In seasons 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead, Madison Lintz portrayed Sophia Peletier. She was the daughter of Carol (Melissa McBride) and Ed (Adam Minarovich), who were part of the original Atlanta camp. Sadly, Sophia became separated from the group and would eventually reappear as a walker.

In “What Lies Ahead,” the season 2 opener, the group becomes caught up in a pile-up of abandoned cars, and Dale’s (Jeffrey DeMunn) RV breaks down, causing the group to stop. As they scavenge for supplies and a new radiator hose for the RV, a horde of walkers comes down the highway, and the group takes cover under the vehicles. When it appears the walkers have passed, Sophia crawls from under the car, and a couple of stray walkers frighten her, and she runs off into the woods.

Rick, chasing after Sophia, catches up to her and tells her to wait as he distracts the two walkers but when he returns she is gone. This leads to members of the group in an extensive search for the young girl, but unfortunately they can’t find her.

During the mid-season finale of season 2, “Pretty Much Dead Already,” Glenn (Steven Yeun) informs the group that Hershel (Scott Wilson) is holding walkers in the barn. Shane (Jon Bernthal) believes they need to rid the farm of the walkers, but not everyone, especially Hershel, agrees. Eventually Shane snaps, releases the walkers from the barn and most of the group begin killing them.

After all the walkers are dead, viewers see another a slight frame of a walker emerging from the barn. To everyone’s horror, it is Sophia’s reanimated form. The group, save Carol who is distraught, stand in silence. Rick, being the only one with the resolve to do what needs to be done, shoots her in the head, putting her out of her undead misery.

This storyline was a gutsy move on the part of Walking Dead creators. People become uncomfortable when children are injured or killed on screen, so it is difficult to anticipate the reaction. While the fandom mourned the tragic loss of Sophia, it also showed them that TWD is no ordinary series.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon re-introduced Carol to the storyline during season 2. After finding out that Daryl had been shipped off to France, she became determined to follow, no matter what the cost. She encountered a man named Ash (Manish Dayal) who was in possession of a plane and Carol knows he is her only hope in her efforts to find her best friend.

Carol resorts to lying about her dead daughter to pull at Ash’s heart strings, as his son also died, and heavily mourns his loss. During the season Carol experiences flashbacks of Sophia, as she never really had the opportunity to process her grief. The spinoff did a remarkable job at taking viewers through her grieving process which included vivid hallucinations where Sophia embraces her mother.

It was a creative way to allow fans to witness Carol’s emotions, which she often keeps hidden, and to see her honor the memory of her daughter.