Sarah Wayne Callies Helped Save Carol From Getting Killed Off The Walking Dead

It’s a little known fact that The Walking Dead writers had planned on killing now fan-favorite character Carol Peletier instead of IronE Singleton’s T-Dog back in season three.

If you didn’t know, don’t feel left out. Carol herself, Melissa McBride, had no idea either. During a roundtable interview with EW, Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln told McBride about the original intention of killing Carol off in “Killer Within.”

“It was the episode when Lori and T-Dog die,” Lincoln told McBride. “But for a few weeks it was going to be Carol and Lori. And Sarah, in her good grace and class, stepped in and said, ‘That’s a terrible mistake.’ And so she knew that she was going, but she fought for you to stay.”

“I did not know that,” McBride admitted, concluding, “I’m going to faint.”

Script changes aren’t uncommon according to the cast. “That happens a lot on the show,” says Daryl Dixon actor Norman Reedus. “We get word of something and everyone rallies to change people’s minds. It happens all the time.”

So, maybe, just maybe, those ridiculous fan petitions could actually make a difference if we somehow knew ahead of time that a beloved character was going to kick the bucket.

The Walking Dead returns this Sunday at 9 PM ET on AMC.