‘The Walking Dead’: Mystery Character Revealed on ‘The King, The Widow, & Rick’

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the Season 8 Episode 6 of The Walking Dead entitled “The King, The Widow, and Rick.” Proceed with caution.

After a Negan-centric episode last week, this week’s The Walking Dead focused on members of the Militia, specifically Ezekiel, Maggie, and of course, Rick.

In fact, the latest episode was named “The King, The Widow, and Rick” — referring to leaders of The Kingdom, Hilltop, and Alexandria.

Phase 2 Revealed

With Sanctuary surrounded by a herd of walkers and snipers positioned at lookouts, it appeared that Rick finally had the upper hand. The second phase of Rick’s plan required numbers for one final push, so he visited the Scavengers to parlay with Jadis. Rick showed them Polaroids of the slain Saviors, offering the Scavengers a deal: switch sides or be destroyed. Jadis turned him down with a simple “no” and threw him into jail.

Will the Scavengers be the next enemies after the Saviors are defeated, or will the much rumored Whisperers make an appearance?

Enemies at the Gate

Jesus brought the Savior prisoners of war to the Hilltop, where they were chained outside the wall. Gregory suggested to Maggie that they hang them, while Jesus pleaded for mercy — even feeding them turnips.

While Gregory wanted Maggie to build gallows, she ended up constructing a prison inside Hilltop instead, and stuck Gregory — whom she considered a “wolf among sheep” — inside.

But at the end of the episode, she revealed that she’s only keeping them alive as bargaining chips and that she can’t let them live.

Mystery Music

Last week, there was a mystery helicopter. This week, mystery music led Michonne and Rosita to a Savior outpost. Two Savtors were rigging a truck with giant speakers to draw the walkers away from Sanctuary. One of them got on the receiving end of a rocket, courtesy of Rosita, and the other nearly escaped — until the stereo truck was smashed by Daryl and Tara.

Introducing Siddiq

The mystery character introduced during the season premiere returned last night, and he has a name: Siddiq. Carl found him in the woods and offered food and water. After answering the three questions, Carl even considered inviting him back to Alexandria. With 237 kills, Saddiq is quite an efficient zombie killer, making traps for walkers to “free their souls” (something his mother told him). Siddiq is the first major Muslim American character on the show.

In the comics, Siddiq was a resident of Oceanside, the community the Saviors killed all the male members of. It remains to be seen if he will be similar to his counterpart.

“I’m responsible for you now,” Carl told Siddiq after a scuffle with a group of walkers.

The Fallen King

Ezekiel — still grieving the loss of Shiva — has become a shell of his former self. He admitted to Carol that she “made him feel real,” instead of the fictional king he pretended to be. “You are real to me, to the Kingdom,” she responded. “The people need their king to lead them,” at which point he offers to pass the crown.

Ezekiel may be down and out and Rick captured, but the rest of the survivors have mobilized: Daryl and Tara, Michonne and Rosita, and Aaron and Enid are all making a move as The Walking Dead sprints towards it’s midseason finale.