The Walking Dead, will Aaron continue down his dark path?

Aaron (Ross Marquand) has experienced some dark times recently on The Walking Dead. In the most recent episode, “Out of the Ashes,” we see a side of Aaron that is uncharacteristic. Did Carol help him snap out of the darkness, or is this only the beginning for Aaron?

The first time Aaron was introduced, he was a mild-mannered savior of people in need. He served as a recruiter for Alexandria, and his aid came at an opportune time for Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his group, who were without a home, food and water. He would observe groups he came upon and decide if they were worthy of residence within this beloved community.

Now that same community has suffered severe damage at the hands of the Whisperers, and its residents, including Aaron’s daughter Gracie, are on the brink of starvation. It is no wonder he took out his rage on the Whisperer at Hilltop.

But, Carol, speaking from personal experience, said that path is hard to come back from.

The Walking Dead, will Aaron continue down his dark path?

At the beginning of “Out of the Ashes,” we enter into a very dark dream that Aaron is having. He is visited by villains of Walking Dead past, including a Wolf, a Whisperer, a Savior, Mays and the ever-present walker. He is trying to save Gracie from all the bad things in this world as they close in on him.

The dream is very much like his reality as he shoulders the weight of responsibility for Alexandria’s repairs and food stores. Alexandria is most likely closest to Aaron’s heart as he is one of, if not the last, of the group who have been in the community since the beginning.

Carol’s intervention of Aaron’s torture of the Whisperer could be a wake-up call for him. But, with all he has endured and the PTSD he is experiencing, will we see a darker Aaron?

In an interview with TV Insider, Marquand made a very profound statement regarding Father Gabriel’s quick decision to kill Mays. This will most likely be a theme for Aaron moving forward in season 11.

"If a man of God and one of his best friends is so willing to give up on humans, should he adopt that same mentality for the betterment of our community? Is that the mindset he needs to have, moving forward?"

Aaron has always been the forgiving type, but the Aaron we see now is not in that mindset.

When Marquand talked to Winter is Coming, they spoke of the precedent for taking in strays and Rick’s philosophy that people can be saved. That it seems like the possibility of saving people is gone now, he stated:

"“So the idea of redemption and forgiveness and mercy is really, I think, the cornerstone of this last season. Can we move on? Can we be the good, forgiving, merciful people that we once were, or are we just going to adopt a sort of tribalistic mentality where if you’re not part of our group, we don’t want anything to do with you."

It will be interesting to see where Aaron’s story takes him. No one is safe just because this is the final season of the series. Will he come back to his old self before things go too far? Or are we just seeing the beginnings of dark Aaron?

Be sure to follow Undead Walking on Twitter to keep up on all The Walking Dead Universe news and sign up for our newsletter.