Khary Payton: Ezekiel should have said “no thank you” to Rick on The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead season 11 has begun! Before the premiere episode dropped on AMC+ the other day, WinterIsComing had a chance to ask a question of TWD stars Khary Payton (Ezekiel) and Callan McAuliffe (Alden). Their answers were surprising.

Since these pre-season press days never yield earth-shattering details about what’s coming in the new season, it’s fun to shift tactics and ask questions that can be answered openly and honestly. We asked what change Payton and McAuliffe would make for their characters as they look back through 10 seasons of the show, and they had some interesting thoughts.

“Ezekiel should have told Rick to get the hell on,” Payton laughed, referencing how Rick’s arrival at the Kingdom set events into motion that eventually led to the community’s demise. “He should have answered the gates of the Kingdom like the first dude in The Wizard of Oz. Just open the little door and be like, ‘No thank you!’ I think the Kingdom would have been much better off!”

The Walking Dead season 11 will be a turning point for many characters

McAuliffe, who will be a series regular in season 11, said that becoming a Savior and teaming up with Negan was Alden’s downfall, but it all worked out in the end. “I’ve often wondered what Alden would have gotten up to if he’d never joined up with Negan, as it were,” he said. “I think that journey, which I’m sure he considers a misstep when he retraces the timeline of his life, it’s a testament to the fact that bad decisions can sometimes lead to very positive places, and the vacuum is then filled with something better. While it’s interesting to think about, I think it’s all led to him meeting these people.”

"And in a meta sort of way, it led to my having met the cast and crew. So I’m glad he didn’t make any different decisions!"

Season 11 will see Payton’s Ezekiel trying to navigate the complexities of the Commonwealth, a new community that fans will learn more about in the new season. So far, the welcome wagon has been less than welcoming for the King and his traveling companions.

Promotional pictures and teasers feature a look at Alden traveling with disgraced former leader Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Lauren Cohan’s Maggie, who returns to the show after leaving in season 9. Alden lived in Maggie’s community at the Hilltop after denouncing the Saviors. It won’t be easy to be in the company of Maggie and the man who killed her husband, so be ready for lots of tension.

The Walking Dead returns for its final season on Sunday, August 22, at 9:00 p.m. EST on AMC. Viewers can watch new episodes of the show a week early with a subscription to AMC+.

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