Jean Veras
Khary Payton como Ezekiel | The Walking Dead 8° Temporada, Episódio 3 - Foto: Gene Page/AMC
EZEKIEL'S FALSE HOPE FALLS APART
Following last week’s interplay between King Ezekiel and Carol, in which the regal tiger tamer explained the reasoning behind his constant embellishments, it’s a little easier to see the impact of his methods. Ezekiel is turning Carol, still set in her cynical ways, into a believer. Could this theatrical goofball really have it all figured out? Is this the way to survive in a bleak world while keeping your humanity intact?
No sooner does the audience think Carol and Ezekiel may come out unscathed do they waltz into tragedy. In the closing minutes of “Monsters,” Ezekiel catches the faintest image of a muzzle in the window of a Saviors compound they plan to sweep, before telling his companions to drop to the ground. They do so, but only after three or four Kingdom members pile onto Ezekiel first, shielding him from the gunfire.
It’s a shocking scene — the show makes it absolutely clear that those shielding Ezekiel are peppered with bullets — but more importantly, it’s a tragic one. Ezekiel’s followers have such confidence in his abilities and worldview that they’re willing to sacrifice themselves to protect him. What had in one moment been a fun fiction designed to help people cope suddenly becomes a lie that gets people killed. That’s a burden any ruler has to contend with, whether they’re in Shakespearean England or zombie-strewn Virginia.
Khary Payton como Ezekiel | The Walking Dead 8° Temporada, Episódio 3 - Foto: Gene Page/AMC
EZEKIEL'S FALSE HOPE FALLS APART
Following last week’s interplay between King Ezekiel and Carol, in which the regal tiger tamer explained the reasoning behind his constant embellishments, it’s a little easier to see the impact of his methods. Ezekiel is turning Carol, still set in her cynical ways, into a believer. Could this theatrical goofball really have it all figured out? Is this the way to survive in a bleak world while keeping your humanity intact?
No sooner does the audience think Carol and Ezekiel may come out unscathed do they waltz into tragedy. In the closing minutes of “Monsters,” Ezekiel catches the faintest image of a muzzle in the window of a Saviors compound they plan to sweep, before telling his companions to drop to the ground. They do so, but only after three or four Kingdom members pile onto Ezekiel first, shielding him from the gunfire.
It’s a shocking scene — the show makes it absolutely clear that those shielding Ezekiel are peppered with bullets — but more importantly, it’s a tragic one. Ezekiel’s followers have such confidence in his abilities and worldview that they’re willing to sacrifice themselves to protect him. What had in one moment been a fun fiction designed to help people cope suddenly becomes a lie that gets people killed. That’s a burden any ruler has to contend with, whether they’re in Shakespearean England or zombie-strewn Virginia.