In The Walking Dead, did Carol lie to Rick and Tyrese?

Question

In The Walking Dead episode Indifference, Carol tells Rick that

she killed Tyrese's girlfriend.

However, I suspect that Carol might have lied to Rick and Tyrese in order to protect Lizzie.

There are lots of spoilers below, so if you don’t want to see them, close this page now.

 

 

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Lizzie's beliefs wouldn't prevent her from killing Karen

• Lizzie regards the reanimated condition as just as good as the living condition.
  • Lizzie unremorsefully murders her sister, then argues that her sister will be as good as new (so to speak) when she reanimates. Accordingly, Lizzie seems to suggest that she regards the reanimated condition and the living condition as comparably desirable.
  • Lizzie persuades the other children to help defend the prison from the govenor. Presumably, any child who feared death would likely not have the courage to do so, so Lizzie likely doesn't fear death. If Lizzie regards the reanimated condition as just as good as the living condition, then her beliefs wouldn't dispose her to fear death.
  • Lizzie treats reanimated humans like people treat living humans: She names them, feeds them, and takes interest in their (former) personal lives.

Lizzie's beliefs and predilections would motivate her to kill Karen

• Lizzie believes that people sometimes need to kill others in order to ensure their own well-being.
  • Carol taught Lizzie that she would occasionally need to kill others in order to ensure the well-being of the group.
  • Lizzie evinces her internalization of Carol's lessons when she persuades the children to help defend the prison.
• Lizzie enjoys killing
  • Lizzie mutilated mice for no obvious reason other than for the sake of doing so.
  • Lizzie, relatively enthusiastically, volunteered to kill her father (although, ultimately, she reneged).
  • In the episode Internment, Lizzie amuses herself with some of Glenn's blood.

Carol's beliefs and dispositions would motivate her to protect Lizzie

• If Lizzie killed Karen, Carol would regard herself as blameworthy and act accordingly.

  • In spite of the prevailing opinion, Carol teaches the children to kill in order to protect the group. If one of her students did so, then perhaps Carol would regard herself as responsible for her student's actions, and therefore would regard herself as the one worthy of blame.
  • Carol's moral judgments seem exceptionally sound and considered. Moreover, she reliably exemplifies the courage of her convictions: she reliably, can, and does, act according to those judgments. It seems plausible that Carol could have concluded that she ought to lie to protect Lizzie, and acted accordingly.

• Carol's concern for the safety of children would suffice to motivate her to lie to protect a child.

  • Carol's efforts to teach the children to protect themselves evince her concern for their safety.

Did Carol take the metaphorical grenade in order to protect Lizzie?

Answer 1

Carol Killed Karen and David as stated in my previous answer here

Carol admit to Tyreese face to face in Episod 14 The Grove here is the complete story:

“I was thinking maybe she killed Karen and David,” Tyreese tells Carol. But Carol shakes her head no. “She would have let them turn,” Carol explains. “It wasn’t her.”

So, what do they do with a killer?

Tyreese ask this because Lizzie just killed her own sister to turn her into a walker (Karen and David were stabed in the head then burned!)

“I could leave with her,” Carol suggests. “We can’t sleep with her and Judith under the same roof. She can’t be with other people.” But Tyreese shoots Carol down, telling her that there must be another way. However, in the end the pair both agree that they won’t make it on their own, and that Lizzie can’t be around other people.

In the morning Carol takes Lizzie outside for a walk to talk and pick wildflowers for Mika. And Lizzie quickly realizes that Carol is upset with her.

“Are you mad at me? Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” Lizzie asks, beginning to cry. She apologizes for holding a gun up to Carol and begs her to wait for Mika. But Carol tells her that “everything works out the way it’s supposed to.” Starting to cry as well, Carol tells Lizzie to just look at the flowers. And as Lizzie apologizes and looks at the flowers, Carol shoots her in the head.

and then a little later that night:

Carol comes clean to Tyreese about killing Karen and David. “I had to stop the illness from breaking out,” she explains, sliding her gun to him. “I had to stop other people from dying … It wasn’t Lizzie. It wasn’t a stranger. Tyreese, it was me. Do what you have to do.”

and then:

“Did she know what was happening?” Tyreese asks. “Was she scared?” Carol shakes her head no and Tyreese continues with his questions. “It was quick?” he asks, gripping the gun and table.
“Do what you have to do,” Carol tells him again after confirming that she did it as quickly and as painless as she could. But Tyreese lets go of the gun. “I forgive you,” he tells her. “I’m never going to forget … you feel it. I know you do. It’s a part of you now. Me too. But I forgive you.”

take a look here for all the source you need

Answer 2

Carol didn't know that Lizzie was mentally unstable until they escaped the prison. It wasn't until then that Carol noticed Lizzie was playing with the zombies and treated them like people. Even then, Carol thought it was dangerous, but not enough to think that it might be dangerous for anyone else - which it was for her sister.

Also, Lizzie's problems were that she thought zombies were like real people. Killing Karen and burning her was an act of self preservation to stop the spread of the disease, not a very likely logical leap for a child to make and seemingly unrelated. While Lizzie may not have had the same value for human life (since they all turn to zombies anyway), I don't see how that would make her want to kill Karen specifically. Why not anyone? It would be a very random event for her to decide to kill Karen. Most kids would stay away from sick people instead of seeking them out. I just don't see the motivation for her to want to specifically kill Karen, someone who was virtually quarantined and almost entirely inaccessible to a child.

As seen in the show, there is a flashback where Carol burns the bodies. It is highly suggested that she killed them as well (was there a scene where she plunged the knife? I can't recall), but if she didn't, then why did Lizzie kill them? To turn them into zombies? They would have died (or not) on their own, there would be no need to get involved.