missy Massey as Oceanside Sentry
 * Keely McAllister as Oceanside Sentry
 * Amber Daley Mahek as Oceanside Sentry
 * Articia Rose as Oceansider
 * Esther Pittman as Oceansider
 * Rachel Hernandez as Oceansider
 * Jessica Prichard as Oceansider
 * Cindy Strickland as Oceansider
 * Belleamie McMillan as Oceansider
 * Preston Kameka as Oceansider
 * Tina Nixon as Oceansider
 * Angie Tanksley as Oceansider
 * Robin Cox as Oceansider
 * J.T. Corbitt as Oceansider
 * Gail Everett-Smith as Oceansider
 * Candace Clifton as Oceansider
 * Chatejah George as Oceansider
 * Renah Gallagher as Oceansider
 * Candace Griffith as Oceansider
 * Kathi Blinkley as Oceansider
 * Gina Chapman Cordon as Oceansider
 * Marvin Lee as Alexandria Councilman


 * Chuck Hollywood as Alexandria Resident


 * Jimmy McAfee as Alexandria Resident
 * Laura L. Anderson Weber as Alexandria Resident
 * Mario Williams as Alexandria Resident
 * Christina Cobbs as Alexandria Resident
 * Tia Davis as Alexandria Resident
 * Daniele Lyman as Alexandria Resident
 * Christopher Gaynor as Alexandria Resident
 * Shellnae Demarest as Alexandria Resident
 * Casey Miracle as Alexandria Resident
 * Mandi Mazonkey as Alexandria Resident
 * Corky Turvey as Alexandria Wrangler
 * Carol Bruckner as Kingdom Refugee
 * Eric Hailey as Kingdom Refugee
 * Marie Dixon as Kingdom Refugee
 * Melissa Deater as Kingdom Refugee

Deaths

 * None

Trivia

 * Last Appearance of Michonne (Unknown)
 * It is revealed that Michonne gave Alpha all of the militia's plans for security to her in trade for Judith and that Aaron knew that the whole time.
 * The title refers to the supply runner group arriving home.
 * It could also be an ironic statement for Michonne losing her home.