I don’t know what it is about Wednesday’s, but I’ve been posting authorly stuff on Wednesdays. This isn’t by design, it just seems to work out that way.
I’ve written a fair number of characters at this point in my career. I’m not claiming to be an expert at anything, but I get compliments on my characters. Part of my secret is observation. I observe not just real people, but characters of other writers too. This includes performances by actors. I admit to being a little bit jealous of Carol Peletier.
If you don’t know the character, it’s because her last name is never used. I had to Google it myself. This is Carol from The Walking Dead television show. The comic book version had a different arc, and she is dead now.
TWD is a love/hate show. People seem to fall into one camp or the other. I’m going to beg the indulgence of any who don’t like the show, particularly the writers among the crowd. Carol is one of the best characters of all time. Let’s meet her.
Here she is; mousy, weak, worst haircut of all time. She is an abused wife, and mother to a daughter who needs protecting from Carol’s husband. She is portrayed by a wonderful actress named Melissa McBride.
I think it’s really cool that she’s mid to late 40’s. This isn’t Scarlet Johannsen, or Milla Jovovich. Now I love those super babes from the movies, but Carol breaks that mold. (How old was Bilbo Baggins when he set out from the Shire?)
This is a good thing. It adds some believability to an unbelievable setting. I figured Carol was cast to be someone emotional and eventually to become meat for zombies. (What’s known as a redshirt.)
Carol starts off cooking, doing laundry, and being the mommie to the survivors. Nobody is safe on this show, and she lost her husband. This was a good thing. She also lost her daughter, and this was bad. So we started with an underdog and put her through the ringer.
Humans live an almost tribal existence. There are no hospitals, jails, fire departments, or nursing homes in this environment. Some groups of people are bad, and others are in a similar situation to the main cast. Any single mistake could be your last mistake post appocolypse.
When the main cast finds a friendly place, it’s Carol who becomes the welcoming committee. This is who she wants to be. Doesn’t she look sweet? Almost grandmotherly. (Thank God hair continues to grow during the Zombie appocolypse.)
She pitches right in with the new people and plans barbecues. She checks on the sick and serves as a liaison to new friendships.
But Carol has been through some crap. She’s seen her daughter become a zombie, and watched as a friend killed her. She’s been attacked and had to defend herself. She learned to use weapons, because she had to. She also learned what she could about medicines and treats the sick.
In one segment there was a disease going around. When it became obvious that two people were not going to survive, it was Carol who delivered the mercy killings. This was out of mercy, and out of caution for those who were not yet sick. It’s an impossible world, but Carol seems to be the one capable of making impossible decisions.
That’s a great character. She has an arc, and manages to change to survive in a world gone mad. She even manages to save a little bit of grandmotherly Carol in the process. Why I love her is that she’s an even bigger character than that. You see this is Carol too:
Carol is a killing machine. There is a bit of the psychotic in her makeup. She isn’t completely psycho, because she is emotional about it. She simply reserves those emotions until trouble has ended. There isn’t a bit of emotion when she’s killing zombies or humans who really deserve it.
There is one episode, called The Grove. It’s so powerful it spawned a thousand internet memes. At this point in the program, Carol had adopted two girls. The story line took a bit of an Of Mice and Men turn, only it was one of the girls who wasn’t right. (+/- 12 years old.)
The older girl, Lizzie, wasn’t right. She killed her younger sister and said it would be okay, because she would come back. (They always come back, but as zombies.) Carol and another character, Tyrese, we’re looking for the main group. They both have responsibilities, like finding food. Plus there was a baby to care for. Lizzie couldn’t be left alone with the baby, ever.
Carol decided that Lizzie couldn’t be around other people. Remember there are no counsellors, or care facilities available. Check it out for yourselves:
I think this is one of the most powerful bits of film I’ve ever seen. It ranks right up there with the burning of Atlanta, and the shower scene in psycho.
This program is full of testosterone driven moments, and there are plenty of macho characters too. For me, it’s Carol that is the standout character. She doesn’t want to be this person. Circumstances force her to be what she is. Even if you disagree with her decisions, she has a logic behind every action.
Carol continues to get stronger and stronger. She doesn’t do ninja backflips. She doesn’t high kick her way out of trouble, or play the sex kitten. She doesn’t have some asinine catchphrase. She doesn’t try to stand behind the throne and manipulate power. She’s just Carol, trying to survive and make sure her friends survive too.
This week during what amounted to a Viking style raid by some other group, it was Carol who found the weapons and protected the innocent while the main support was afield. And she did it all in about as cold blooded fashion as I’ve ever seen.
Carol has evolved from mousey redshirt into a capable, even dangerous, survivor. She’s capable of making decisions others cannot, and never once asked to be in charge. That’s a great character arc, and I wish I’d have invented her first.
Authors need to be creative thieves. Stock Carol in your memory. Maybe some small piece of her can help you with your next character.
You’re right that they don’t use her last name that often, but I’m pretty sure someone called her Mrs. Peletier in the most recent episode. 🙂
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Nice seeing you over here again. How’s the job hunt going?
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The part where I apply for jobs is going swimmingly. The part where they call me back, not so much.
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I think we’ve all been there. They tend to ask for an interview when you get the most depressed and you have to act your way through. Best of luck.
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I haven’t watched any Walking Dead since the first season. Well, I catch episodes here and there when I can. So I’m not really aware of Carol beyond what the Internet and a friend tells me. It’s interesting that she’s evolved so much. I hear more about the death count, so it’s nice to hear that there is at least one character that is growing.
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Like a series, television benefits from a larger cast. It isn’t all about Carol, but you pay attention when she’s on. It might be a neat character study to find and watch the episode called The Grove.
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I remember reading about that if it’s what I think it is. I’m always curious how shows that deviate from the books turn out. Especially if the show will end before the series is completed. Do fans prefer whichever finale comes first or is there more of an even split? Though I might be thinking more of Game of Thrones here.
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I’ve never read the comic. It’s simple to watch the show, but I study it as I watch. I take it and GOT as standing apart from the original versions. I kind of feel like I’ve learned all I can from GOT. I only watch it for a couple of characters now.
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Think a lot of people do that since only a few of the big ones are still alive. A downside to having every character on the chopping block appears to be very little connection.
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It is a downside. Lots of people stopped watching one of these shows because a favorite character died off. It’s almost like the main character is the setting and not the humans.
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And that doesn’t always go over well on TV. This is probably why certain characters are becoming untouchable. I mean, imagine if Daryl gets killed off.
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There would be riots if Daryl left the show.
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It’s funny because he’s not in the books as far as I know.
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That’s what I heard. I haven’t read them.
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I’m not a fan of the show. I know, everyone raves about. My neighbors are addicted beyond belief. Matter of fact, several cast members follow me on Twitter, which I had absolutely no reaction to. All that said, it was a powerful scene, and I can see why you’d love her.
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There is so much depth to this character that I’d watch it as educational programming. I enjoy the show though.
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That episode on Sunday was INSANE! lol I love the character of Carol and Melissa McBride is such a talented actress 🙂
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She had her game face on this week, that’s for sure. Just when I think I have her pegged, she surprises me. It’s not in an improbable way, or forced either.
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I don’t watch it, but of course I see the memes all over the place. And zombies, all over the place. So many zombies. I really don’t like zombies. They’re scary.
I think it’s cool you shared your crush with us.
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If someone comes up with zombies and giant squid together you’ll have a blast.
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LOL Now YOU’RE scary!
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A zombie giant squid this season?
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Carol’s my favorite character. I found your take on her persona in Alexandria interesting. My husband and I, as well as the friends I discuss the show with all believe Carol is “putting on” the role she’s playing in Alexandria to stay under the radar of the townspeople. After Woodbury it made sense that the group wouldn’t reveal everything about themselves until they felt Alexandria was safe. Carol is the ultimate strong woman in my mind – doing what must be done whether or not she likes it. I love hearing Melissa McBride talk about her character on The Talking Dead too.
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I think there is a certain amount of putting on, and she’s hinted at such with other cast members. Deep down inside, I believe this is who she really wants to be. Nobody asked for the world to end, and it reflects how Carol saw her life heading before it all went sour. It’s almost like her zen place.
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Good points. And she does seem to enjoy the return to a semblance of normal.
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I read your post loosely because I still haven’t watched this show, and I want to avoid spoilers. I’m not much of a zombie fan, but it’s my husband’s favorite show, so I think I’ll give it a go sometime. Your post has encouraged me to do so even more.
Carol sounds like a great character. I’ll have to ask my hubs about her!
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I’d like to know what he thinks. There are other characters worth cheering on, but this one has something to teach me.
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One, let’s remember she took out Terminus with a rifle and a bottle rocket–more or less.
Two, three alumni of The Walking Dead were in the movie “The Mist”: Laurie Holden (Andrea), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale), and Melissa McBride (Carol). Melissa’s part was simply to leave the store and get her kids, and everyone figures she’s gonna die. At the end of the movie, Laurie is dead, Jeffrey is dead–and we wee Melissa and her kids riding along on the back of a 6x. Coincidence????
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Never write her off, and don’t look at the flowers.
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I wonder how the “Flowers” scene would have played out for people at home if they’d done it like in the comic–with Carl shooting the kid in the face because the adults couldn’t make up their minds about what to do.
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I don’t think it would have worked that well. Carol had credit in our emotional bank. Carl isn’t exactly loved.
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It would have been far colder. It’s really how the scene played out, with the adults arguing over what to do with a psychotic kid, and a nine year old (in the comic) realizing the only thing to do was get rid of the kid.
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I thought this week’s episode was very good–and it did not include the usual “badass” characters. Afterward, I thought about how much I like Carol, and how her character has really evolved. I totally agree with you. And I loved the touch of Carl taking her casserole out of the oven at the end. 🙂
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Also, don’t mess with Carol’s casserole dish.
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Very true!
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Well you convinced me, and I’m not even into that stuff!
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Oh and awesome wallpaper behind your blog, btw!
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Thanks, I try. No idea what to do for November.
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You’ll think of something. You always do. What did you do last November?
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I think it was turkey tracks in the snow. I don’t feel limited by the holidays now, so I may find a science fiction or fantasy background.
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I’ll look forward to seeing it
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She is just so wonderfully complex. Unusual choice for a heroine too.
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Not a show I would ever watch, but nice to know the writers are getting some things right.
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I have to admit I’ve never seen an episode of this show, but it sounds intense and I know it has a lot of fans. For me, whether it’s books or TV, it’s all about the characters that keep me hooked!
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There are many like you. I also relate to characters. Some folks like the setting, or the science, but characters are very important to me.
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