The Walking Dead 915: Where does Carol go from here?

The Walking Dead 915 featured a great deal of loss for the entire cast of characters, but Carol was dealt one of the biggest blows of all. Where does she go from here?

Carol has been through so much since the zombie apocalypse began, and that’s saying a lot given that she’d been in an abusive marriage prior to the end of civilization. In The Walking Dead “The Calm Before” she suffers another loss, a big one, and the course of her trajectory could be impacted for some time to come.

Prior to “The Calm Before” there were fans who expected to see Ezekiel die (per comic book canon) or Henry (per all of the spoilers on the Internet). Regardless, either move would be brutal for Carol, who has lost so much already.

“The Calm Before” can be viewed as an episode that puts Carol through more torture with the loss of another child. The criticism is spot on. Carol has suffered a great deal, joining Michonne as the two women on the show who lost biological children (Sophia and Andre, respectively) and adopted children (Henry and Carl, respectively) over the course of the apocalypse.

While Michonne still has Judith and RJ, though, Carol just lost the only child she had left.

This is where the waters are about to get choppy.

Daryl’s actions, specifically to allow Lydia to stay with the group, are what triggered the attack on the Kingdom. Henry’s death is a giant middle finger to both Daryl and Lydia, courtesy of Alpha and Beta, who is still irked about the elevator shaft incident. Though Henry was Carol and Ezekiel’s son, his murder is a move meant to hurt Daryl and Lydia above everyone else.

Daryl is the one who grabs Carol on the hill to console her and keep her from falling apart, in a scene meant to remind fans of when Daryl comforted Carol after losing Sophia, and she goes willingly into his arms to receive that comfort. When she has time to think clearly, will she be able to look past the fact that the decision to rescue Lydia and allow her to stay is what led to Henry’s death? (In short, yes, she will.)

On the other hand, though Ezekiel is also suffering the loss of his child we know that Carol has a tendency to pull away from people when she’s suffering. With Henry gone, can Carol return to that life with the King? Will she be able to look into Ezekiel’s eyes and not see their past, where their son was alive? (Yes, she will)

Does Henry’s death galvanize her will to push forward, or does she retreat for a while? (Yes, it will. She’s Carol.)

Carol will not stop loving both men for who they are. However, my guess is that she’s not going to be able to be close to either man, at least not until she has time to heal. Couples who experience the loss of a child almost certainly experience changes and challenges in their relationship as everyone struggles to cope with the loss. The website Heal Grief says that “a bereaved couple may find it impossible to give comfort to each other when both are feeling an equal grief” when it comes to dealing with the loss of a child.

Carol has two men in her life who love her dearly, who would both lay down their lives for her. But Carol is trying to cope herself. Ezekiel and Daryl are also sorting out their feelings. And that means Carol might pull away from both of them for a while. Carol’s tendency is to focus her energy on action instead of reaction, so there’s a good chance revenge is on her mind. (Then again, the preview for the season finale shows the collapse of the Kingdom and a snowy trek across Whisperer territory, so she might not have time to grieve properly)

Through it all, fans are bound together by one common denominator: A love for Carol Peletier and all that she represents. As fans we want to see Carol happy. It’s going to take some time for her to be happy again after suffering this great loss, but as we have seen time and again it can happen. It must happen.

Carol needs time to heal, and moving forward it’s very likely that she could choose to do so alone, at least temporarily, pushing both Daryl and Ezekiel away from her until she can sort her feelings out. What happens after that is anyone’s guess, but one thing is absolutely clear: Melissa McBride has once again demonstrated that she is an incredible actress with her portrayal of Carol and all that Carol has been through across nine seasons of The Walking Dead.