Opinion: Carol will fly solo in The Walking Dead season 10

After suffering so much loss in season 9, Carol will be on the road to recovery in The Walking Dead season 10 and that means focusing on her needs first.

The Walking Dead season 10 will be a journey for Carol. Carol has been through so much, from losing Henry to living in proximity to the daughter of her son’s killer. She lost her husband and she’s back with her friends in Alexandria. Daryl is there to support her. Michonne knows what it’s like to lose children. She has a good support system in place, so now Carol needs to focus on healing herself.

Prior to The Walking Dead season finale episode “The Storm” I wrote an article about Carol and where she stood after losing Henry. Many fans speculated that Carol was going to go full “clear” mode and take out Alpha, but in my article I proposed that she was going to pull away from Ezekiel and probably Daryl, too.

In my research I learned that many marriages struggle after the loss of a child because grief manifests differently for each person. Carol has certainly lost a lot: She lost Sophia, she was forced to kill Lizzie, she saw Sam die and now she lost Henry. Ezekiel also lost a lot. He never forgot Benjamin’s death, and losing Henry was a massive blow for the King. It crippled him. Both Ezekiel and Carol were dealing with their grief and in the process they were moving apart. Whether they ever come back together again remains to be seen.

Now that her marriage is over, Carol is back in Alexandria with her friends. She has made her peace with Lydia, which should alleviate some of the tension she felt with Daryl. It’s very likely that Daryl will give Carol the space she needs to heal, and from there we’ll see what happens.

First and foremost it’s important for Carol to have the time she needs to heal from this ordeal. She has suffered enough, honestly. And making decisions about the future, especially during moments of intense grief and sadness, is never a good idea. (Rebound relationships, am I right?)

Carol needs time to heal. That way when she’s ready to seek revenge she will be the focused, lethal and badass warrior we know and love. And it also means that if/when she decides to focus on relationships it will be the right time for it.

The Walking Dead returns for season 10 in Fall 2019.