The Walking Dead: 7 Scenes That Were Too Extreme For TV
5. Carol Commits Suicide By Zombie (Vol. #7: The Calm Before)
I really hope you like me.
The transition from comic book to television show isnt always easy; in fact, its historically been pretty awful outside of animated programming. Anyone remember the Flash television series that ran one season from 1990-1991? Didnt think so. One of the ways the Walking Dead has managed to succeed where others have failed is by tweaking characters to maximize their on-camera potential (e.g., the expansion of Shane).
Carol Peletier is not one of those characters.
The mercurial Carol we met in issue #3 is far-removed from the sterile, at times catatonic Carol of the hit television show. Of course, Comic Book Carol (CBC) also didnt watch her husband and daughter both die, and she certainly never developed into the physical force capable of protecting the camp, which did happened in this past season.
From her introduction in Days Gone By until her passing in The Calm Before, CBC was vocal about her fear of being alone. Her relationship with Tyreese quelled that fear briefly, but the honeymoon period didnt last much further than their groups arrival at The Prison.
CBC was an emotional wreck after the split, resorting to self-harm before seeking confidence in Lori Grimes while their children, Sophia and Carl, played around various parts of The Prison. As her fears of fatalistic solitude increased, so did her emotional reliance on Lori and her husband.
Tensions built around the group. The new world theyd inherited had brought new problems, but few solutions. As the group deliberated about adjusting laws to reflect their present situation, CBC made an ill-timed proposition: polygamous relationships should be socially acceptable, starting with her inclusion in Rick and Loris marriage. Lori rejected her declaration harshly, spiraling CBC into her greatest depression yet.
After making her piece with Lori, and having one last fling with a willing teenage boy, CBC made her way down to the prisons main courtyard. The survivors had kept a zombie restrained there for a few days, hoping to study it for scientific purposes, though not without much internal debate. Even Ricks calculated caution hadnt planned for a potential suicide by zombie.
CBC rambled desperately during her approach. Tired of judgmental eyes, tired of whispers about her self-inflicted cuts and unconventional intimate fantasies, just plain tired; CBC viewed the zombies cold gaze as a reprieve from judgment, from bias, declaring, I hope you like me, before allowing the creature to feast on her.
The group arrived quickly, though they were too late to save her. Theyd always been too late.