40 Facts About King Ezekiel

King Ezekiel is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and the television series of the same name, on which he is portrayed by Khary Payton.

King Ezekiel has a loyal pet tiger, Shiva, that he saved from the zoo in the early days of the apocalypse when he was a zookeeper.

King Ezekiel was formerly a zookeeper and has known his pet tiger, Shiva, since she was born.

At some point, King Ezekiel meets and forms a friendship with Paul "Jesus" Monroe, who invites his community to join a trading network that includes The Hilltop community that Jesus belongs to.

King Ezekiel later discovers the Saviors are threatening and harassing the other communities in the trade network in exchange for supplies and possibly sees how vicious their leader, Negan really is.

King Ezekiel bides his time and waits for the opportune moment to strike back against the tyrant.

The opportunity King Ezekiel is waiting for finally comes when Jesus brings Rick Grimes to meet him and passes on the information they have regarding the Saviors' strength and the location of their main base of operations.

King Ezekiel cared for and befriended Shiva and formed a strong bond with her.

King Ezekiel 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.

When King Ezekiel asks what she thinks of his sanctuary and him, she feigns enthusiasm, and refuses his offer of fruit, stating that pomegranates aren't worth the trouble.

King 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.

King Ezekiel 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.

King Ezekiel 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 go to live in the abandoned house she passed on the way to the Kingdom so that she can "go and not go".

King Ezekiel offers her a pomegranate, causing Carol to smile.

Rick implores King Ezekiel to join their fight against the Saviors as only together can they succeed.

King 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.

King Ezekiel does allow Rick's friend Daryl Dixon to stay in the Kingdom to hide from the Saviors.

King Ezekiel appears in episode "New Best Friends" when the Saviors arrive for their offering.

King Ezekiel later chastises Benjamin for acting hasty as violence must be reserved as a last resort.

King Ezekiel reveals that Richard discarded a fruit on purpose in an effort to start a war with the Saviors.

King Ezekiel is enraged at Richard's betrayal and shocked at Morgan's brutality.

King Ezekiel's arrival proves timely; their group arrives at Alexandria just as Negan is about to execute Carl.

The episode ends with Ezekiel standing beside Rick and Maggie Greene as the Kingdom, Hilltop and Alexandria pledge to aid each other.

Carol is able to approach Ezekiel and tries to encourage him to take up leadership again, even if it is just maintaining his act, but Ezekiel remains reluctant to participate and urges her to lead the Kingdom.

Carol berates Henry for not staying behind and disobeying her, but King Ezekiel assures Henry that everything will work out.

King Ezekiel falls in the last crossing as the glass floor is broken, but they are tied together with ropes, and Carol and others rescue him quickly from certain death.

King Ezekiel tells him to keep the ring and reminds him that she still does not want to be asked, especially on a horse.

King Ezekiel feels she is trying to stay away, but she denies it and kisses him before telling him to kiss Henry for her and instructs Jerry to take care of him as they move away.

The group is eventually granted admission into the Commonwealth where King Ezekiel's condition improves somewhat after Lance Hornsby arranges for him to receive medical treatment, the Commonwealth having the modern medicine that Alexandria and the other communities lack.

However, King Ezekiel's prognosis remains poor without surgery to remove the tumor from his thyroid cancer which he won't get in time as King Ezekiel is too far down the list.

King Ezekiel is assigned to work as the Commonwealth's animal control officer, a job that King Ezekiel greatly enjoys.

Carol eventually makes a deal with Lance where he arranges for King Ezekiel to get the surgery in exchange for Carol doing favors for him.

King Ezekiel undergoes the surgery which is performed by Yumiko's long-lost brother Tomi who was a thoracic surgeon before the world ended.

King Ezekiel's cancer is successfully removed, and he later tells Carol that he has a good prognosis.

King Ezekiel becomes disturbed by the class inequality that he witnesses during his cancer treatment and secretly opens a clinic for the disadvantaged to receive free medical treatment, eventually convincing Tomi to help him out.

Negan approaches King Ezekiel for help in leading a revolution against the sadistic Warden, aided by the fact that the camp that they've been sent to is at a Commonwealth-occupied Alexandria.

King Ezekiel, who has deliberately avoided Negan for years, reluctantly works with the former leader of the Saviors, eventually revealing that his hatred of Negan is of a personal nature due to the Saviors murdering Benjamin who was like a son to him.

However, when Negan attempts to martyr himself for everyone else rather than exposing Ezekiel's role in the rebellion, Ezekiel comes to his defense, leading a number of the prisoners in making a stand.

King Ezekiel succeeds in convincing most of the Commonwealth soldiers to stand down while the Warden is subdued by Daryl, allowing the Coalition to retake Alexandria.