Is crafty Carol going to take down another post-apocalyptic community on The Walking Dead? After single-handedly destroying Terminus in the first episode of Season 5, we are going to see what Carol and Daryl have been up to, and whether or not Carol is faking her injuries. At the end of "Slabtown," we saw that Carol ended up in Grady Memorial Hospital with Beth, so Nov. 16's episode "Consumed" should show us how she got there. And, you know, if how she arrived there on a gurney was an elaborate plan created by Daryl and Carol — or if she's really hurt.
Carol's apocalypse résumé really makes her the most perfect person to penetrate the hospital while feigning an injury. The only issue is that Dawn and her lackeys seem pretty thorough. So if getting into the hospital was part of the plan with Daryl, she could have actually gotten hurt doing it. But if her injuries are fake, she's definitely the woman to pull off a covert mission like this. It's not really in the skill set of Daryl, Rick, or Michonne to play hurt. Could you imagine Michonne letting those assholes at Grady Memorial touch her without popping off? Daryl would have to crossbow some people. And Rick... well, Rick not only couldn't keep his cool that long, he'd have to tell those people he was there to kill them — and then tell them how he was going to kill them.
After the Season 5 premiere, we know that Carol can handle the pressure of deceiving a hoard of zombies — so, what're a few people? We've seen Carol's character develop tremendously over the seasons and the Carol that exists in Season 5 is very different from the Carol in Season 1. That's not to say she hasn't always been a survivor; she has overcome domestic abuse, the loss of her only child, and not to mention the freakin' zombie apocalypse. It's sad to say that if she hadn't lost her family then she might not be as capable of the horrific actions she has had to do, but all of her personal tragedies have definitely contributed to the badass she is today.
Whether you agreed with Carol's move to preemptively kill and burn the bodies of Karen and David at the prison, it was a calculated decision that she did in order to try to save the rest of the group. (I can see what she was doing in theory, but the sickness spread anyway. And, you know, she probably shouldn't have murdered people without consulting the group. It wasn't a Caroltatorship.) But the killing of Lizzie was absolutely the right call (as awful as it was). I mean, you really can't have a child psychopath running around when you have to worry about zombies 24/7.
So we know Carol isn't afraid to get her hands (literally) dirty. But even if her injuries are real, she still has the upper (dirty) hand (as long as she isn't seriously injured) since she knows these people have captured Beth and she knows Daryl knows where she is too. And hey, while we're seeing some old fashioned Daryl and Carol bonding, do we think any sparks will fly between my favorite Walking Dead 'ship in "Consumed"?
The preview clip AMC released for the episode doesn't show any sexual tension (and offers almost zero answers to any questions). So, I'm going to say they're a bit too busy for romance at this time. But in the promo video below, we at least get a better idea of where Carol and Daryl end up — and they definitely look like they're scouting the outside of the hospital.
My guess is they follow the car with the cross to outside of Atlanta and discover the hospital. They try to concoct a plan to get inside, and then Daryl and Carol get separated. Whether that is by design or not is yet to be seen. I can't imagine Daryl leaving Carol and Beth in the hospital to go back to the church, especially if Carol was hurt. But if it's all part of a plan and she's faking it, then he has put his full trust into Carol saving Beth from the inside while he goes to Rick for backup.
All I know is that with all that Carol has gone through, she better not be taken down by those jerks at that hospital. She's too damn good for that and deserves better.
Images: Gene Page/AMC; thewalkinggifs, walkerswhowalk, iheartnorman/Tumblr
