Nat is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

Overview[]

Nat is highly intelligent and, thanks to his stepfather, learned to channel his destructive tendencies to be more productive. However, due to Nat's rough upbringing, he is also nihilistic and, in his own words, only likes Michonne, Aiden and Bailey while the rest of his group went up a letter grade, but not to like, by following him. While around people that he genuinely likes, Nat is kind, energetic, helpful, and humorous. Even though he claimed not to like them, Nat took the deaths of the rest of his group very hard, showing that he cares a lot more than Nat likes to let on.

Nat has a habit of playing with his stepfather's old lighter a lot, particularly when he's thinking about something.

Nat has a more realistic view of things, pointing out that people were often left behind in the world before, but he didn't like it anymore than he did afterwards, wanting to leave the caravan for a long time because of it. Nat often expressed a belief that you should go when you really know when to go and give up when you know it's time to give up.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Location Unknown[]

Nat had a dysfunctional and rough upbring, coming from a broken home due to his dad walking out on him and his mother due to "not wanting a little little kid" which also led to him facing a lot of bullying. As a way to cope, Nat would burn and destroy things in the forest. As he grew older, his mom brought home her new boyfriend, who would accept and love Nat for who he was and subtlety help find new ways to cope with trauma by inventing and building helpful items for him rather than be destructive.

Nat also studied chemistry at one point, knowing about effects of Chlorine Gas, and wishing to use it on the football team at his high school.

Post-Apocalypse[]

At some point following the outbreak, Nat joined a caravan of survivors and became the group's engineer.

Season 1[]

"Years"[]

Although unseen, Nat is the one who fires screamsticks into Rick Grimes and Donald Okafor's helicopter, causing Okafor to horrifically explode and the helicopter to crash.

"Gone"[]

Michonne points out that that doesn't sound like a community and, because of that rule, not everyone has survived. Disgusted, Michonne prepares to leave, with or without a horse.

Nat storms in and confronts Elle about the rear guard stopping Nat from trying to go after his friends because he keeps the caravan going, not noticing that Aiden and Bailey are in the room with him. Nat furiously states that he's packing his wagon and all of his "toys" and leaving, reminding Elle that Aiden was her sister, and the couple was his friends. "This system is bullshit, Elle. We're strong enough to stop. We're strong enough to save people. What the hell is the point otherwise? I mean, Jesus Christ, she was your sister." Aiden catches Nat's attention and the three are happily reunited. Bailey explains that he'd hurt his ankle while Aiden introduces Michonne as the person who had saved them.

Nat is stunned that Michonne simply helped them and brought them back just because Aiden and Bailey had asked for her help. Thankful, Nat offers to let Michonne ride VIP with them, but Michonne states that even if she didn't have somewhere to be, she doesn't leave people behind, something that Nat agrees with. After Michonne tells Nat where she needs to go, he calls it a stupid plan because of the migration of five mile wide hordes of walkers, but Michonne is undeterred. Seeing this, Nat promises Michonne her pick of horse over Elle's objections.

Heading outside, Michonne tries to contact Judith on the radio, explaining that she's just trying to be home in some way until she can go back. Nat leads Michonne to his trailer where she spends the next hour trying to raise Judith without success, professing her love for her daughter. Nat returns, telling Michonne that she needs more than a horse and he needs more than an hour. Without it being almost nightfall, Nat suggests that Michonne spend the night with them before leaving on her mission. Aiden and Bailey bring Michonne Elle's horse which is one of the best and who they have stolen for her. Nat pleads with Michonne to spend the night so that he can properly equip her and show Michonne how to use the equipment properly, suggesting that "maybe you'll survive 30 more seconds of your trip once you hit the Delaware border." Michonne agrees to stay the night and to leave at dawn, and an excited Nat starts giving Aiden and Bailey orders on crafting something while he walks Michonne through the screamsticks.

The next morning, Michonne prepares to set out, equipped with the horse, armor made custom made for her by friends and some of Nat's inventions. Aiden has faith that Michonne is going to find Rick as she found Bailey and Michonne then found them, calling it a circle. Nat questions her mission, pointing out that Rick blew up on a bridge years ago, admitting that Aiden, Bailey and Michonne are the only people that he can stand, and Nat doesn't want to lose any of them. Michonne points out that the caravan leaves people to die, and asks why her friends stay with them. Nat admits that he didn't like it before the world ended either, but they did the same thing then. Michonne points out that it's not before anymore and they're all too smart not to find another way. Nat suggests that they're all "surprisingly stupid," but Bailey admits that they're just too scared to change. Michonne tells Aiden, Bailey and Nat that she's glad to have met them and they wish each other luck before Aiden and Bailey leave. Recalling that Michonne's kids are in Virginia, Nat warns her that she can keep trying the radio, but Michonne will be out of range soon if she isn't already. Nat gives Michonne a journal to write letters to her kids in that she can show them when she gets home.

At night, the group camps out and Michonne's friends tease her about getting knocked off of her horse by the Gasman. Michonne asks about the purple light, and Nat explains that he had an idea for clearing valleys if he ever did decide to leave the caravan: huge, localized, long-lasting burns. Nat had the chemicals in his red wagon along with a lot of other toys while the fuel is out in the world in the form of things such as buildings and cars. Bailey and Aiden had wanted to go after Michonne which Nat finds to be insane for a multitude of reasons, but they'd had enough. Nat had had enough a long time ago, but he had still stuck around. Nat kept making promises to himself about when he'd go, but he never did, and years went by. "It was time to go a long time ago. I knew it. And look at that. You know, a lot of people felt the same way, and suddenly, I had more than just the chemicals in my red wagon." Michonne thanks her friends, and Bailey thanks her in turn for waking them up, calling it a big move for himself and Aiden. Nat states that he knows how to build and burn things, but it takes more than that at the end of the world and Michonne showed everyone that, including Nat. Nat promises that they will take Michonne as far as she needs, and Michonne promises her friends that when she gets Rick, they will all come home with her to Alexandria, joking that it's just going to take a little building which Nat knows how to do.

Nat heads off to bed while Bailey goes to get Aiden some food over her objections, stating that she needs to eat. Michonne realizes that her friend is pregnant, and Aiden explains that she had been craving honey and while she was looking for a hive, Bailey saw a billboard for a big-box store and was trying to surprise since honey apparently just never expires. Getting honey for Aiden was why Bailey had been out there, but Aiden found him and Michonne then found them both. Aiden starts crying, and Michonne comforts her, suggesting that Aiden and Bailey should head for Alexandria immediately with some of the others to help them which will take a week or two. However, Aiden tells Michonne that, according to the map, they're close to Bridgers Terminal and she and Bailey want to be there when Michonne finds Rick. They'll go to Alexandria once Rick has been found.

As the group makes their way through a deserted town, Michonne asks Nat about all of the people with them since Nat supposedly only likes Aiden, Bailey, and Michonne. Nat tells Michonne that they've gone up a letter grade for sure, but not quite to Nat liking them. Michonne asks about the other people in Nat's life, and he tells Michonne that it was Nat and his mom as his supreme asshole of a father didn't want a dwarf for a son. Nat also had a lot of bullies, so he started burning things and blowing them up in the woods. Nat's mom, who worked at a truly horrible chicken place 14 hours a day and had one very troubled kid, eventually met a man who called himself Danger. Nat hated Danger as soon as he looked at him, but Danger liked him. After marrying Nat's mom and moving in, Danger suddenly had all of these problems that he needed Nat to solve for him. Nat built all sorts of gadgets to help Danger out and he now realizes that Danger got Nat focused on how he could build things instead of burning them. At Michonne's prompting, Nat acknowledges that he had loved his stepfather.

As the group stops to clear an obstacle, a CRM helicopter flies overhead and drops chlorine gas bombs on the town. Recognizing the deadly gas, Nat yells orders for everyone to cover their mouths with fabric and to wet it with their canteens. Nat's group quickly falls victim to the gas, dying and reanimating. Struggling to breathe in the toxic cloud, Michonne dispatches three of the walkers and Nat picks the lock on an abandoned mall. Michonne manages to clear out the walkers on the other side of the door and Michonne, Bailey and Nat help Aiden, who is the worst off, to a bed in the mall, as a few others follow them inside. Barely alive, Aiden weakly tells Michonne to go back to her children and not to take the risk of looking for Rick. With everyone struggling to breathe, Michonne decides to check out a nearby medical plaza in the hopes of finding some oxygen tanks. Knowing that Aiden has a low chance of survival, Michonne orders Bailey to find something to tie his girlfriend to the bed, warning him not to fall asleep next to her.

Michonne returns to the mall with a cart full of oxygen tanks, only to find that Aiden has died and reanimated while she was gone, blood covering her mouth and the pillow next to her. Devastated, Michonne stabs her friend in the head with her sword and finds a zombified Bailey reaching over a burning countertop, several dead bodies of other group members nearby, Bailey having fallen asleep next to Aiden and then been bitten by her once she turned. Michonne stabs Bailey through the head, but collapses along with his body in her severely weakened state. On the other side of the counter, a crying Nat thanks Michonne as Nat couldn't bring himself to put his friend down like the others that had been drawn in by his fire. "She was -- she was right. When you can, you need to go home. It's been too long. He's gone," gasps out Nat. However, Michonne refuses to give up her search for Rick.

Nat weakly explains that they were hit by chlorine gas which he'd read about as a kid and dreamed about dropping it on the football team. The gas burned out their lungs and throats and it will take Michonne and Nat awhile to get better, if they even do. Michonne sets herself and Nat up with oxygen tanks and they spend months at the mall slowly recovering, the leaves turning to snow, and surviving on supplies from the food court. Michonne tries to do pushups, but can't even get started before a coughing fit stops her. Nat reflects that he knew when to go and he didn't, and everyone died. Nat tells Michonne that you've gotta know when to go and when to give up. The leaves turn green outside as it becomes summer and Michonne, still on oxygen but now stronger, reminds Nat that his stepdad didn't give up on him, which Michonne suggests is because of Nat's mom and love. Michonne looks at Rick's phone, stretches her hands, and tries pushups again, this time with more success, although Michonne still struggles. The leaves turn brown as fall hits again, at least a year having passed during Michonne and Nat's recovery and Michonne completes her pushups, although it leaves her somewhat out of breath.

Having now recovered, Michonne and Nat eat together and Michonne gives Nat a map that she's marked the location of Alexandria on, telling Nat that he's strong enough now. However, Nat suggests that he should go to Bridgers Terminal while Michonne goes home, but Michonne doesn't want to risk Nat dying too after they lost Aiden and Bailey. An emotional Nat tells Michonne that she's all that he's got left, and Michonne gives in, agreeing to leave in the morning with him for Bridgers Terminal. Nat wants to stop at his wagon first which is close, and he'll fix the cart so that they can load it with his gear. Michonne asks if Nat coming is about him wanting to see how it ends, but Nat simply tells her that it's not because he already knows how it ends.

Michonne and Nat, accompanied by a armless and jawless walker pulling the cart full of Nat's tools, finally arrive at Bridgers Terminal. Michonne finds a sign reading "SAFE HARBOR" on the side of a large beached ship and piles of dozens of burned corpses, the survivors at the terminal having fallen to an unknown enemy group. A horrified Michonne spends well into the night checking the bodies for Rick, comparing the feet to Rick's boots without success.

Sitting by a campfire, a tearful Michonne hugs Rick's boot and Nat brings her a blanket. Nat tells Michonne that this was the last place that the boat where Michonne found Rick's boots was last and the corpses are all too burnt up to tell one from the other, most of them barefoot. Michonne insists that she can still feel Rick and Nat informs her that the Japanese on Rick's phone means "believe a little bit longer." Nat once again encourages Michonne to go home, but to still believe that Rick's out there. Breaking down, Michonne admits that the truth has been right in front of her this whole time: if Rick was still alive, he would've found his way home by now. Nat tells Michonne that "you don't know. Not for sure. You can believe he's out there, that he's not gone. You can believe a little longer and still go home to your kids. You -- you can know when to go. You can do both. I can do it with you. I will. It's not giving up." Nat places a radio on the rocks in front of Michonne and she starts sobbing as Michonne finally decides to go home, comforted by Nat.

In the present, Michonne and Nat make their way towards Alexandria and Michonne attempts to raise Judith on the radio without success. Nat tells Michonne that they should start getting close enough in the next few days and suggests finding a place to sleep, but Michonne wants to push on a little further first. Hearing a noise, Nat spots a CRM helicopter approaching through his monocular and orders her to grab the cart from the walker. Putting down her walker pet, Michonne grabs the cart and the two set up a shoulder and tripod mounted launcher for Nat's screamsticks to attack the helicopter, which is flying low, with. The first shot is seemingly a dud, but Nat's next few shots bring the helicopter down.

Watching the reunion of Rick and Michonne, a shocked Nat realizes that Rick is who they've been looking for this whole time, and Michonne promises her friend that Rick isn't with the CRM. Nat is suddenly shot from behind by a Frontliner who was only badly wounded by his screamstick. As Michonne rushes to tend to her friend, Rick grabs Michonne's sword and uses it to finish the soldier off. Dying, Nat asks if she can tell if it's still Rick and Michonne reassures Nat that she can tell that it's still him. With his last words, Nat tells Michonne "see? You can still believe and know when --" Michonne cries over Nat's body, confirming to Rick that Nat had helped her to get here. Rick offers Michonne his condolences, but knowing that they're low on time, asks if she has anything on her that can tell the CRM about her or Alexandria. Michonne tells Rick that she has a journal, a radio, a phone and his boots, and Rick asks for them, placing Michonne's sword in Nat's hand.

"The Last Time"[]

In a flashback, Nat can be heard saying that he's good at building and burning things, but it takes more than that at the end of the world.

While Michonne is building a bomb to destroy the CRM's Chlorine Gas, Rick asks how she came up with this. Michonne fondly tells her husband that she "took some inspiration from the genius known as Nat".

Death[]

Killed By

• Unnamed Frontliner (Alive)

After attacking a CRM helicopter, Nat is shot through the back by a surviving Front Liner and dies moments later.

• Rick Grimes (Before Reanimation)
• Michonne Grimes (Before Reanimation)

After Nat's death, he is put down by Rick and Michonne before he can reanimate.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims Nat has killed:

• Donald Okafor
• 5 unnamed members of his group (Zombified)
• 4 unnamed Frontliners (1 Direct, 3 Caused)
• Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people

Relationships[]

Appearances[]

The Ones Who Live[]

Season 1[]

• "Gone"
• "The Last Time" ^{(Voice Only, Flashback)}

Trivia[]

• Nat is the first character in the entire franchise who has dwarfism.
• Nat is bilingual, as he speaks English and is able to translate the Japanese words engraved on the phone Michonne found on Boat 672.
  • This makes him one of four characters in the TV Universe to speak Japanese, the others being Yumiko, Tomichi Okumura, and Benjiro.
    • He is the only one to not be of Japanese descent.

References[]