Since The Ones Who Live introduced this new challenge but didn’t solve it, it’s become a loose end for another Walking Dead story to address. Of course, the most obvious candidate to tie up this plotline is a potential The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live season 2. Rick is the only main character aware of what’s coming, putting him in the best position to find a solution. Plus, with Rick and Michonne back home in Alexandria and the CRM no longer acting as villains in the franchise, the 14-year deadline is now the biggest existing threat for the characters to contend with.
As for what such a story could entail, it’s possible that what Rick learned from Beale will act as the foundation for his next journey with Michonne, meaning that the couple may spend the next few months – or years – looking for a way to prolong civilization. The Civic Republic arranging transport for Rick and Michonne in the season finale signals that the two will maintain ties to the organization. If that’s the case, Rick and Michonne can use their association with the Civic Republic to look for a less ruthless approach to saving the world.
There’s another way Rick Grimes can honor Okafor’s dream
How The Walking Dead’s characters can stop the zombies from spreading deadly diseases remains to be seen, but at least one of the issues mentioned by Beale already has a potential solution. In The Ones Who Live episode 1, Donald Okafor was seen working on a garden, which he spoke briefly of to Rick Grimes. He claimed that he was trying to grow millet, which is known as a type of grain. He said to Rick, “Isn’t exactly millet country, but if I could find the right one… It could change things.” Okafor’s line about the importance of millet may be a tease to what Rick needs to do to save the planet.
The pointed reference to the impact the right type of millet could have on civilization gives the impression that it was meant to serve as some sort of setup for a future storyline. Looking at what Okafor said, it would seem that millet could be a way for survivors in The Walking Dead’s universe to overcome the food shortages that Beale teased. Since Rick did come around to Okafor’s point of view, there’s a chance he’ll see merit in this idea as well.
Remembering what Okafor said about millet could lead to Alexandria coming up with a working plan for humanity’s future in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Normally, growing millet effectively in Alexandria would only help their own people, but having a link to the Civic Republic means that whatever they can accomplish can be shared with other settlements. Their ties to the CR, the Commonwealth, and Hilltop means multiple minds can work together toward finding an answer to the starvation problem and making sure it’s spread throughout the country.