King Ezekiel

Backstory

Prior to the outbreak, Ezekiel was a zookeeper in D.C. as well as a stage actor. At some point he met Shiva, a tiger cub who was injured in her exhibit. Ezekiel cared for and befriended Shiva and formed a strong bond with her. When the walker outbreak began, Ezekiel returned to the zoo and freed Shiva with the two being together ever since. Ezekiel subsequently founded a community known as The Kingdom which grew to be a thriving community, lush with food and comfort. To better inspire his people, Ezekiel began referring to himself as King Ezekiel and took on the mannerisms of a benevolent and generous feudal king (going so far as to speak in Shakespearean tone and form). He also formed a court of advisers to help him manage The Kingdom which include seasoned survivor Richard, his personal attendant and bodyguard Jerry, and Benjamin, a young survivor who was the son of a good friend of Ezekiel's.

Season 7

Ezekiel is first introduced to the series in the episode "The Well", when Morgan Jones and Carol are brought to the Kingdom by his people to give medical attention to Carol. When Carol awakens, Morgan introduces her to Ezekiel and his pet Bengal tiger Shiva. Ezekiel's quasi-Shakespearean manner of ruling leaves Carol quietly incredulous. When Ezekiel asks what she thinks of his sanctuary and him, she feigns enthusiasm (telling him, "It's amazing!"), and refuses his offer of fruit, stating that pomegranates aren't worth the trouble. Morgan, having swiftly gained Ezekiel's confidence, is taken out with Ezekiel's inner circle to perform a seemingly pointless task: herd a group of wild pigs into a barn far outside the Kingdom, where they feed on walkers. Ezekiel asks Morgan about his combat skills, as he sees Morgan is capable of using a staff, and asks him to train one of his men, Benjamin. After hesitating, Morgan agrees. Ezekiel brings Morgan and Benjamin to a secret meeting with the Saviors, who are given the walker-fed pigs, now slaughtered, as part of their tribute from the Kingdom. One of the Saviors, Jared, tells Richard the Saviors are letting the Kingdom off easy by taking only eight pigs, to which Richard replies: the Saviors are the ones being let off easy. Jared attacks Richard, and Ezekiel makes them break up the fight. The leader of the Saviors group tells Jared to stop only after Jared has hit Richard a few times. The Saviors leave and say they will want produce next time, or Richard will be the first to die. During the night, Carol is picking fruit as she prepares to leave town quietly, and Ezekiel catches her. He explains that he realized Carol's innocence was just an act but wonders how Carol could survive, and wants to know where she originally came from. After a few moments, Ezekiel slowly drops his guard and reveals that he was a zookeeper and amateur actor. He tells her that he developed the "King Ezekiel" persona so that the people would have someone to follow and to emphasize that there is still good in the world. Carol still wishes to leave, so Ezekiel suggests that she live in the abandoned house she passed on the way to the Kingdom, so that she could "go and not go". She agrees to this arrangement. Morgan takes Carol out to the house, tells her to take care of herself, and returns to the Kingdom. Later, she gets a visit from Ezekiel and Shiva. Ezekiel once again offers her a pomegranate causing Carol to smile.

In the mid-season premiere "Rock in the Road", Ezekiel is shown to be friends with Hilltop scout Paul Rovia, aka "Jesus". Jesus introduces Ezekiel to Rick Grimes, the leader of Alexandria, another community forced to serve the Saviors. Rick implores Ezekiel to join their fight against the Saviors as only together can they succeed. Ezekiel takes the night to ponder his decision, but ultimately decides against open conflict with the Saviors as he refuses to endanger his people's lives. He does, however, allow Rick's friend Daryl Dixon to stay in the Kingdom to hide from the Saviors. Ezekiel appears in episode "New Best Friends" when the Saviors arrive for their offering. When Jared continues to insult Richard, the two draw guns on each other and Morgan and Ben are forced to stop further violence. Ezekiel later chastises Benjamin for acting hasty as violence must be reserved as a last resort. In the episode "Bury Me Here", Ezekiel, Morgan, Ben, Richard and several others find a roadblock en route to their meeting with the Saviors. They then find a grave reading bury me here with Ezekiel claiming that it is only luck that the world has not driven them all insane, though Ben credits Ezekiel with keeping them together. They arrive to find that their load of fruit is short of the required amount, causing Jared to shoot Ben. They bring him to Carol's, but despite their best efforts, Ben dies. When they meet the Saviors to settle their debt Morgan attacks and kills Richard, strangling him to death. He reveals that Richard discarded a fruit on purpose in an effort to start a war with the Saviors. Ezekiel shown to be enraged at Richard's betrayal while shocked at Morgan's brutality (though he still attempts to bring him back). Carol later goes to the Kingdom and offers Ezekiel her condolences before stating that it is time to fight; Morgan, wishing to be alone, temporarily stays at Carol's house. Ezekiel agrees. In the season finale "First Day of the Rest of Your Life", Ezekiel leads Carol and a group of Kingdom fighters to Alexandria to accept Rick's alliance. They encounter Morgan along the way, and Ezekiel convinces him to march with them. Ezekiel's arrival proves timely; their group arrives at Alexandria just as Negan is about to execute Carl. Ezekiel and Shiva charge into battle, killing numerous Saviors and helping drive off the Saviors. The episode ends with Ezekiel standing beside Rick and Maggie Greene as the Kingdom, Hilltop and Alexandria pledge their aid to each other.

Season 8

In in the season premiere "Mercy", as Rick prepares for war against Negan, Ezekiel commits his own soldiers from the Kingdom, and provides rousing speeches to his men at Kingdom and later to the combined group prior to their first attack. After their initial assault on Sanctuary, resulting in a large walker horde that prevents the Saviors from leaving or entering, Rick's army breaks into several groups to attack other Savior strongholds. In the following episode "The Damned", Ezekiel, alongside Carol, leads forces most of Kingdom soldiers, clearing out all but one Savior at a stronghold. The solitary Savior escapes, but Ezekiel orders his group to give chase, fearing he will warn a nearby stronghold. With Shiva's help, the solitary Savior is stopped in time.

In the episode "Monsters", since they are close to another stronghold but still undetected, Ezekiel decides to launch an attack, despite not being in Rick's plan and against Carol's caution. The attack goes better than expected, with no losses to the Kingdom forces. As they are celebrating, Savior forces hidden in a nearby building fire on the group with a heavy machine gun, killing most of the Kingdom forces instantly; the few not yet hit rush to protect Ezekiel. In the episode "Some Guy", Ezekiel crawls out from the pile of corpses with a limp foot, aghast at the bodies around him that are starting to reanimate. Ultimately he is saved by Jerry, who remains a loyal follower, and Carol, who dealt with the Savior attackers. They struggle towards the Kingdom, but Ezekiel is broken both physically and emotionally, and tells them to leave him behind, no longer worthy of being their king. Shiva arrives to fend off walkers that are about to attack Ezekiel, but the walkers eventually overwhelm the tiger, and Ezekiel can only look on in anguish as his companion is fed upon. The three eventually make it to Kingdom, and Ezekiel cannot come to say anything to the families of his soldiers, and walks off in silence. In the episode "The King, the Widow, and Rick", Ezekiel has secluded himself in his home, refusing to allow others to see him. Carol is able to approach Ezekiel and tries to encourage him to take up leadership again, even if it just maintaining his act, but Ezekiel remains reluctant to participate and urges her to lead the Kingdom. In the mid-season finale "How It's Gotta Be", when his community is invaded by the Saviors and they demand to know where Ezekiel is hiding, he allows himself to be caught soon afterwards, so his people may escape.^[2]