Elijah (The Walking Dead)
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Elijah | |
---|---|
The Walking Dead character | |
First appearance | "A Certain Doom" |
Last appearance | "Rest in Peace" |
Portrayed by | Okea Eme-Akwari |
In-universe information | |
Occupation | Student (former) Messenger and Guard for the Hilltop Colony (former) Soldier for the Coalition (former) Courier for the Commonwealth |
Family | Josephine † (sister) Lydia (girlfriend) |
Elijah is a fictional character from the television series The Walking Dead, where he is portrayed by Okea Eme-Akwari.
Television series
Season 10
In the second part finale "
In the third part premiere "
Season 11
In the season premiere "
In the second part premiere "No Other Way," an injured Elijah joins Maggie, Daryl, Gabriel and Negan in confronting the Reapers in a cat-and-mouse game throughout Meridian, killing most of them. Elijah finally comes face-to-face with Brandon Carver, the sadistic Reaper who had murdered his sister Josephine. Carver is eventually subdued by Negan after a fight, but Daryl stops the others from killing him in the hopes of trading Carver for a peaceful solution. Seeking revenge, Elijah attempts to kill Carver anyways, but collapses from his injuries. As the surviving Reapers retreat, Elijah reminds Maggie of her promise to avenge his sister and everyone else who had died in Meridian and she guns down the retreating Reapers before using one of Elijah's kamas to kill Carver, giving Elijah his revenge for Josephine's murder. A recovered Elijah later moves to the Hilltop with Maggie where he aids in the rebuilding efforts and acts as a perimeter guard. Elijah befriends Marco, a young man of similar age to him, and develops feelings for Lydia. Elijah later accompanies Maggie and Lydia to Riverbend where he plays a crucial role in the defeat of Toby Carlson and his forces, sneaking up on them while they are distracted by Aaron and Gabriel. Elijah later joins Maggie and Marco in fighting off Lance Hornsby's attacking forces, although Marco is killed and Maggie is abducted by Leah Shaw, the last of the Reapers, before Daryl rescues her and kills Leah.
In the third part, Elijah joins a supply mission to Oceanside in the wake of Lance's defeat alongside Aaron, Lydia and Jerry. Elijah and Lydia's feelings for each other grow deeper and deeper, although Lydia hesitates to act upon them out of the fear of losing someone else that she loves horribly. With Aaron's encouragement, Lydia finally kisses Elijah, and they start dating each other. However, their mission is interrupted by the discovery that Oceanside has been taken over by the Commonwealth and Luke and Jules joining the group. On the run from the Commonwealth Army, the group covers themselves in walker guts in order to hide in a nearby herd which is redirected by Commonwealth soldiers towards the Commonwealth itself. While trying to escape into an RV, Luke and Jules are swept away from the others and Elijah is separated from Lydia who is bitten in the arm trying to reach him. Although Luke and Jules and later Aaron and Lydia manage to make it to the Commonwealth with the herd, neither Elijah nor Jerry who went to find the others do, causing concern that they've perished. Finally, Elijah and Jerry rejoin the others at the Estates as the desperate Commonwealth citizens are let in while the herd approaches. Elijah assists in the efforts to lure the herd into the Estates and destroy it completely. A year later, Elijah is still together with Lydia, and they work as couriers between the communities.
Development and reception
Robert Balkovich reviewed the tenth season third part premiere "Home Sweet Home" and wrote that "he's a young man who does indeed look incredibly anxious about the danger they've found themselves in. For Elijah, the scary mask he wears is quite literally a cover to shield himself from the outside world. With it on, people are intimidated by him, but only because they can't see that underneath, he's the one who's terrified. Kelly gives him a quick pep talk, and later, Elijah shares some food with her to cement their budding friendship."[8] Jonathon Wilson for Ready Steady Cut commented that "More interesting than what Maggie left behind is what she brings with her, in the form of both allies and enemies. Her compatriot Elijah, who wears a fearsome mask, is of particular interest and is a good excuse for Kelly to become slightly distracted from her fervent though thus far unsuccessful search for her sister, Connie [...] Elijah wears the mask because he's also dealing with the loss of a sister and is, frankly, terrified of all the zombie shenanigans. It's easier to wear something that strikes fear in others, rather than reveal his own, which is a cool angle."[9] IGN critic Matt Fowler commented on the new additions to the show and said that "None of them look as cool though as Maggie's cohort, Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari), who seems to operate like The Walking Dead's Snake Eyes at this point, downing foes with Japanese kama blades."[10] Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club wrote that "I sort of admire the decision to take the mask-wearing question mark, Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari), and immediately reveal him to be nothing but a scared young man, hiding his trauma and fears behind his mysterious costume. And there's some potential to explore what sent the guy down this path [...] But it came across as uneven and jarring—suddenly the character we've seen do nothing but kick ass without batting a (metaphorical) eye gets too scared to move and needs a pep talk from Kelly? [...] It's not that it doesn't necessarily track for the character; it's that we don't know him at all, let alone well enough for it to play as meaningful in any real way."[11]
References
- ^ Wigler, Josh (November 19, 2020). "'Walking Dead' Enlists Robert Patrick as Extended Season 10 Details Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ Edwards, Chris (November 20, 2020). "The Walking Dead season 10 casts Cobra Kai star as the masked stranger". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ Flook, Ray (July 6, 2021). "The Walking Dead Season 11: Glenn Stanton Joins Cast; Princess Teaser". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ Lyles, Jeffrey (October 5, 2020). "The Walking Dead: A Certain Doom review S10 E16". Lyles Movie Files. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ Fowler, Matt (October 5, 2020). "The Walking Dead: Season 10 Episode 16 Review - 'A Certain Doom'". IGN. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ McLevy, Alex (October 4, 2020). "The Walking Dead brings the Whisperer war to a brisk, satisfying conclusion". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ Rys, Richard (October 5, 2020). "The Walking Dead Season Finale Recap: Delayed Gratification". Vulture. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- Looper.com. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ Wilson, Jonathon (February 22, 2021). "The Walking Dead season 10, episode 17 recap – "Home Sweet Home"". Ready Steady Cut. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Fowler, Matt (February 21, 2021). "The Walking Dead: Season 10, Episode 17 Review - "Home Sweet Home"". IGN. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ McLevy, Alex (February 28, 2021). "The Walking Dead welcomes back Maggie with its first bonus season 10 episode". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.