Ezekiel’s forces have been massacred. The king is wounded, alone, and in a field of the dead who were, that morning, his friends.

All is lost.

Or perhaps, that would be easier.

Khary Payton is given the spotlight this episode. Along with Cooper Andrews as trusty sidekick Jerry and Whitmer Thomas’ memorably nasty turn as a Savior, the three performances anchor the strongest hour of this show so far this season. Thomas’ weaselly little monster is a welcome change from ‘grumpy moustachioed biker dude 1000’ as a Savior archetype and Andrews brings just boundless compassion and strength to his scenes. You will never have heard ‘…SHITBALLS’ muttered with such feeling as you will here.

But it’s Payton who carries the episode. He takes us inside the story that Ezekiel has wrapped around himself and shows us just how fragile his faith in himself is. Ezekiel, by the end of the episode, is shattered. He’s lost a generation of his forces, his closest friend and worst of all, his sense of self. The story has not gone the way he thought. It may never again.

And yet, he still has an honour guard when he returns home. He still finds it in himself to hold things together, just a little. He’s still the King, or at least the man wearing the King’s clothes.

It’s an amazing performance in a relentless, brutal hour of TV. This is the story of the most fundamentally good man left alive, and what happens on the day that doesn’t mean anything. And even in the horror and death there’s hope. Countless people sacrifice themselves to save Ezekiel and the story he embodies.  The King is dead. Long live the King. Or whatever the King becomes.

Verdict: Compassionate, heartbreaking, brutal and brilliant this is the best hour of the show this season by a mile. Unmissably good. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart