Following up after Negan and Lucille’s gloomy premier, the second episode of The Walking Dead, Season 7 revolves around another newcomer, King Ezekiel. In the beginning of the episode, Morgan meets up with the King’s merry men as they prepare to take an injured Carol back to the Kingdom for medical care.
During their journey, the men are attacked by walkers. As viewers, we see this through the eyes of The Walking Dead‘s Carol as she falls in and out of consciousness, still keen on making an escape. Carol, somewhat feverish from the gunshot wound, starts to see things that aren’t really there, or at least, aren’t represented properly.
Director Greg Nicotero Talks ‘The Well’
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, producer-director Greg Nicotero admits, “She’s sort of imaging the world alive and dead at the same time. It’s clear that Carol’s journey has been to try to get away from anybody that she cares about, because she doesn’t want to be forced to have to kill.”
With this in mind, she has flashbacks between the living and dead worlds. At first, it’s set up in a way that makes viewers feel as if she recalls the abandoned place and knows the people who are now walkers. Director Nicotero concludes that these two viewpoints sway due to her “internal struggle to determine which world she wants to live in.”
The Walking Dead‘s Carol accepted the possibility of death long ago and perhaps even acceptance in the last season of the show. It’s difficult to declare if she is suicidal in nature or simply acting as such out of pain from so many losses.
The Walking Dead’s Carol | Photo Credit AMCCarol’s Fever and Hallucinations
Ballistic trauma, or more simply a gunshot wound, is a physical trauma that can cause a series of life-long effects. Given the nature of this apocalyptic world, it’s likely that Carol is experiencing these issues due to fever, but it’s also possible that she has an infection from the wound itself.
These visual hallucinations in our world may involve seeing insects crawling on yourself or others, but in the world of the undead, the hallucinations are actually somewhat positive, seeing walkers as living beings. That positive false view on life, however, will get The Walking Dead‘s Carol killed in a world so dangerous.
It’s unlikely, even in the Kingdom, that Carol will receive the proper treatment, which will begin with an EEG or MRI to determine any physical cause for the symptoms. Instead, she will need to live with these hallucinations. Follow-up may include anti-seizure drugs, surgery, beta-blockers and all sorts of things Carol will never receive in her current state.
The Walking Dead’s Carol | Photo Credit AMC
What Carol does have, however, is Morgan and King Ezekiel. Despite the King’s power “on stage,” he sees something in Carol that makes him want to reveal the truth about his past. The King’s past makes viewers know that he is as powerful to his tribe as Rick or Negan are to their own gangs.
As Nicotero concludes,” I think he admires her and respects her and I think she admires and respects him as well. Because he gets her and she understands what he’s trying to do. She thinks it’s a little ridiculous what he’s doing, but there’s respect.” Through that mutual respect may be Carol’s chance to live on.
