The Walking Dead: Why Ezekiel takes action in Princess’ hallucinations?

The Walking Dead’s most recent episode, “Splinter,” took a closer look at the character Princess, played by Paola Lázaro. The episode picks right up where the season 10 finale “A Certain Doom” ends. The foursome of Ezekiel, Eugene, Yumiko, and Princess are surrounded by soldiers dressed in white uniforms from the Commonwealth.

Throughout the episode, we learn more and more about Princess and what makes her tick. We learn she had a troubled childhood, and we hear a story about one incident she experienced, but this gives us a clue that her childhood was anything but healthy. A simple splinter sent her spiraling back into her childhood and the events that happened to her.

She tells the guard:

"“I’m not crazy, if that’s what you’re thinking. I mean, there’s the ADHD, the anxiety, the PTSD, the depression, the crushing loneliness, and the active imagination that helps me cope with all of that. But, like, maybe that’s the only sane response to an insane world.”"

We need to remember that not only does she experience all the things she mentioned above, but this girl has been alone for a year without seeing any other live person. She used walkers to create everyday scenes of people doing ‘normal’ things in the city where the group came upon her. This was her way of coping with being alone for so long.

Why was Ezekiel the one who Princess saw take action in her hallucinations?

When Princess is held in the train car, she was suffering a lot of guilt and feeling responsible for Yumiko being knocked around. To deal with her guilt, she had to go through a series of emotions, and her hallucinations of her new friends helped her cope.

Ezekiel was the only one who took action in her hallucinations because she feels he is a protector. He was the one who the nicest to her when they first met. If you think back to all the interactions with her new friends, they all have their own personalities, but they are amplified. This is how Princess hopes they will be to each other.

Yumiko was very concerned and took a caring tone with Princess. Eugene was trying to protect her and give her good advice. In Ezekiel, she saw someone who could protect her, something she may have never experienced in her life.

Princess has PTSD and ADHD, in addition to all of the childhood trauma she had to endure. This episode is Princess centric and gave us a look into who she is while also bringing to light how people with mental health issues, anxiety, etc., cope with all they go through.

Next up, The Walking Dead episode “Diverged” will air on March 28 on AMC.

This episode will be available to stream on AMC+ on March 25.