Carol is back on the fighting lines in The Walking Dead, but she won’t be there for long. Carol has taken on a lot of Michonne’s comic book storyline; we have our suspicions where the show is taking the character’s story.
In The Walking Dead show, we’ve seen Carol slowly unravel in Alexandria. She became a person she didn’t recognize. Carol had a moment to reflect on all the people she killed and it started to weigh on her conscience. She doesn’t want to kill anymore. She wants to live a life of peace, but knows she can’t do that as long as she feels the need to protect people. So she decides to stay in The Kingdom and try to live as peacefully as possible.
It doesn’t work for long. Carol quickly finds out that Alexandria isn’t safe as long as Negan lives. Carol learned Negan killed Glenn and Abraham in front of Maggie and Sasha. She reverted back to the Carol who’s ready to fight and she will. Carol will do everything she can to keep Alexandria safe, but she won’t necessarily go back to living with Rick’s crew.
In The Walking Dead comics, Michonne goes through a similar rough patch with Alexandria. She falls in love with King Ezekiel -- though she has a hard time admitting her feelings -- and goes on several fishing trips. She’ll be gone for weeks because it gives her peace. Michonne is Rick’s best friend and he’ll let her know how much he misses being around her. Unlike Andrea, Rick’s comic book love interest, Michonne understands the deep loss of a spouse. Michonne and Rick both went a little mad after their spouses died; they both would speak to their loved ones as if they were physically right in front of them. It was hard for them to let go, but that connection brought them closer.
Carol and Rick don’t necessarily have that connection, but there are parallels in Michonne’s comic book story. Carol and Rick definitely have a complex relationship. He didn’t really understand her need to kill people threatening the group until he had to do it himself. Comic book Rick doesn’t understand why Michonne wants to constantly leave him, until he sees how happy she is being on her own.
There’s about a two-year time jump between the first fight with Negan in the All Out War storyline, which we saw in The Walking Dead Season 7 finale. During this time jump, the other communities band together and really start to thrive. They stop giving Negan resources and focus on building themselves. There are fights that break out, but Negan and Rick really take their time to plot their moves.
Neither Negan nor Rick can afford these gunfights. You can’t run thriving communities without people. The more people each side loses, the fewer people they have to create resources. During the time jump, Michonne also gets the break she needs. She doesn’t like feeling connected to people because she scared what that means for her. Like comic book Michonne, Carol is ready to connect with others. We’re sure to see pirate Carol sail the seas looking for goods. She needs these small moments of peace to be okay with the horrific things she’s done.
Where do you think the show is taking Carol’s story? Do you think there are parallels between comic book Michonne and tv Carol? Let us know in the comments below. The Walking Dead Season 8 premieres on AMC this October.
