If you ever go back and watch earlier episodes of The Walking Dead, it’s always fun to see how much some of the characters have grown and evolved over the seasons. Perhaps the one character that stands out the most is Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride). Wife of the abusive Ed Peletier and mother of Sophia, Carol was more like someone’s shadow and not really there for nearly all of season one and a good deal of season two. Even though Ed was long dead, Carol was still playing the wife role, cooking and cleaning, and really had no substantial fighting skills early on, so much that if it hadn’t been for Andrea and Daryl in the season two finale when Hershel’s farm was overrun, she’d probably be dead.

Going into season 3, that is when things started to change for Carol. She learned to fight, she learned to shoot better, and even by Merle Dixon’s (Michael Rooker) own admission, she was no longer the “quiet mouse” afraid of her own shadow. Even still, it had been rumored that the writers really hadn’t thought about doing much else with her character, and the plan was to kill her off in season 3 (actually in the episode “Killer Within” where we thought she had been killed but was actually saved by T-Dog). Still Carol survived, and by the time the beginning of season 4 rolled around, it was clear that there was a new vision for Carol and a major overhaul was in the works.

Say “Hello” to Carol Peletier 2.0

Right out of the gate in the season 4 premiere, we were able to see the changes immediately, with Carol teaching the children at the prison how to use knives — something that the battered-wife Carol would never have done. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Given that we may have to defend ourselves against walkers at any time, probably a good thing, but at the same time, I think it made viewers start to wonder about Carol’s state of mind.

However, the big reveal came mid-season when Rick (Andrew Lincoln) confronted Carol and asked whether she killed Karen and David, which she freely admitted to. This was major — I mean huge — and it was the one event that altered Carol’s course forever in Rick’s group and on The Walking Dead in general. While Rick never outed Carol, he did make clear that he wanted her gone, and he went on to say that if something happened and it were just him, Carol, Carl, and Judith, he wouldn’t have her around. In other words, Rick saw her as unstable, untrustworthy, and a general liability to the group.

Of course, things changed and started to look up once again for Carol in the season 5 premiere with her being the hero and saving the entire group at Terminus. Even though she had been exiled and pretty much thrown away, as we saw in last night’s episode “Consumed” she returned to help at the first sign the group was in trouble. Without Carol’s assistance at Terminus, no doubt most — if not all — of the group would be dead, which Rick immediately recognized and invited Carol to return. But, why did Rick do it? Did he really think that perhaps Carol did the right thing by killing Karen and David, or did he simply do it out of gratitude or because he felt obligated?

What does the future hold for Carol?

And, perhaps the bigger question is there still a future for Carol in Rick’s group? While I think most of the viewers have grown to love Carol (myself included), the truth is the last couple of episodes have given strong hints that the answer is “no.” Let’s think about this. First, Carol isn’t stupid. It doesn’t take a genius to know that Rick probably allowed her to come back only because he felt like he owed her, not because he truly changed his position and now trusts her. And, it seems pretty clear that Carol knows this too because she was all packed and ready to leave at the end of the episode “Four Walls and a Roof.” Rick knows what she did, everyone else knows what she did. Can you really rise above that and have things completely go back to normal? I suppose it’s a possibility but as Tyreese (Chad Coleman) said in “The Grove,” you can forgive but you never forget.

Another thing we saw in last night’s episode is Carol’s abusive past is still vivid in her mind. When she and Daryl arrive in Atlanta, the first place she thinks to go to is the women’s shelter, and when she gets there, the memories of her and Sophia being there come rushing back and even more so when she sees the mother and child walkers. If you know anything about physical abuse victims, often times one of the best therapies is helping other people. It’s not uncommon for these women to end up working themselves at women’s shelters, hospitals, and the like because such jobs help to promote the healing process. Can Carol really find something like that while being a part of Rick’s group? No, not really because at this point in time, the group no longer has a home and is all about surviving. The group may eventually find another safe haven (and, if they follow the comics, they will fairly quickly), but today, this is the reality that Carol sees. And, to really move forward, I truly believe Carol needs more than that.

So, what about Grady Memorial?

I personally thought the Grady Memorial storyline showed up at a very opportune time with respect to Carol and what was going on her life, and I wonder if it may end up having more significance than we realize just yet. Was it just me or did Carol seem a little quick to offer up Grady Memorial when Daryl pointed out the gurney in the white van in last night’s episode? (and, we know there is another hospital — St. Ignatius — in the area) Could it be that Carol had been a patient at Grady Memorial for injuries sustained from her abuse by Ed? And, if so, do you think she might know Dr. Edwards (Erik Jensen)?

And, every time I think about Carol and Grady Memorial, if you take away some of the psycho security guards, I actually think Carol could flourish in a setting like that. Remember, everyone at Grady Memorial started out with good intentions — just wanting to help people. That vision was corrupted by a few testosterone-driven males who saw it as an opportunity to exert power over people who were weaker. Take away all of that and I think you have a place where Carol could help people, have a purpose, and move on from the abuse (and from the misguided decisions she made while in Rick’s group).

I personally like this possibility, and if I had my druthers, I would prefer to see it turn out this way, even if it means saying good-bye to Carol (at least for the time being — she could always return at a later time). I think she could find peace and happiness, and in this crazy world of the zombie apocalypse, that is definitely something.

The other possibility (and I really don’t think the Carol fans out there will like this one) is Carol not making it out of the hospital alive, potentially laying down her life in order to save someone else. And, I think it’s something Carol would do if needed in a heartbeat. We haven’t had a major death on The Walking Dead in a while, and given that everyone got off scot-free at Terminus, the odds are against everyone surviving the hospital standoff which is pretty much inevitable. Daryl is close to both Carol and Beth, and I think the chances of one of them not making it is pretty high.

Regardless of how things go down, just remember that Carol will be a hero — albeit broken — either way. If she goes out in a blaze of glory at the hospital, no doubt it will be so that someone else can live. And, if something else happens like her deciding to stay at the hospital, keep in mind that she will be helping people, she’s doing what she needs to do to survive, and at the end of day, she’s leaps and bounds above the small, weak character that has become only a memory in the far-distant past.

The Walking Dead airs on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

 

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