The Walking Dead Showrunner Admits Carol Betraying Lydia Was a “D*ck Move”

The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang admits Carol (Melissa McBride) made a "dick move" when she betrayed Lydia (Cassady McClincy) in 10x07, "Open Your Eyes." A captured Whisperer (James Parks) refused to forsake Alpha (Samantha Morton) by giving up intel on the walker horde Carol is looking to eliminate, but the Alexandrians did become aware the Whisperers believe Alpha killed daughter Lydia. Carol planned to expose Alpha as a liar and flip the prisoner by revealing Lydia is alive, but he was poisoned by saboteur Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas). Carol's plan proved successful after she took Lydia to a Whisperer border under false pretenses, where she was spotted by Alpha acolyte Gamma (Thora Birch).

"Kind of a dick move, yeah. That was her state of wanting revenge, and sometimes a revenge journey takes a dark path," Kang told EW. "We'll see how it pays off or doesn't and what happens next. But yeah, I think Carol's a little more reckless than usual in this pursuit to kill Alpha. She's always so strategic and is thinking multiple steps ahead, but in the moment, I really think she was like, 'Oh, I got to do this,' and she just did it."

Realizing the deception, Lydia struck Carol before fleeing alone into Whisperer territory knowing Carol and Aaron (Ross Marquand) could not follow.

"I don't know if she did her usual gaming it out multiple steps," Kang added. "She might have thought about one angle, and I don't think she thought about the human angle of Lydia, who's like her pawn in the moment, which is very unlike her. But I think that can be interesting, and certainly, Melissa is doing a great job with all the different twists and turns of the story for Carol."

Despite the cost, Carol's plan did work: a betrayed Gamma will next approach Aaron with key information that could mark a turning point in the survivors' strife with the Whisperers. The revelation that Lydia is alive will have a big impact in the second half of the season.

"We feel that, for Gamma, was the moment where she realized, 'My leader who I thought was pure and that stood by her principles, and we have to stand by these principles, and that's the only way to survive, is just a hypocrite and a liar, like every other person. And look at what I've lost and what I've done,'" Kang told EW. "That's going to have a big impact going forward. I can't get into specifics because it's too spoiler-y, but I think Thora did an amazing job playing her heartbreak in the moment. It's not just anger or shock, there's real heartbreak there."

The Walking Dead airs its Season 10 midseason finale, "The World Before," Sunday, Nov. 24 at 9/8c on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.