The cliffhanger ending of The Walking Dead midseason finale left a handful of characters in dire straits by trapping them in a cave with Alpha’s zombie horde. Throughout the episode, Carol (Melissa McBride) was determined to find Alpha’s herd of zombies, but it turned out to be in an unexpected place. The episode left viewers wondering which characters will make it out of the cave alive.
In The Walking Dead season 10, episode 8, titled “The World Before,” Gamma (Thora Birch) seemingly turns on Alpha (Samantha Morton) by giving up the horde’s location to Aaron (Ross Marquand). Later, Carol and Daryl (Norman Reedus) take a group of survivors into the woods to find the horde. As they search for it, they discover that Gamma’s information was wrong. After catching a glimpse of Gamma, Carol gives chase without giving it a second thought. As a result, Carol, Daryl, and the others end up falling straight into a neatly-laid trap by Alpha.
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The episode ends with Carol, Daryl, and the others trapped in the cave with a gigantic herd of zombies. The episode’s ominous ending calls into question the fates of the characters gathered in the cave, as not everyone present is a series regular or even a major character.
Every Character Trapped in “The World Before”
The following characters are those trapped in the cave when the second half of season 10 picks up in February:
- Carol
- Daryl
- Aaron
- Connie
- Kelly
- Magna
- Jerry
A trailer teasing The Walking Dead’s return seem to have spoiled Daryl’s and Carol’s survival, though this isn’t much of a surprise. Daryl has outlasted nearly every other Walking Dead character from the early season, so it’s hard to imagine The Walking Dead killing him off here. Carol meeting her end in the cave seemed just as unlikely, considering that her arc is one of season 10’s biggest stories thus far, and The Walking Dead is sure to see it through. That being said, Carol may be the character affected the most by whatever it happens in that cave. After all, it was Carol’s own recklessness that created this dilemma in the first place.
Who, if anyone, will pay the price for Carol’s actions? Aaron has unresolved business with Gamma, who may have betrayed him, and their storyline is one that’s expected to continue. Another character who seems safe is Magna, who feels like a character that The Walking Dead is still developing. As for Connie, The Walking Dead may be building toward a romance between her and Daryl, but that doesn’t mean the show won’t bring this to an abrupt end with a shocking twist that drives a painful wedge between Daryl and Carol.
However, the situations are different for Jerry (Cooper Andrews) and Kelly (Angel Theory). Jerry is well-liked by fans, so killing him off could have a lot of emotional impact. There’s also the matter of how this would affect the already damaged relationship between Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Carol. The Walking Dead could kill off either of these two characters — or perhaps both — in order to add more casualties to the Whisperer War and set up another development in Carol’s season 10 arc. So of all the possibilities, Jerry, Kelly, and Connie may be the ones in the most danger. Alternatively, the midseason premiere may not kill off anyone at all, though a simple escape by the survivors could be regarded as an anticlimactic resolution to the cliffhanger. Either way, there’s sure to be consequence down the line, particularly for Carol. Carol is likely to blame herself for the incident, regardless of whether or not anyone dies. What remains to be seen is just how bad things will get before Carol and Daryl find a way out of the cave.
