The Chi Season 8 killed off Pastor Zeke (Daniel J. Watts) off-screen, and it's largely due to his past street ties and money-driven mistakes. Paramount+'s hit drama series is in its final season, and it pulled off a shocker after it confirmed Zeke's death by featuring an opening sequence highlighting his funeral at the Church of the Living Water.
Introduced in The Chi Season 6, Pastor Zeke was Kenya's father and the pastor of a megachurch that served as a rival to Pastor Stanley Jackson's worldview. Initially portrayed as a corrupt pastor, Zeke later experienced some form of redemption after reconnecting with his family and began making amends for his past wrongdoings.
What Happened to Zeke Before The Chi Season 8 Premiere
Before his tragic death off-screen in The Chi, Pastor Zeke was in a phase of attempted redemption and personal recovery, which was vastly different from how Season 6 portrayed him as a corrupt pastor who manipulated the church's funds into paying large sums as part of an expansive monetary laundering scheme.
On top of his money-driven ideals, Zeke was also involved in an open marriage with his wife, Tatiana, which led him to have an affair with Sarah, whom he was also using to gain access to another powerful pastor and expand his network. The Chi Season 6 also confirmed that Zeke works side by side with Douda, with Zeke being eyed as a replacement for Pastor Jackson (who was no longer willing to be Douda's puppet).
Following Douda's shocking death in The Chi Season 6, it changed everything for Zeke, forcing him to reflect on his own mistakes. Season 7 completely introduced a new status quo for Zeke, with him allowing Charles (his former assistant) to step into the role of assistant pastor after he blackmailed his way back into the church.
Zeke's personal life turned upside down after his wife's affair with Jake was exposed by Remi, and his followers questioned his relationship with Sarah, a white woman, and also his secretary. The backlash forced him to step back, leading him to reach out to the 63rd Street Mob leader Nuck.
Zeke became Nuck's spiritual advisor in exchange for financial support and protection, but this decision marked the beginning of his downfall. Nuck was a dangerous man; he outright confessed to Zeke that he was committing violent acts while donating large sums of money to the church. All of this was happening while Zeke was trying to reconnect with his ex-wife, Carolyn, and working on mending family ties.
By the later episodes and the finale, it was clear as day that Zeke was genuinely trying to change, but his connection to Nuck and his shady financial dealings left him vulnerable and led to his eventual death.
How Did Pastor Zeke Die In The Chi? What We Know
In between The Chi Seasons 7 and 8, Zeke was killed, but the Season 8 premiere confirmed that Nuck was the one who murdered him.
During a conversation between Papa and Zeke's ex-wife, Carolyn, in The Chi Season 8, Episode 1, Carolyn believed that Nuck ordered the hit on Zeke after she revealed that the police wanted the pastor's cooperation in Nuck's shady money-laundering dealings involving the church.
Carolyn: "The police--they wanted info on one of the guys he was counseling."
Papa: "Who?"
Carolyn: "Nuck."
Papa: "Was he gonna snitch on him?"
Carolyn: "I guess we'll never know."
Papa: "You think Nuck did this?"
Carolyn: "I know he did."
It remains to be seen if Nuck killed Zeke himself or if he ordered someone else to do it. Interestingly, the episode recap at the beginning of Season 8 revealed Zeke and Nuck's final conversation, strongly suggesting that it was indeed Nuck who killed Pastor Zeke.
Who Killed Pastor Zeke?
At the latter part of The Chi Season 8 premiere, Papa confided to a friend that he was sure Nuck killed Zeke, noting that it came from a "reliable source." It was unclear whether this "source" was Carolyn or whether he was just using this information to gain more intel on what really happened to Zeke, given how close they were in the past.
The Chi Season 8, Episode 1 eventually confirmed that Nuck was responsible for Zeke's death, noting that he did so because he couldn't risk Zeke confessing his crimes to the FBI.
Nuck believed that Zeke would flip on him, noting that "everybody has a price." This explained why Nuck (who also killed Iman Shumpert's Rob) was hellbent on keeping Zeke silent to protect his freedom.
The abrupt end to Zeke's journey in The Chi delivered a strong message that the character's entanglement in dirty deeds would come back to haunt them one way or another, even if they chose a path of redemption in the latter part of their lives. Zeke chased power, money, and influence through morally compromised means, much like other street-tied characters who don't survive.
