Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1 finale.

Summary

  • Melissa McBride, who plays Carol, has set a new franchise record by appearing in three different iterations of The Walking Dead.
  • In addition to appearing in the mothership show, McBride appeared in Fear the Walking Dead and, most recently, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
  • After briefly appearing in the season 1 finale, Carol is set to play a much larger role in Daryl Dixon season 2, which is subtitled The Book of Carol.

The Walking Dead star Melissa McBride, who plays Carol, has just set a new franchise record. First introduced in season 1 of The Walking Dead back in 2010, Carol has emerged as a major figure in the larger franchise, undergoing a transformation from abused wife to zombie-slaying survivor. In addition to becoming a staple in the mothership show, Carol also appeared in spinoff Fear the Walking Dead.

Now, following Carol's surprise return in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon's season 1 finale, McBride has just set an impressive franchise record. While multiple actors have now featured in the main show and a spinoff, McBride is the first franchise star to appear in three different iterations of the show.

What's Next For Carol In The Walking Dead Universe?

Carol and Daryl in The Walking Dead series finale

Originally, what is now known as The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon was intended to be two-hander between Norman Reedus' gruff, crossbow-wielding survivor and Carol. Much like how Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) carry the story of The Walking Dead: Dead City, the proposed premise for the Daryl spinoff was a story following both Reedus' character and McBride's in France. McBride, however, dropped out of the show due to concerns about filming in Europe away from her family for so long.

With Carol's return in Daryl Dixon, however, McBride's character is set to play a much larger role moving forward. This is essentially confirmed with the new subtitle for the announced season 2, with the next batch of episodes called The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol.

The season 1 finale of the new spinoff ends with a scene set in Freeport, Maine, with Carol seemingly on the hunt for Daryl. After finding his motorcycle and uncovering a lead, season 2 is poised to see the two characters reunite. While it definitely feels like a reunion is on the cards, it's not yet clear whether this will take place in North America or Europe. While it remains to be seen how Carol will continue to be developed within the world of The Walking Dead, the character has certainly come a long way since the mothership show's debut season 13 years ago.