The Walking Dead: Rise of a King

First Aired October 30th, 2016.

Carol (played by Melissa McBride) and Morgan (played by Lennie James) are helped by survivors who want to treat Carol’s gunshot wound. They’re ambushed by walkers, and, in the chaos, a wounded Carol runs off, but is found and saved from walkers by Morgan and the other survivors.

Several days later, Carol wakes up and Morgan tells them they’re in a community called the Kingdom and is introduced to King Ezekiel (played by Khary Payton) and his pet tiger Shiva. Carol acts upbeat and gracious to Ezekiel, but remains skeptical and wants to leave as soon as she’s able—over Morgan’s objections that she isn’t well enough. Morgan joins Ezekiel and a hunting party, and learns captured pigs are fed using tied up walkers. Ezekiel has Morgan train a young boy on how to fight with a staff, while Carol wheels around town stealing weapons and clothes as she prepares to leave. Morgan than witnesses Ezekiel delivering dead pigs to a group of Saviors as payment for being left in peace. There is a brief fight between the two groups but it’s quickly settled by Ezekiel and the Saviors leave promising to return in one week for more supplies.

After all the deaths and violence in the premiere, the slower pacing of this episode is welcome and gives the opportunity to check in on Carol and Morgan while introducing new characters. Carol was right to be cautious of this new community: the leader is a self-proclaimed king with a pet tiger. Morgan fit right in because everything in the Kingdom projected happiness and peace, which is keeping with his beliefs and a clear contrast to everywhere else Morgan has been. Ezekiel is very over the top, but in a fun way, and since much of the season may be very dark, we could use some of that. The Saviors showing up also keeps Carol and Morgan in the season’s main narrative while they’re separated from the main group. And props to Ezekiel for sticking it to the Saviors by feeding them pigs stuffed with walker flesh.

Morgan learns that Ezekiel has kept the arrangement with the Saviors a secret from most of the Kingdom out of fear they would want to fight and in the process of doing so lose many people. He goes to Carol’s room, but finds it empty; that night as Carol attempts to sneak off she is caught by Ezekiel. He reveals he knows Carol was faking weakness and that she’s lucky to have made it to the Kingdom, but she derides their community as a joke. Carol believes Ezekiel is simply caught up with being a “king,” but he claims that people need a leader and that happens to be him. He tells Carol how he saved Shiva when she had an injured leg and that she is now loyal to him, and he used that to build up the Kingdom. Carol remains steadfast in her decision to leave, but Ezekiel tells her that running away from the living is not a life worth living.

Ezekiel keeping everyone in the dark about the Saviors makes them sitting ducks—especially if they look for revenge over the pigs. The extended scene with Carol and Ezekiel provided real depth for both characters. Ezekiel knows he is overplaying his role as king and draws on a theater background to give the people what they want. Carol has seen too much violence and views the Kingdom as a place waiting to be overtaken by walkers or more violent people. This scene could be a major turning point for both characters going forward this season. Carol is slowly realizing she doesn’t have to live in self-imposed isolation and Ezekiel opening up to her could be the beginning of him becoming a more serious leader as opposed to the cartoonish ‘’king” persona he puts on.

Carol decides against leaving and Morgan escorts her to a house on the outskirts of the Kingdom. Carol settles into her new home, being able to enjoy the benefits of the community while maintaining the distance she needs from people. Carol seems to have found her slice of heaven, but sadly it seems she won’t be returning to Alexandria anytime soon. She’s also too much of a badass to stay hidden away in her little cottage forever; we need badass Carol back.

Quotes/Thoughts

“People can try and set you in the right direction, but they can’t show you the way.”

In a zombie apocalypse, a tiger is the most conventional pet, assuming it doesn’t eat you.

“People want someone to follow.”

The Saviors’ numbers seem to be endless.

If you enjoyed Manny’s review, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

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