I am ready to become what I must.
Ezekiel walks into a bathroom and begins to shave. He gets ready for the day including putting on armor and some red feathers in his hair. The knights say goodbye to family at the Kingdom before heading off to battle. Ezekiel hands Shiva's leash to another knight. Everyone at Kingdom goes to say goodbye to the group. Ezekiel walks up to a boy and says, "Fear not young master Henry. You will be brave. Because you are brave." He addresses his people, "We face dire challenge and chance. Our lives, our way of life . . . it hangs in the balance, a fragile glance standing on a wire, high above the asphalt, as we pray for not one drop of rain under an overcast sky. And yet I smile. We will fight and we will bleed. And yet I smile. We will face men, some cornered into their roles by circumstance, some desperate murderers thrilled by blood. We shall end them all. As is our charge this day. As is our sorrow. And yet I smile. We will leave our loved ones and traverse a dangerous road. Rushing out of peace in war. And yet I smile. For we will mine glory from the rock of struggle this day. We will honor and protect this, this bastion of life, in a land of the dead, and we will win. You trust the King. We will win. I smile. I laugh. I rejoice this day, for on this day, we are joined in purpose and vision. We are of a singular heart and mind. On this day, we are one! We are one!" They all crowd around him assenting. We see the dead knights. Some missing arms, others gutted. A pile of knights lie on top of Ezekiel. He comes up from under them. He appears to be the only one alive. He loosens his boot on his injured leg. He looks around and checks the bodies. They are all dead. He screams out in agony. One of the knights has gotten up as a zombie. The others are beginning to turn. Ezekiel looks around in apprehension. Daniel has reanimated and has a hold of Ezekiel. Ezekiel is now surrounded by his own zombified army.
Ezekiel crawls away from his zombie army. He grabs a gun from one of the dead and begins to shoot. He only gets one shot out before his gun jams. More and more of his dead comrades are reanimating. Alvaro comes and starts killing the zombies. He helps Ezekiel to his feet and away from the dead. The Saviors in the building put away their weapons. Carol cautiously walks into the building with her rifle. She peeks around corners. This looks like the outpost with all of the guns our gang was looking for. Carol is alone in a building with armed Saviors. As the Saviors talk she guns them down from her hiding spot in the ceiling. She runs from the room as more Saviors come in. They shoot at her but one of them says to let her go. They need to grab their guns and take them to Sanctuary. Ezekiel asks Alvaro if he has seen Shiva. He responds, "Not since they were hit." Alvaro gets shot from behind. A Savior comes out of hiding and grabs Ezekiel as the zombie army moves in.
The Savior wants Ezekiel's sword which Ezekiel has been using as part of his cane. The Savior is taking Ezekiel to Sanctuary. He wants Ezekiel to help him take the guns to Sanctuary. Ezekiel tells him the gates our down and the dead surround it. No one can get out or in. Carol watches the remaining Saviors loading the weapons and ammo into cars. Ezekiel stumbles and the Savior points his gun at him. He asks, "Tell me does Negan know your name?" The Savior responds, "I'm Negan." Ezekiel says, "I will not let you hurt my people." The Savior responds, "Your people? You mean all those sheep you rooked into thinking you're a king?" He forces Ezekiel to his feet. He asks if Ezekiel worked at a circus. No he did not. The Savior says Shiva loves Ezekiel. "It gave you everything, didn't it? Gave you an angle, a story. Got to hand it to you. You played your cards good. You played your people good. They ate that horseshit right up. They grew food for you. Built those walls for you. You got them all killed, they're still following you. But take away that tiger, what's left? Just some meaningless con man in a costume." Carol checks her weapons and goes to shoot the Saviors loading the weapons when she is observed by some other Savior who begins to shoot at her. She runs behind a truck and begins to shoot back but she is alone and trapped.
Carol hides from the barrage of bullets. Zombies approach the outpost. The Savior asks Ezekiel if any of his people are alive in the outpost. Ezekiel hopes so. He grabs his sword cutting the Savior as he does so but the Savior knocks him to the ground. "It's over. Okay?! You took your shot. It's over." He smiles as he points his gun down at Ezekiel. He marks Ezekiel's face with blood and says, "Delusions of grandeur." The Savior and Ezekiel reach the gate but it is locked and he doesn't have a key. Ezekiel says the zombies are getting close and they can fight them together. "Negan was hoping to have your ass chained to the Sanctuary fence. You, the Widow, Rick. But your head on a pike will do just fine." He goes to cut off Ezekiel's head but he is cut in half instead. Jerry has come to Ezekiel's rescue. Carol tosses her hand gun and says, "I can tell you where the others are just let me live." She stands up unarmed. Jerry helps Ezekiel up and borrows the King's sword to kill some zombies. Ezekiel says Jerry doesn't need to call him your majesty. Jerry's response, "Dude, yes I do." He starts hacking away at the chain. The Saviors ask where Carol's people are and she says "You can't tell them I told you. You have to promise." She grabs a Savior and holds him hostage but the other Saviors just begin to shoot. She uses him as a shield and then kneels down. She hits the button to open the gate and zombies come in behind the Saviors. Jerry breaks his ax trying to open the gate. The zombie herd approaches. They stand ready to fight together to the death. Jerry says, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Ezekiel asks, "For what?" Jerry answers, "For being such a cool dude." Carol's shootout with the Saviors continues. She calls out, "We need to end this." She admits to lying about her friends. She won't let them leave with the guns. She has the ammo. She asks how many bullets they have left after shooting all the zombies. She sees Jerry and Ezekiel fighting the herd.
Flashback to before the attack on the outpost. Carol asks Ezekiel if he has ever fought before. He fought a marauder in the woods. "I have trained for a very long time. And I have continued from long before this till now. And I have practiced for days on end. I am ready to become what I must. To will myself to what I must be." He talks about how he was a meek zookeeper. He talks about helping Shiva. "I thought about doing it weighing the risk of approaching such a beast. And I thought about not doing it. I stood their considering who I'd be in either iteration. And I decided I wanted to be the one who leapt, so many years later, Benjamin was the one who told me what I already knew but couldn't hear. If you're asked to be the hero, be the hero. I'm now ready. Finally, I've deliberated. I've made the decision on who I will be. Was it easier for you? Or have you always been this way? This strong? This brave? Or did you decide to be who you are today?" She answers, "I decided too. Just like you. But life decided some things too." Ezekiel fights off the oncoming herd. Gun fire erupts. Carol shoots down the zombies. The Saviors escape with their guns and ammo. She unlocks the gate with a key. She and Jerry open the gate and Jerry helps Ezekiel in. Ezekiel says they have to tell Rick before the guns get to Sanctuary. A motorcycle can be heard. Carol smiles, "They're not getting to Sanctuary." Daryl on his bike and Rick in his car follow the Saviors. The Saviors try to shoot Daryl and he skids off to the side of the road. Rick continues to follow them They shoot at him but he continues his pursuit. Rick pulls up alongside of them and gets in the Savior's car. He stabs the driver and the car runs off the road. Daryl pulls up on his bike. He walks to the overturned truck. Rick comes out of the wreck. He says, "We got the guns." Daryl responds, "You look like shit." Rick answers, "Let's go see if this asshole's alive."
Carol, Jerry, and Ezekiel make their way through zombie infested woods. Ezekiel says they have to leave him because he is slowing them down. They won't. They grab him and lead him away from the zombies. They come upon the entrance of a drain pipe where toxic chemicals have been dumped. Zombies mill around. They make their way down. Too many zombies come and Ezekiel begins to kill the zombies telling Carol and Jerry to go without him. He gets mad at Jerry and yells, "I'm not your King! I'm not Your Majesty. Look at what's in front of us. That's what's real. Go. I ain't no king. I ain't nothing. I'm just some guy." Shiva jumps in out of nowhere and starts killing zombies. She is surrounded and taken down. The zombies start to eat her. Ezekiel wants to help but Jerry and Carol stop him. They watch as the zombies devour Shiva. They finally arrive back at the Kingdom. The people of Kingdom gather. Only the three have returned. Henry walks up to Ezekiel and Ezekiel places his hand on the boy's shoulder and then walks away. They all watch him go.
Final Thoughts
- What's going to happen to Kingdom now that basically all of their knights are dead? Who will protect them if they lose the battle against Negan?
- Will Ezekiel drop his king act and be himself? Is the "king" dead?
- I love the surety that Carol has in Daryl. She smiles the minute she hears his bike knowing he will get the guns from the Saviors.
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