If you would like to read a recap of last week’s episode, click here. So that happened. If you still don’t know what “that” is, I suggest you read my previous recap. Now only one question remains, where they do go from here? This episode begins to show us this direction and also reintroduce us to two remaining main characters who we haven’t seen since last season’s finale in Carol and Morgan.
The episode starts off with Carol being wheeled out by some sort of horse-drawn carriage because she’s still injured (if you forgot). She has no idea where she is or what’s going on. She then looks over and sees Morgan. As soon as this happens, their envoy are attacked by Walkers. The problem for Carol was that she kept seeing the Walkers as people so to her, it looked like they were killing people.
During the melee, she gets away and finds a house. From the window, she sees an older lady waving her over. But after a second glance, she is also a Walker. More Walkers show up and Carol also sees them as people. The envoy catches up to her and disposes of them as well. More armored people on horses show up and notice that they found more people. Morgan makes an incision on the mailbox in front of the house and flips the flag up. The group head over in the direction of some buildings.
Carol is sleeping in a room where Morgan is watching her. She wakes up and asks him how long she’s been sleeping. She’s been sleeping for two days. She asks where they are. Morgan wheels Carol around in a wheelchair and he tells her that he surrendered their weapons. He intends that they stay until she got better which he guessed would be a week or two. Morgan says that they are in a place called The Kingdom.
Morgan reveals that he has been helping the people of the Kingdom in exchange for them helping her. Carol is worried about what Morgan told them but he tells her that they don’t know much. He told their leader, a man named King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), that Morgan killed the man who hurt her and that they originally split up and she found trouble so he found her. Carol wants to know about their leader so Morgan brings her to him.
Morgan tells her that he does his own thing. When Carol meets him, she is shocked by what she sees, especially the tiger named Shiva which he forgot to mention. Ezekiel has to calm Shiva down as soon as Carol approaches. Ezekiel is very eloquent and believes that since she is a friend of Morgan then she should be considered friend of the realm.
Ezekiel cares about Carol and welcomes her. Ezekiel calls her out on her lack of reaction and her look of skepticism. He asks her what she thinks and she puts on her innocent face and says that everything is amazing and she doesn’t know what’s going on. He tells them that they can stay as long as they like as long as they contribute. He offers Carol fruit which she politely refuses.
Once Morgan wheels her out, she takes her face off. She thinks it’s all a circus and she can’t do it. Morgan tells her that he can’t let her go which she replies that it isn’t up to him. He says he won’t let her die but she says that it doesn’t matter what he does.
Morgan leaves in one of two trucks and is told that they are going hunting. We see pigs who are feeding on Walkers. Once more Walkers show up, Ezekiel tells them to get ready to leave but before they do, he enlists a young man named Ben (Logan Miller) to try to and take down a Walker with a machete like he had practiced. He is not successful but they tell him that he will do it next time. The other truck goes somewhere else.
Back at the Kingdom, Ezekiel asks Morgan about his staff and how he learned to use it. He asks Morgan if he can train Ben because he is very important to Ezekiel which Morgan agrees.
Carol reflects while watching all the people outside from the window. A choir is singing. Morgan is training Ben and then he realizes he must slow things down. Carol decides to wheel herself around. She sees a knife lying around and picks it up. She puts on her innocent face again in front of someone who was folding clothes and creates a distraction so she can steal some. Ezekiel is watching Morgan’s training.
Ben is fascinated by Morgan’s aikido book because he’s read every other book they have in the Kingdom. Morgan hands him the book. Ezekiel comes and calls them both for important stuff. Important enough for Morgan to need a gun.
This important stuff involves witnessing a deal between the Kingdom and the Saviors where they handed them pigs (which are probably the ones who ate Walkers). They help them load the pigs onto trucks. One of the saviors picks a fight with a member of the Kingdom by claiming that they didn’t give them enough of something. Ezekiel comes and calms his man down while the savior leader calms down his. Ezekiel talks to Morgan about past experience with the Saviors. Morgan asks him if that was why he wanted him but Ezekiel claims the opposite.
Ben and his kid spend some time with Morgan. Ben is trying to raise his kid but he’s alone. Morgan asks about his relationship with Ezekiel. He says that he and his father were close but since he died a year ago, Ezekiel has sort of been taking care of him. He also reveals that Ezekiel has kept their deal with the Saviors secret as to not rile up his people into a fight that they can’t win. They talk about an inscription in his aikido book about not killing but Morgan emphasizes that nobody can show you the way: They might point you in the right direction, but you’ll have to find his own path. Morgan thought he was in the right direction but he’s starting to change his mind.
Morgan goes to Carol with a food tray but she’s gone and her wheelchair is still in the room. She is lurking near an apple tree and steals an apple. Ezekiel spots her and confronts her about leaving. She puts on her innocent face again but sees right through it. She asks her about the Saviors. He asks her what she finds funny. She calls him a joke and this place is a joke. It wasn’t the real world and that they he is selling them a fairy tale. He claims that maybe the contradiction is the point.
He believes that people want someone to follow, make them feel safe. People who feel safe are less dangerous and more productive. They needed someone to follow so he played the part. He says that he saved Shiva from bleeding out and she’s been at his side ever since. He’s has also lost a lot just like everyone else. Shiva and him were a lot of like since they both felt trapped, hungry, and alone. He used to act in community theatre and he had past experience playing kings. He also wants Carol to keep it a secret for everyone else’s sake but she doesn’t care and she just wants to go.
As she is leaving, he says he’s sorry for what she’s been through. Out there feels like it’s all bad when you’re alone but it’s not all bad, it can’t be, it isn’t, life isn’t. Where there’s life, there’s hope. Maybe she doesn’t have to walk away from it, he encourages that she embraces the contradiction, to go and not go. He thinks he can help her if she lets it. She asks why he cares but he says he it makes him feel good. He offers to have someone take her somewhere beyond the gates.
Morgan and Carol ride away through the gates to the house from earlier. They are growing closer to one another. Morgan leaves her and puts the flag back down on the mailbox. Carol goes into the house and kills the Walker inside and then buries it. As she is cooking something, Ezekiel and Shiva are at the door and he offers her a pomegranate.
Overall, this episode was a much different one tone-wise, obviously since we needed to be brought down a tad after the season premiere but it still gave us a good look into Carol and Morgan’s relationship while introducing us to the Kingdom for the first time. No, we didn’t get to see how the others turned out but it’s a big world and we’ll probably see them next week.
Score: 8/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
