'Walking Dead' Season 9 Spoilers: How Michonne and Daryl Got the 'X' Scars

The Walking Dead Season 9 finally reveals how Michonne and Daryl got those ‘X’ scars on their backs in Episode 14, but it doesn’t explain everything we’ve seen from Michonne since the time jump. We can understand why she’s become reluctant to accept new people into Alexandria, but one thing remains unclear: why she isolated her community from the others.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 14 below.

The flashbacks in “Scars” take us back to months after Rick’s “death,” when a pregnant Michonne welcomes an old friend, Jocelyn, and the children in her care, into Alexandria. She trusts Jocelyn, and that’s a mistake. One night, she and her children sneak away with Alexandria’s food, medicine, and kids, including Judith.

Michonne and Daryl track them down, and that’s when things get really dark. On Jocelyn’s orders, the kids tie them up and brand them with the ‘X’ mark. Jocelyn thinks she’s teaching the kids to be strong in this new world, and that apparently includes killing adults and other children. To save Judith and the other children of Alexandria, Michonne has to not only kill her old friend, but the kids she brainwashed as well. (One chooses to flee rather than fight, but who knows, maybe we’ll see Winnie again.)

This explains why Michonne was against letting new people, like Magna’s group, into Alexandria. We can presume that Jocelyn’s group was the last time she did, and the community nearly lost their children to someone Michonne thought she could trust. It makes sense that she’d be wary to trust strangers after that.

However, Michonne didn’t just cut Alexandria off from new people. She also isolated herself and her people from the other communities, from people who are part of the family she found. It makes sense that Michonne wouldn’t want to send people to the fair, in fear of strangers being there or someone on the road following her people to or from the Kingdom.

What doesn’t make sense is why Aaron had to sneak out to see Jesus before Jesus’ death, unless that was based in the same fear. Yes, that fear could explain Michonne’s actions, but doesn’t it seem like there should have been more to it, given how much time it took to see these flashbacks?

But was that fear and perhaps Michonne not wanting to risk having to explain what she had to do to save Judith and the other children why she cut herself off from her friends? Did Hilltop perhaps need help at some point and Michonne refused, explaining the rift between her and Maggie? Unfortunately, that may not be answered since Lauren Cohan is no longer on the show and it’s unclear if she’ll return before Danai Gurira’s exit in Season 10.

It is possible we’ll get some hints in the last two episodes of the season. Michonne is now attending the fair, and in Episode 15, she’s working alongside members of the other communities, including Carol, as seen in the trailer (below) and sneak peek (above). Perhaps a conversation between Michonne and Carol will offer us some insight.

But with the Whisperers out there — and likely about to kill off at least one character before the end of the season — we may not get all the answers we want.

The Walking Dead Season 9 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.

Related video: Daryl vs. The Whisperers in The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 15 Trailer