The Walking Dead Episode 702 Recap: Meet King Ezekiel

Carol and Morgan are being taken to the Kingdom. Carol keeps fading in and out of consciousness. When she is awake, she mistakes the zombies the group is killing for living people. One dude kills a zombie by slicing its face off. That can’t be a very productive way to kill a zombie, but it makes for a cool visual.

At the Kingdom, Carol sleeps for the better part of two days. When she wakes, Morgan (who stayed by her side the whole time) pushes her around the community in a wheelchair. The Kingdom is thriving. Children go to school; there are lush gardens and livestock; and everyone is friendly. Morgan assures Carol that all he told the people of the Kingdom is that they got separated. He is taking her to meet the leader of the Kingdom, and he is hesitant to give his name. Finally: “King Ezekiel.” They meet Ezekiel, sitting on a throne in an auditorium. Beside him is a full-grown tiger. “I forgot to say Ezekiel has a tiger.”

King Ezekiel greets Carol warmly. His language is florid and asks her what she thinks of the king and his kingdom. She immediately slips into sweet n’ innocent Carol mode. She tries not to laugh. “I don’t know what the hell is going on in the most wonderful way!” It was as honest an answer as she could give. Ezekiel tells them to stay; all he asks is that they contribute – when Carol feels up to it. They offer Carol some fruit; she declines.

Once Carol and Morgan are outside, she drops the act. “You’re sh*tting me, right? This place is a damn circus. This is make believe!” She refuses to have any part in the Kingdom, and tells Morgan that as soon as she can, she is out of there. He won’t let her die “out there,” but she reminds him that it’s not up to him.

Morgan goes with a group to wrangle hogs that now run wild in the city. They are using walkers as bait. All Richard will say about that is that he wants their bellies “full of rot.” A few zombies head towards the group, and Ben is tasked with killing them. He falters and Ezekiel has to finish the walker off. He is supportive though, and tells Ben he will get it next time. As the groups pile into their trucks, Richard tells Morgan that “no one needs to know about this.” Richard and a few others split off. Ezekiel tells Morgan they are going “somewhere else.”

Back at the Kingdom, Ezekiel, impressed with Morgan’s use of the staff, asks him to train Ben. Ben isn’t good with blades or guns, and he needs Ben to live, to flourish, to be his right hand. “The stick couldn’t have saved Carol,” Morgan points out. “Did it save you?” Ezekiel counters. Morgan agrees. Ben seems to take quickly to the staff, and the pair seem to be developing a legitimate bond. Ben asks to borrow Morgan’s philosophy book.

While Ben and Morgan train, Carol wheels herself around town. She steals a knife off a table; she steals fresh clothes off the laundry line.

Ezekiel collects Morgan and asks him to bring a gun. They ride out and meet up with the rest of the “hunting” party, explaining that the pigs are slaughtered far from the Kingdom so their squeals don’t lure in walkers. A couple of trucks roll up, and half a dozen Saviors get out. They are there to collect their loot. They are impressed with the eight pigs they are getting; Richard assures them they were well fed. Diana whispers to Morgan who these guys are, but he cuts her off. He knows who these guys are. The Saviors load up the pigs, but one guy takes issue with Richard, thinks he has been letting him off easy. The Savior takes a swing; Richard swings back, and it turns into a fistfight. All the other people pull guns, including Morgan – but he lowers his quickly. Ezekiel calms his troops, reminding them that this is not what they do. The Savior takes a few more free punches, then his people tell him to chill, too. They expect their next delivery next week. The Saviors leave and Morgan confirms to Ezekiel that he has encountered this group before – the man he killed to save Carol was one of them. Morgan thinks that is why Ezekiel brought him along: in case he needed someone else killed. Ezekiel assures him that is not the case.

Morgan eats lunch with Ben and Walt, a little kid Ben is raising (it is unclear if Walt is a relation). Ezekiel and Ben’s dad were good friends. His dad was a great fighter, and part of a team Ezekiel sent to clear out a building. They lost eight men that day, Ben’s dad being one of them. Ezekiel is a lot more careful now. He doesn’t tell the rest of the Kingdom about the other group they give supplies to because he thinks the Kingdom will want to fight, and they will lose. Ben invites Morgan to movie night, but Morgan has to go talk to Carol. But when he gets to her room, he finds it empty. He’s not surprised.

It is night. Carol steals an apple off a tree – and is caught by Ezekiel and Jerry. Carol slips back into her innocent role, claiming that she isn’t any good to them. Ezekiel dismisses Jerry, and talks to Carol privately. He knows that her sweet and innocent act is just an act – it got Ezekiel. He knows the guns she was carrying belonged to the Saviors, and that meant she beat the Saviors. Carol drops the act and tells Ezekiel honestly that he and his “kingdom” are a joke. He is selling a fairy tale. Ezekiel drops the royal act and sits beside her for a little real talk.

Ezekiel suggests that his people need the fairy tale. People want someone to follow, to make them feel safe. “They see a guy with a tiger and make the guy larger than life. Who am I to burst their bubble?” Next thing he knew, people were treating him like royalty; he faked it until he made it. Before the zombie apocalypse, Ezekiel (he assures Carol that is his real name) was a zookeeper. Shiva fell into a concrete pit in her habitat and her leg was ripped open. The vets were on their way, but Shiva was in terrible pain and in danger of bleeding out before the vets could arrive. He knew it was stupid and dangerous, but he jumped into the habitat and wrapped Shiva’s leg in his shirt. He saved her life and from that day on, Shiva never so much as bared a tooth to him. He understands that it is not practical to keep a tiger, but he lost all of his loved ones. He ended up back at the zoo and found Shiva was one of the last animals left. She was hungry and alone and was the last thing left in the world that he loved.

Ezekiel insists Carol keep this information to herself. Frankly Carol doesn’t care what he does; she just wants to go away. Ezekiel is sorry for whatever bad she has been through, but he can’t believe it is all bad, because life isn’t all bad. “Where there is life, there is hope.” Ezekiel deals with the bad by going overboard on the good. Carol asks why he cares so much about what she does. “Because it makes me feel good.” He suggests he go and not go.

This “go and not go” strategy sees Morgan and Carol on horseback, riding to an abandoned house (with a cemetery in the front yard!), one that they passed on their way to the Kingdom. This is where Carol is going to live: alone, but within reasonable distance to friends. She and Morgan have grown close, and Carol says she might have changed her mind about leaving had they been together much longer. They say goodbye and Morgan returns to the Kingdom with Carol’s horse. Carol approaches her new home carefully. There is a zombie inside. She kills it easily and buries it in the cemetery.

As Carol builds a fire, there is a knock at the door and she tenses up. The knock is followed by a growl, and she relaxes. At the door is Ezekiel and Shiva, bearing a gift of fruit. It looks like they are setting up Carol and Ezekiel to be a couple. In the comic, it is Ezekiel and Michonne that get together, but she is otherwise entangled with Rick.

It was nice that this was a breezy, lighthearted episode after last week. Ezekiel is the complete opposite of Negan. Plus – a tiger! Even if it is a digital tiger, I am very excited to see what Shiva will do.

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