The aftermath was not good, as practically every Kingdom soldier was shot dead.
(The two of them were then in turn saved by Melissa McBrides Carol.)
But the most painful moment was yet to come.
Gene Page/AMC
But as weve seen with Ezekiel and weve seen him tell this to Carol this is leadership.
How much fun was that scene to shoot?It was an incredible day.
That entire day was incredible because it is such an amazing speech that they wrote for me.
Gene Page/AMC
David Leslie Johnson is a writer on this episode, and he just killed it.
Im still kind of reeling from it because I remember the moment and just how fired up everybody was.
Im so proud of all of the actors that have been with me in the Kingdom.
Gene Page/AMC
The looks on their faces absolutely broke me down in that moment.
Youre talking about the juxtaposition of that day, which is really what happens in the episode.
The rousing highs of that speech come crashing down really quickly.
Gene Page/AMC
So lets just talk about everything that happens to Ezekiel after this.
What is it that gets him into this total crisis of confidence?
So he talked himself into, Were not sacrificing, were going to somehow make this.
And yeah, he really starts to falter at that moment.
Im not your majesty.
Im just some guy.
This feels more than just, Im slowing you down, go on without me.
This feels like he feels he should die for what hes done.
Just happens to be at this moment he really doesnt want it.
First of all, Coopers such a genuine guy, and hes such a pleasure to work with.
And sometimes you might underestimate the power of his acting ability.
Some people are just given too much, you know, but you dont care because thats so awesome.
And Coopers one of those guys.
Hes this big, happy dude who also can be this incredible, powerful beast of a man.
I cant say enough.
Theres no blue man in a suit this time.
Its literally all put into the show in post-production, so there really was nothing there.
There were the walkers that were there, but Shiva herself wasnt there.
And another gut-wrenching scene to watch, good gracious.
What are you like before shooting these super-emotional scenes?I actually play them by ear.
And how do you do that?
These are the decisions that you have to make.
And thats the thing aboutThe Walking Dead.
Its like inThe Shawshank Redemption get busy living or get busy dying?
These are the questions.
For moreThe Walking Deadscoop, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
