The latest installment of the "The Walking Dead" titled "Some Guy" was Ezekiel-focused, so it was only logical to open up the episode with yet another of his motivational speeches. Overconfident as always with the now legendary, though a little irritating "And yet I smile" line, King Ezekiel prepared his people for the war. And boy, did he prepare them as we saw them united in one big hug, worshiping their King. Then, in what was one of the best transitions ever, we jumped straight to the aftermath of the previous week's episode depicting Ezekiel gasping for air under the pile of dead bodies.
Seeing his entire army slaughtered, the King was devastated and he knew he had to get away from there for it was only a matter of time before they all turned. And so they did.
As it turned out, the horde of zombified Kingdomers was only the beginning of Ezekiel's problems as he soon found himself captured by the nerdy-looking Savior whose plan was to take the King to Negan who wants him alive and tied to the Sanctuary fence along with Rick and the Widow. It was after revealing this plan that the Savior said the ominous "but your head on a pike would do just fine" line that turned out to be an empty threat as he was torn apart by Jerry a few seconds later. But the comic-book fans know that there is more to this line than meets the eye.
What does this line mean?
Before delving into the meaning of this line, we have to warn you that this will contain spoilers for the comics and Ezekiel's character. Now, let's take a look at the scene once again.
There is no doubt that the "but your head on the pike would do just fine" line was a clear reference to Ezekiel's fate.
In the comics, Alpha, the leader of the group called the Whisperers told Rick that she made a border that separates their territories and that there will be no problems as long as his group stays on one side of the border. Rick soon realized that the border was actually a ton of pikes spread out with dozens of reanimated heads on them, one of which was Ezekiel's.
What will happen to Ezekiel?
There's a strong possibility that "The Walking Dead" TV show will closely follow the base material, at least when it comes to Ezekiel's character, hence this subtle reference. After all, the showrunners have done this before. Just remember when Glenn was carrying that baseball around back in Season 5 which was a clear reference to his eventual death by Lucille. If they choose to follow the comics, Ezekiel's death could happen during Season 9. On the other hand, the showrunners might decide to keep him around a little while longer. Either way, one thing is certain: Ezekiel will never be the same after he lost Shiva and almost all of his men. So there will be no more rousing speeches. No more smiles. Only the silence. And sadness. Just like we saw at the end of the episode.
