When Do They Find Sophia in The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead had some devastating deaths throughout its 11-season run, but the one that really hit fans hard early on was that of Sophia. The young daughter of Carol, Sophia was thrust into the apocalyptic world during the formative years of her life when she was still just a pre-pubescent child on the cusp of coming of age. She made a bad call during a scary situation, and it ultimately led to her demise. But it was when and how she was found that left fans gutted.

Sophia’s death played an integral role in shaping the character of Carol, who became a fan favorite throughout the rest of the series. Carol never would have become the woman she did had she not lost Sophia. But that doesn’t make the loss any less heart-wrenching.

The Moments Leading up to Sophia’s Reveal

While the group is trying to navigate to safety after leaving the CDC building, they look through abandoned cars on the road, trying to find any supplies they can use. But they get caught when a herd of walkers approaches. They all rush to hide under and around cars, some of them valiantly fighting the walkers to thin out the herd.

In trying to find a safe place, Sophia gets separated from Carol, one of the best The Walking Dead characters. Rick finds her and takes her to a seemingly safe spot in the woods, where he tells her to hide until it’s safe to come out again. But when he returns, Sophia is gone.

Much of the first half of season two is centered on the group’s search for Sophia. Daryl sets out every day to look for her using his tracking skills. It’s during this time that he and Carol start to grow closer to one another, though Daryl still has a guard up. He even lashes out at Carol, calling her a bad mother. She has no reaction, having endured years of abuse from her husband, Ed. This is jarring to Daryl, who realizes how hurt and broken she is and how much they might actually have in common.

It's during this time that the group comes upon Hershel’s farm, where they beg to stay. While Hershel obliges for a time in order to save Carl’s life from an almost fatal gunshot wound, he wants them gone once Carl is healed. But the group tries its best to contribute and show that it can be useful. Rick and Shane are at one another’s throats during this time, each with his own idea of how to lead. This results in a lot of conflict that comes to a head when Glenn reveals something troubling.

In season two, episode seven, “Pretty Much Dead Already,” which is the midseason finale, the group learns that Hershel has been hoarding walkers in his barn. Shane is outraged, believing they should clear the barn despite the fact that Hershel believes there might be a cure one day to bring them back. Rick agrees they should leave things be since this is Hershel’s home and his decision.

Furious, Shane angrily opens the barn door to let the walkers out and starts shooting them one by one. He even goes so far as to mock Rick for continuing to look for Sophia when, in his eyes, the chances of her still being alive are slim to none.

Faced with walkers heading right towards them, the group members have no choice but to take them out, much to Hershel’s horror. After they all seemingly come out, the camera pans to two small feet and skinny legs ambling out of the barn. The camera pans up, and it’s a reanimated Sophia in one of the saddest deaths in The Walking Dead. She had been in the barn, likely for quite some time. Carol collapses in sorrow as Daryl grabs her and begs her not to look.

Everyone is in shock, no one willing to do anything as Sophia approaches, moaning, groaning, and looking for human flesh. While Carol tries to run towards her, Daryl holds her back. Rick is the brave one who steps forward and shoots her.

What Happened to Sophia?

It’s unclear when Sophia was attacked, but it can be inferred, based on timelines, that it was the same day the group last saw her. She was either attacked by walkers in the place where she sat waiting for Rick, who ended up having one of the most impressive kill counts on The Walking Dead. Or, more likely, she ran off, being the scared child that she was, believing she might be able to get away and not realizing the walkers were everywhere.

At some point, she was bitten on the shoulder. The fact that her body wasn’t devoured and she didn’t have any other noticeable wounds confirms she was able to escape and continue running until she finally turned. Interestingly, Rick tells her to keep the sun over her left shoulder when he leaves her, indicating that this would send her in the right direction should she try to run back to the group. Given that she was bitten on her left shoulder, it's likely she was trying to do just that.

On the Talking Dead after-show talk show that aired after every episode of much of the series, creator Robert Kirkman confirmed the suspicion that Otis is the one who rounded up Sophia and put her in the barn. This was one of the tasks he did for Hershel.

Otis was introduced when he accidentally shot Carl when aiming to shoot a deer. He was then killed by Shane when on a supply run to find medical items needed to save Carl’s life. Thus, he never found out the group was looking for a little girl and never had the chance to put two-and-two together as to who Sophia was.

Interestingly, Kirkman also says that the scene in which Otis finds a zombified Sophia and puts her in the barn was actually filmed. But it didn’t make the final cut. That might be a good thing because the scene was much more powerful with the dramatic and heartbreaking reveal. Since Otis probably found her fairly soon after she turned and put her in the barn, this explains why the group, including Daryl, in his searches, never came across her dragging about the forest.

Why Her Death Was Important

While Sophia’s death left fans in tears, it was one of those The Walking Dead deaths that was absolutely necessary in order to drive the story forward, especially for Carol. Raising Sophia is what gave Carol the maternal instinct that drew kids to her in the apocalypse. Losing her also gave Carol the inherent need to protect, at all costs.

Without Sophia's death, Carol and Daryl may never have come together to become the closest and most formidable pair on the show. Carol may not have become the incredibly resourceful and chameleon-like character she did. She saved the group on numerous occasions and turned her grief into strength.

It's revealed in the spin-off series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon that Carol has never truly dealt with her grief over losing Sophia. Since losing her biological daughter, she went on to lose many other kids she took under her wing. But in that series, her hallucinations bring back the daughter she lost all that time ago, and that she had seemingly forgotten. All the emotions come bubbling to the surface in a way she never allowed through the main series. Losing Sophia was arguably the moment that Carol changed.

Along with Sophia's death being necessary to move Carol's story forward, it also sheds more of a spotlight on Carl, the only remaining child in the group. He came into his own as well. Interestingly, in the comics, Sophia lives and gets married to Carl in the end. His story takes a different trajectory on the show as well, and he also meets a sorrowful end. But in both cases, the deaths helped create storylines for the parents that took viewers on a unique journey, diverting from the comics on which the show is based.

So, was Sophia's death Otis' fault? Likely not. It's all but certain that she had already turned by the time he found her. She was likely bitten not long after Rick left her to fight off walkers so she could come back safely. Where she went and hid in the time that it took her to turn is one of those scenes fans don't even want to think about. She must have been terrified, alone, and in pain.

Otis was simply doing the job Hershel asked him to do. And while he was probably devastated in seeing such a young girl, in his mind, he was keeping her safe until a potential cure was found. Had he known she was Carol's daughter and a member of the group that just arrived on the farm, he likely would have at least spoken to Hershel about it. But to him, Sophia was just a random, unfortunate victim of the walking dead.

Sophia wasn't the only child killed in the show. But when the group finds her in the midseason finale of season two, it’s one of the saddest moments ever on the show.