Season 8, Episode 4
Ezekiel's world falls apart.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Jerry, who has largely been a comic relief character up until now, becomes an absolute wrecking machine while rescuing Ezekiel from Gunther, and subsequently the horde of walkers.
- Bittersweet Ending: Rick and Daryl have succeeded in keeping the guns from reaching the Sanctuary, but Ezekiel has lost both his confidence and many of his people (with the exception of Jerry and Carol) as well as Shiva from both the Saviors and walkers.
- Broken Pedestal: Averted completely with Jerry, who still respects and worships Ezekiel after the latter reveals himself as a fraud. Played straight for the Broken Pedestal Ezekiel was on for himself.
- Book Ends: Ezekiel and Shiva's bond first began when Ezekiel rescued Shiva from certain death. Their bond ends when Shiva gives her life to save Ezekiel from certain death.
- Break the Haughty: Ezekiel loses almost his whole militia as well as his beloved pet tiger in the Chemical Plant Massacre, which knocks him down several pegs.
- The Cavalry: Rick and Daryl show up after the fight at Gavin's outpost is done and manage to keep Yago from delivering the guns to the Sanctuary.
- Character Death: Shiva, Daniel, Alvaro, and nearly the entire Kingdom militia save Ezekiel, Carol and Jerry. The Saviors lose only redshirts: Gunther, Joseph, Rudy and some unnamed men.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Saviors wipe out the entire Kingdom force (except Ezekiel, Jerry, and Carol) in a matter of seconds.
- A Day in the Limelight: Most of the episode revolves around Ezekiel.
- Despair Event Horizon: This entire episode is about Ezekiel reaching his after dozens of Kingdommers die around him, and by the end he has.
- Devoured by the Horde: Shiva meets this fate when she is caught and overwhelmed by walkers while saving Ezekiel.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Shiva dies trying to protect Ezekiel, Jerry, and Carol from walkers.
- Failed a Spot Check: Gunther lingered a little too long taunting and threatening Ezekiel with his own sword, he didn't notice a 300-pound man with a giant axe running up from behind.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: After taking out all but two of the remaining Chemical Plant Saviors Carol notices Ezekiel and Jerry on the other side of a fence surrounded by a zombie horde. She is thus forced to decide between killing the last two Saviors and retrieving the guns before they reach the Sanctuary or saving Ezekiels life. She ultimately goes the latter route though fortunately Rick and Daryl arrive in time to stop the Saviors from getting to Sanctuary anyway.
- Gilligan Cut: Ezekiel gives a speech to his people and is surrounded by them in a group hug. Cut to Ezekiel being buried in and surrounded by his slain soldiers.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Jerry chops Gunther in half.
- Hannibal Lecture: Gunther gives Ezekiel one about his "King" performance
- Heroic Sacrifice: Shiva saves Ezekiel from walkers at the cost of her own life.
- Ezekiel tells Carol and Jerry to leave him behind so his injury doesn't slow them down and get them all killed; both Carol and Jerry bluntly refuse to do so.
- Insult Backfire: Ezekiel sarcastically asks if Negan even knows Gunther's name. Gunther initially hesitates since he's a nobody in the Savior hierarchy, but recovers and responds that he's Negan.
- Last Stand: Shiva has one when Ezekiel nearly tries to sacrifice himself, buying him time to escape.
- Moment of Weakness: Ezekiel - who is injured - manages to snatch his sword back from Gunther during a moment's distraction. Though Ezekiel manages to slice his stomach, Gunther remains relatively uninjured and almost instantly smacks him back down and disarms him again.
- Mythology Gag: Gunther, deciding to make his escape easy, prepares to chop off Ezekiel's head and deliver it to Negan on a pike. This was the ultimate fate of Comic!Ezekiel, who was similarly beheaded and had his head left on a pike by Alpha, leader of the Whisperers. Ezekiel ultimately doesn't meet the same fate in the show, though there are several Red Herring nods to the comics to trick viewers into thinking he will.
- One Woman Army: Through superior tactics, trickery, and sheer nerve Carol once again wipes out a formidable opposing force almost singlehandedly.
- Pyrrhic Victory: The Militia manages to get the gun caches hidden at Gavin's outpost, but most of the Kingdom's fighters, as well as Shiva are dead and their leader has been broken by the experience.
- Rule of Symbolism: Shiva, Ezekiel's fearsome pet tiger, dies as he undergoes a Despair Event Horizon.
- Rule of Three: Ezekiel is saved three times in the episode: by Alvaro from the walkers, by Jerry from Gunther, and finally by Shiva from another group of walkers.
- Shoot the Hostage: Carol takes the Savior Joseph hostage in an attempt to get Yago and his men to stop attacking her. Yago orders his men to shoot Joseph instead.
- Talking Is a Free Action: Large portions of the episode are spent with characters either in melee combat with, or limping just a few steps ahead of, an advancing horde of zombies. Yet they always seem to have time to stop and have important conversations no matter how many undead are upon them.
- Title Drop: When Ezekiel tries to convince Jerry and Carol to leave him behind, Jerry says he can't abandon Ezekiel because he's his king, to which Ezekiel replies that he's "just some guy".
- Too Dumb to Live: Yago waited many seconds to draw his gun before Rick jumped into his jeep.
- Wrecked Weapon: Jerry's battle axe is destroyed when he and Ezekiel are backed against the fence.
