While plenty are excited for the season 7 premiere of the The Walking Dead to find out once and for all who Negan beat to death with Lucille, there are other aspects from the comics soon to be explored as well. Given how the series tends stick somewhat close to the arc of the comics (regardless of which characters are dead or still alive), these could be welcome additions.
One of the major additions to this coming season will be the community known as The Kingdom. Led by the tiger-wielding Ezekiel (Khary Payton), this Washington D.C.-based community will be playing an important role in the series. Audiences can now get an extended look at The Kingdom, as AMC has released a promo highlighting this new location.
While fairly short, the biggest takeaway from seeing The Kingdom is how its residents are not big on outsiders sharing information about this place. Clearly that may be a challenge for Morgan and Carol, two of the few characters not currently being threatened directly by Negan, but time will tell what kind of role they have in being introduced to this community. The other major element is Ezekiel, the King of this community. Being introduced to this series for the first time, Ezekiel will likely be a major force (anyone wielding a tiger should be) and the series at least has something going for it to potentially challenge the threat that is Negan.
Minor spoilers for the comics, but as fans are well aware, The Kingdom is one of the several communities that neighbor Alexandria. Season 6 already introduced the Hilltop Colony, so our survivors are about to learn a whole lot more about the immediate world that surrounds them. Given how Negan’s power looms over all of these areas, the show has a lot to work with when it comes to seeing how these different communities work with or against each other.
Given how the various showrunners have been keen to deliver certain major elements from the comics to the series, it looks like The Kingdom has the chance to be a strong representation of what’s only been seen on the page. While Payton has to prove if he’s up to handling the persona of King Ezekiel, the design and implied mystery surrounding The Kingdom is a nice break from all that is constantly being shared about how Negan will effect this series. Ideally this location will be more than just another place Rick will ultimately ruin for those who were previously thriving there.
The Walking Dead returns for season 7 on Sunday, October 23 @9pm on AMC.
