A great The Walking Dead Commonwealth Easter egg nods toward a dropped comic book storyline for Michonne. With their rough interrogations, dingy processing center and questions about pooping, the Commonwealth gave off all kinds of red flags in The Walking Dead season 11's opening episodes, but the turning point came when Yumiko realized her long-lost brother was a member of the community. As well as giving Eugene, Yumiko, Ezekiel and Princess hope that the Commonwealth wasn't quite as evil as advertised, Yumiko's revelation renewed the group's determination to gain entry.
In The Walking Dead season 11's "Out of the Ashes," Yumiko meets her brother at a Commonwealth bakery, the touching reunion firmly anchoring our Alexandrian heroes to this sprawling new settlement through a direct blood relative. In the Walking Dead comic books, however, this storyline belonged to Michonne. The no-nonsense samurai noticed her daughter's name on the Commonwealth board and found the teenager working at a bakery inside, just like Yumiko and Tomi. Michonne also received special treatment due to her past life as a lawyer, and resumed her legal career for Pamela Milton's community. This seems to be precisely where Eleanor Matsuura's character is currently heading in The Walking Dead season 11.
Although the AMC adaptation has switched Michonne for Yumiko, "Out of the Ashes" pays tribute to the source material with a cunning background Easter egg. As Eugene and "Stephanie" stroll through the Commonwealth's idyllic streets, eagerly licking ice cream as they go, a shop door reads "Hawthorne & Gibbs law offices." The full name of Danai Gurira's The Walking Dead character is Michonne Hawthorne, and though her location is currently unknown, another Hawthorne practicing law in the Commonwealth pays tribute to how Yumiko's current arc played out in printed form. Also worth noting is how Tomi's bakery is called "Elodie's" - the same name as Michonne's daughter.
Though most likely nothing more than an Easter egg to get comic readers recreating the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme, could the Commonwealth's "Hawthorne" lawyer be somehow related to Michonne? Since she left her children specifically to search for Rick, Michonne almost certainly hasn't settled in the Commonwealth herself, so we can rule out Gurira's unlikely courtroom return. There's a slim possibility Michonne's son Andre could've survived, but he was only 3 when the outbreak began so, based on Commonwealth rules, his assigned duties would include shape sorting and making airplane noises. Michonne's mother is confirmed deceased, but we know precious little about her father and any potential siblings. The Commonwealth's Hawthorne could feasibly be an estranged brother or sister of Michonne's.
Introducing another member of Michonne's family in The Walking Dead's final season feels a little redundant - especially since the last time they would've met, dead folks were staying dead. On the other hand, it'd be interesting to see someone Michonne knew before the apocalypse learn about all the crazy, valiant things she did since the outbreak began - not to mention falling pregnant and conceiving a son. Rarely does The Walking Dead have time or opportunity for such things. Fortunately, viewers shouldn't have long to wait. With an invitation to the Commonwealth's upper echelons in her pocket, Yumiko could soon end up plying her trade at Hawthorne & Gibbs, where the Michonne connection is bound to come to light during a coffee break.