Carol's Ezekiel Romance Foreshadows Her Dark Walking Dead Future

screenrant.com:

As Carol continues to avoid a romantic reunion with Ezekiel, The Walking Dead signals dark times ahead for the zombie apocalypse's best cookie baker. Coming out of an abusive relationship with her original husband and then a fleeting romance with Tobin in Alexandria, Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier finally found true love with Ezekiel following a long and persistent courtship. Staying together through The Walking Dead's season 9 time skip and adopting Henry as their son, Carol experienced true happiness until the teenager's death at the hands of Alpha brought their marriage to an end. Nonetheless, she and Ezekiel remained close friends.

Now dwelling in the Commonwealth, The Walking Dead season 11 makes no attempt to hide the sparks flying between them once more. Not only was Carol instrumental in securing Ezekiel life-saving surgery, but «Trust» finds them bonding over Ezekiel's secret hospital. The King then describes Carol as a "light" who carries the darkness because she's strong enough to bear it. Though touched by his words, Carol reminds him (semi-jokingly), "You know we're not getting back together, right?" Ezekiel playfully responds with, "Yeah, you keep saying that," as if he's convinced they'll find their way back to each other sooner or later.

Related: Every Way The Walking Dead's TV Commonwealth Is Darker Than The Comics

And Ezekiel certainly has a point. Emotions plainly remain strong on both sides. There's no ill will from the breakup, and The Walking Dead season 11 proves their magic is very much still alive. Grief — and Carol's subsequent revenge mission against Alpha - were responsible for driving her and Ezekiel apart, and those days have long passed… so why does Carol continue to distance herself from