Season 8 of The Walking Dead has been a wild one. With All Out War against Negan at full tilt, the first handful of episodes have been chock full of heart pounding action sequences and gun fights. And while this has been an interesting change of pace for TWD, it's also prevented more intimate and calming character driven scenes to show up in the new season. Fan favorite character Carol has spent the majority of her scenes with King Ezekiel and his militia, but we haven't gotten much of a glimpse into how their personal relationship has progressed in Season 7. Luckily, actress Melissa McBride recently spoke to Carol's opinion about Ezekiel. Turns out, she's totally into his bonkers performance based personality.
It's endearing, and it's a hopefulness that not a lot of the characters feel much anymore. That deep down, genuine hopefulness. Also, I think she was just endeared by him at the beginning. Once he took his guard down, once he pulled the Ezekiel The King mask off... You know, she wears her own masks, and her going into battle is the one she's wearing right now. And the King, he's putting it on in front of her when other people are around, so she understands that sometimes you have to play this character in order to survive the moment, and it's kind of what he falls back into. He feels powerful as the king. He feels a familiarity with who he was. It's what he holds onto. He was the actor in the theater, that piece of him, and she understands that, and of course she's endeared by that.
Melissa McBride's comments to Comic Book no doubt help illuminate where Carol's head is at in the new season. After spending the past year or so attempting to hide from people, Carol is back in the game for the battle against Negan. And this includes hanging around King Ezekiel as he puts on his over the top voice.
That being said, Carol knows what its like to wear a mask, which Melissa McBride also points out. Part of what makes Carol such a deadly survivor of the apocalypse is her ability to slip into a weak and helpless character when it suits her. Even the biggest villains will often give Carol pause, which allows her the moment to get the upper hand and take them out. We saw this when the group first got to Alexandria, as well as her interactions with the Saviors. And since Ezekiel actually lowered his facade to speak with the Cookie Lady, she respect the truth in his lie.
It should be interesting to see how The Walking Dead continues developing Ezekiel and Carol's relationship. She's also shared flirtations with Morgan and Daryl, so fans are eager to see Carl have some love in her life.
The Walking Dead is currently airing its eight season on AMC. Check out our fall premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
