The Walking Dead: 5 moments that transformed Carol

The Walking Dead’s Carol Peletier is an original character from season 1, and she has experienced some major transformation since then.

At the beginning of The Walking Dead, when Carol Peletier is first introduced, she and her family are traveling with our original Atlanta group. Throughout the series, Carol endured many moments that transformed her from a beaten-down woman to a fantastic leader who isn’t afraid to take chances to keep her group safe.

In season 1, Carol is a beaten down shell of a woman. Her husband was extremely abusive and did whatever he could to keep her down. Fast forward to season 10 and that shell of a woman has turned into someone who takes a leadership role and owns it. She isn’t afraid to take risks to ensure the safety of her family.

It wasn’t an easy road, and Carol endured more than most people ever face in a lifetime. She met each tragedy with strength and showed what a strong woman is capable of being. Here are five moments that transformed Carol into the woman she has become in season 10.

Ed’s Death

Right before Ed’s death, Shane had beaten him to a pulp for the mistreatment of Carol. But, Carol being the dutiful wife, still tried to take care of Ed after he was beaten. That same night Ed is attacked by walkers and killed. After the attack, Daryl was going to ensure that Ed didn’t reanimate by giving him a pick-ax to the head, but Carol takes the ax and proceeds to take all the pain and suffering Ed had caused her out on his corpse. This was a significant turning point for her on the road to becoming one badass woman in this series.

Sophia

In season 1, Carol’s husband Ed abuses her physically as well as mentally. Their daughter Sophia is the only thing that kept Carol going. She knew she had to survive to protect Sophia from her father.  When Ed gets killed by a walker, Carol is finally free from his abuse that she can focus on keeping herself and her daughter alive.

When Sophia goes missing, it is devastating to Carol. Even in the cruel world, they found themselves in Carol was going to be able to focus on what was most important to her, Sophia.  The moment Sophia walked out of the barn as a walker Carol’s life would never be the same. She drew back into herself and didn’t know how to go on.

Carol, Mika, and Lizzie

By the time our group settled in at the prison, Carol had gotten stronger and had transitioned well after the loss of Sophia and the farm. She had taken Mika and Lizzie under her wing and started to teach all of the children to protect themselves with weapons. After the fall of the prison, she lost track of the girls, but luckily Tyreese had Mika, Lizzie, and Judith. Lizzie started to show some strange behaviors, and Carol became worried about her. Eventually, Carol had to not only deal with the loss of Mika at the hands of Lizzie but also had to kill Lizzie because of her unstable actions and behaviors. This was not an easy task for Carol, and once again, she had to deal with a significant loss.

Rick banishes Carol

When sickness breaks out in the prison, everyone is on edge and fearful of how quickly it was spreading. Carol took it upon herself to kill two people because they were sick. Her intentions were good, but this was not the proper way to handle it. Rick eventually decided to banish her from the group because he feels the others won’t want her around, and he is unsure he wants her around his children. This is another moment that didn’t break her down. She even went so far as to stick her neck out to save the group at Terminus.

Beth’s Death

In season 5, Carol is hit by a car and taken to the hospital where Beth is living. Beth does everything she can to ensure Carol’s survival. When the hostage exchange starts to take place, Carol is being wheeled out in a wheelchair. When Beth gets shot, the look of horror on Carol’s face is heartbreaking. Carol lost the person who just saved her life. And Beth was dear to her best friend, Daryl. This moment was brief, but it affected Carol deeply for the loss of one friend and the pain it caused another.

Carol might not always do the popular thing or even the right thing, but her intentions are usually good. Sometimes you might have no idea where her mind is in what she is doing, but most of them, in the end, the things she does work out for good.

What are your favorite Carol transformation moments from AMC’s The Walking Dead? Let us know in the comments below.