The Walking Dead creator reveals original plans for Carol where she fed herself to zombies in tragic suicide
FAN favourite The Walking Dead character Carol nearly met a bitter end in the years that followed the zombie apocalypse.
Carol (Melissa McBride) has arguably grown more than any other protagonist on the show, developing from a cowed, scared wife to one of the most fearsome warriors among the allied communities.
The zombie virus outbreak saw Carol leave an abusive marriage and lose her beloved daughter Sophia, turning points that saw a colder, more formidable persona take hold.
More recently, Carol lost adopted son Henry to leader of The Whisperers Alpha (Samantha Morton) and the grief saw her spiral into a dark place.
She suffered from hallucinations and even endagered the lives of her friends by recklessly pursuing revenge at all costs.
However, her efforts ultimatelty proved to be fruitful after she set Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) free from Alexandria's jail and taked him with inifltrating The Whisperers and murdering Alpha.
MORE ON THE WALKING DEAD
He carried out his orders and presented her with Alpha's severed head, ultimately setting in motion Beta (Ryan Hurst) marching a herd of walkers on Hilltop's newly-homeless population.
However, Carol's pivotal role in the show would have been eradicated if TV bosses had followed the path laid out by Robert Kirkman, who created the comics upon which the show is based.
During a Q&A hosted by Hey Fandom! he was asked if there are any storylines the TV adaptation did better than the graphic novels.
Kirkman said it happens "all the time" and stressed there was no better example than Carol.
What's on Netflix and Amazon Prime?
Looking for a new Netflix series to binge or the best movies to watch on Amazon Prime? We have you covered...
- New on Netflix: The best series and films released every day
- The best movies on Netflix to watch right now
- The best series to watch on Netflix
- The most terrifying horrors to watch on Netflix right now
- The best documentaries to watch on Netflix right now
- The best comedies to watch on Netflix right now
- The best thrillers to watch on Netflix right now
- The best kids' shows on Netflix to watch right now
- The best movies to watch on Amazon Prime
- The best series to watch on Amazon Prime
"I think that the biggest one is probably Melissa McBride's entire arc," he explained.
"I think everything that we've done with the Carol character in the show is leaps and bounds way better than anything that we did with Carol in the comic book series. But there's a lot, I think."
Carol was killed off in issue 41, where in a state of manic despression she offered her neck to a chained zombie, letting it infect her.
She goes on to die and reanimate as a walker, before being shot by Andrea.
Suffice to say this would have been quite the anti-climax given how steely and fearless Carol has since proven herself to be.
Carol wasn't the only character to get a more generous edit on TV - Kirkman said Morgan (Lennie James) was in the same boat.
"Morgan's character, the stuff we did with Lennie James in the show, I think is far superior to what we did [in the comics]," Kirkman added.
He said the same of the villainous Governor (David Morrissey), who he claimed was "more humane" on screen.
Most read in Drama
"He's a more well-rounded character in the show, we got into his backstory and kind of what makes him tick a little bit more in the television show," he concluded.
Kirkman's comments come after fans of the show called out a plot hole with Carol's daughter Sophia, who was discovered in Hershel's barn after being bit by walkers.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
She was ultimately taken out by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), but not before viewers noticed some irritating continuity errors.
The Walking Dead is avaibale to stream on NOW TV, Netflix and Amazon Prime.