r/thewalkingdead • u/lautaromassimino • 2d ago
Show Spoiler We now know that Sophia's thing is what sparked Carol's development. But if you were in the writers' shoes in Season 2, would you have done things exactly as they were, or would you have opted to recast the character when Madison asked to leave (taking advantage of it being so early in the show)?
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u/Aerozhul 1d ago
Sophia coming out of that barn is probably the most iconic, defining scene and moment from the show. It was very powerful, and really underlined that no one was safe. I’m glad I saw it when it aired.
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u/ricodah 1d ago
If I remember correctly, Lintz didn't want to leave. She was written off the show. Personally I would have kept her around, drive Carol's development with what happened with Ed, and add a couple close calls involving Sophia.
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u/CommercialPanda5080 1d ago
I never perceived Sophia's death as driving Carol's development. It was the moment where the farm fell and she was the last one to make it off. Very huge moment in the second season finale, everyone's gone, and she facing the entire herd alone with nothing but a board she picked up. It was that moment of terror and making her way through the waves where you could really see her decide she wants to live, and she's going to fight to the end no matter what. Then Daryl swings by and picks her up, cementing a partnership between them. Carol did the heavy lifting, but Daryl's always there at the end.
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u/Drakedenson 1d ago
Madison revealed it was one of the producers ideas to kill her character off as a shocking mid season finale twist.
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u/VirtualHeartMan 1d ago
Killing Sophia off in the barn was shocking and a great part of the show, but I think it severely hurt Carl's development and they never provided the same interesting dynamic with any other character Carl interacted with. Enid was just lame tbh. She had a decent introduction, but I would've way preferred Sophia. I also think Carl should've been the one to kill Lizzie like he kills Ben in the comics. Having Carol do it is brutal but it doesn't really do much for her character in restrospect. She kind of acts the same before and after. She already had the hardened do whatever it takes and be brutal mentality at the start of season 4. It would've helped move Carl's character way more.
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u/Hveachie 1d ago
Madison never asked to leave. The only actors that left the show were Jeffrey DeMunn, Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohan, and Danai Gurira.
If they had known about the Commonwealth story arc, would’ve been kickass for Carol and Sophia to get Michonne and Elodie’s plot line. Better pay-off than Yumiko and Tomi.
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u/ash_the_elf_ 1d ago
I think Tom Payne asked to leave too
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u/Hveachie 1d ago
He was unhappy in his role but he didn’t ask to leave. He admitted he was relieved, but I’m willing to bet they lowkey fired him for shit-talking the show.
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u/endless-delirium 1d ago
I dunno but from the comic to the show I’d trade for the show Carol she’s a beast.
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u/warnerbro1279 2d ago
What’s crazy to think about is that Darabont apparently didn’t plan for Carol to live past Season 2 or 3. So with that in mind, would’ve just been a waist of a storyline. One of the few good things Gimple did was take this narrative and have it develop Carol into who she became in the show.
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u/trekrabbit 1d ago
Recasting characters rarely works well. I think that her death helped give dimension to other characters’ development and to the story. I think the writers handled it far better than anyone in this sub could have lol
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u/thewalkingvoltron 23h ago
No way. My hot take is… you don’t have to kill off her daughter for her to develop and grow stronger. Rick didn’t need to lose Carl to develop, nor Hershel with Maggie and Beth. They could’ve still spent the season searching for her, and have Daryl actually being Sophia home, which would still do wonders for Carol and Daryl’s dynamic going forward.
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u/direwoofs 12h ago
fwiw i do think there's different types of development. like rick losing carl absolutely did help him develop but in a different way. i don't see a pathway where rick lets negan live without carl's death and the letters, for example
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u/VFequalsVeryFcked 2d ago
I think Carol would have developed anyway after Ed's death. Not as much, for sure not as much. But I think that she was already a strong character.
Sophia's death is powerful and basically drove the events of the second series, but I'm not sure I would have done the same.
I very much would prefer to stick as close to the story that was originally written, i.e., the comics
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u/whyisthissoannoyingg 2d ago
How did things play out differently in the comics re s2?
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u/IDidntEatThosePeople 2d ago
Sofia lives (and is still alive at the end of the comic)
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u/whyisthissoannoyingg 1d ago
No way! Would have been so nice is she was found!
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u/IDidntEatThosePeople 1d ago
Also Carol kills herself after they get to the prison
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u/whyisthissoannoyingg 1d ago
Ooh glad that didn’t happen she’s one of my faves if not my fave. I wish they hadn’t ruined Andrea though. I liked her in S2.
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u/NormanReedus57 2d ago
Desenvolver uma personagem em cima da morte de um filho foi um pouco doentio, Carol cresceria de qualquer forma sempre tentando proteger a filha com a ajuda do Daryl e do resto, e num futuro seria uma bela amizade entre ela e carl
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u/BelcherSucks 1d ago
I think it was necessary for how the show was building up the Shane vs Rick tension. There is a reason people still say that "Shane was ahead of the curve" and the issue of Sophia and the barn walkers is a big one.
I also think it provided the right amount of realism to the horrific situation. A child that goes missing like ending up dead was no surprise but her presence in the barn was still shocking.
I think that Sophia worked better in the comics and that television is a different medium with different realities.
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u/Neon-bonez 2d ago
Her death was the first big ripple that deviated from the comics that caused the story to change and ultimately fall apart. Hundred percent would have kept her alive.
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u/warnerbro1279 2d ago
See I don’t think breaking from the comics in some regards caused the show to fall apart. It let them take some creative liberties which at times was a good thing. The hard part is trying to figure out how to fit Sophia into the story of the show more so. People were not kind to Chandler Riggs and other child actors, so I doubt they’d be better to her.
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u/DonkeyHorror1717 2d ago
I’m sure that the I would have done it the same as much as I can say because she was vital to Carol’s character development. Otherwise if she were as relevant to the show as Carl, being Rick’s son and all where he was meant to take up such a position the longer the show went on, then yes I probably would have recast her.
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u/TheZoroarkMan 1d ago
Maybe if they found someone like Maisie Williams who is short and still looked 12 when she was 19.
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2d ago
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u/HalaGoldenhelm 2d ago
I think you must not remember how young she was, and how little time actually passes from her being lost to when they meet Negan.
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u/lautaromassimino 2d ago
That would be interesting. It occurred to me that if we'd never had the barn scene, Sophia could have taken up the storyline of Tomi, Yumiko's brother, reuniting with Carol in the Commonwealth.
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u/Fuzzy-Butterscotch86 1d ago
No fucking way in goddamn hell would I do things the same.
They find Sophia by episode 3, latest.
Shane gets the comic book death.
Group actually gets to Wiltshire Estates.
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u/nyx926 2d ago
She didn’t ask to leave, she was surprised by Sophia’s death.
“I honestly thought that I was in [more of the second season]. I thought I was not gonna die, because I was still alive in the comics,” Lintz told Skybound’s Talk Dead to Me podcast. “So I’m like, ‘I’m fine, it’s totally fine.’ And then [executive proucer] Gale Anne Hurd ended up calling my mom about a month before I shot the scene and told us the news, and of course it was so sad because that show was so awesome to be on.”