The Walking Dead's Rick and Michonne get a happy ending—but does that make for good TV?

Of course The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live wraps up with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) tearfully and predictably reuniting with their children. It’s a homecoming we get to witness for three whole minutes in the finale, which aired March 31. After all, a spinoff series crafted squarely for the couple’s passionate fandom would’ve been met with fury if “Richonne” didn’t have a happy ending. What would the point be of investing in their relationship since the flagship series’ sixth season, when they first hooked up, or maybe even since they met in TWD’s third batch? TOWL exists solely to appease shippers. It relies on Gurira and Lincoln’s chemistry, not bothering with general narrative sensibilities or unique thrills. And this really explains why everything else around the two shatters to boring bits, even in “The Last Time.”

TOWL is worth the price of admission only if you’re a hardcore Richonne stan. And look, there’s an undeniable appeal to both actors. The screen sizzles each time they’re together, and they can yell, kiss, slash zombies, share passionate looks, or weep into each others’ arms—and you’ll be sucked in. Lincoln and Gurira have played Rick and Michonne since 2010 and 2012, respectively, and were heavily involved in TOWL’s production. Gurira’s writing and direction in episode four, an exceptional anomaly of the series, speaks to how well she and her co-star know their characters. The show peaks when it reminds us Rick and Michonne are sexy, committed badasses. But there’s not nearly enough of it to justify an exasperating, unnecessary expansion of AMC’s franchise.

For most of the show’s run, it spins in dreadful circles outside of Rick and Michonne. (Even the duo’s storyline from episodes one to three is dull, we’re sorry to say.) The supporting characters dawdle and are not fleshed out, making it hard to care when Okafur (Craig Tate) is shot while flying a helicopter, or—spoiler alert—when Major General Jonathan Beale (Terry O’Quinn) becomes a walker in the finale. The show wastes the Lost actor in a thankless role as the leader of a brute military organization. Until this installment, he barely has anything to do. Scratch that. Even in “The Last Time,” he’s stuck with bland writing before meeting his fate.