Carley (Video Game)

"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you. But, you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it. Take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once."

- Carley telling Lilly off.

Carley is an original character who first appeared in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Season One. Carley is a quick-thinking regional news reporter from Atlanta.

Character
Compared to Doug, whose personality within the group is more neutral and passive, Carley plays a more active role in group discussion and isn't afraid to speak out her mind. Between them, Carley's storyline offered players more drama during group discussions and a possible love interest for Lee, although saving Doug would provide players with an equally interesting plot to enjoy.

Carley is first introduced as a no-nonsense reporter who along with Glenn, chose to save Lee, Clementine, Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck upon their arrival in Macon. Having spent her time in war-zones as a correspondent, she presumably acquired basic knowledge of firearms and survival tactics that allowed her to hold out during the outbreak. Her accuracy of handling a gun, is often remarked by Kenny to be a "dead eye accuracy".

Like the rest of the group, she cares about their welfare, although unlike Lilly or Larry who she claims to have no "humanity", Carley is interested in saving every survivor that her group comes across. In fact, she was one of the earlier members in the group to know about Lee's past and goes out to warn him about it, stating that his past better not be a detriment to the group.

She is, however, a respectful and thoughtful individual as well. When Lee chooses to admit his past to her, she reassured him that she keeps it to herself, although later on she urges Lee to reveal his past to the group. During Lee's showdown with Andrew in the farm, punching Andrew long enough will trigger Carley's appearance to stop him from inflicting any further injuries, saying that he'd "had enough".

Regardless of who Lee saves in Episode 1, both Carley and Doug will display immense loyalty to Lee for the remainder of the game, and later on towards Ben Paul. Both will express interest in having Lee as the group's leader although interacting with Carley will trigger the topic about his past. Her strong relationship with Ben would later lead her defend her fellow friend when he is accused of being the traitor in the group by Lilly.

Due to her active participation, Carley is blunt about her opinions and isn't afraid of defending her comrades if threatened. This is shown when she reprimanded Lilly's paranoia as a cover for her fear when accusing Ben. However, it is due to this very trait which unfortunately earned her own untimely demise under the hands of Lilly (who was close to an emotional breaking point). Ironically, the very person whom she defended, Ben, was the cause of her death after it is revealed that he was the traitor.

Before her untimely death, Carley's relationship with Lee developed to the point where she showed interest in him. Depending on the choices, Lee can choose to reciprocate her feelings as she gives Lee a kiss on the cheek. The romance was possibly a response from Telltale Game's staff towards fan's question about a Carley-Lee relationship. The relationship would have been certainly explored if it weren't for her death.

Carley and Doug's death continued to affect Lee, Ben and, to a minimal extent the rest of the group.

Atlanta, Georgia
Before the outbreak Carley was a regional news reporter for WABE in Atlanta, Georgia and worked with fellow co-worker, Steve. Having spent time as a correspondent in various war-zones, she feels that she can take care of herself and isn't afraid to use firepower as a solution to the problems that face her. Right before the outbreak, Carley and her production crew drove to Macon to cover the International Cherry Blossom Festival. The crew was attacked by walkers and she was forced to watch as her producer was eaten alive. She was saved by Doug and joins him. They both later meet up with Glenn, Lilly, and her father, Larry.

"Episode 1: A New Day"
Carley is first seen when she saved Duck from nearly being bitten by a walker. Carley and Glenn brought Lee and the rest of the group into the drugstore to hide as more walkers approached them. The pair were blamed for saving the group, to which Carley defended their actions by saying that they can't let people die off. However, Lilly felt that the pharmacy group needed to be protected by not taking any extra risks. Things get worse as Larry joins in the argument, which causes a commotion between Kenny, Lee, and himself. Unbeknownst to the group, a walker hidden inside the bathroom of the drugstore nearly killed Clementine and Lee if it weren't for the timely intervention of Carley's gun. Unfortunately, her gunshot alerted the rest of the walkers outside the drugstore. This  forced the group to hide and remain silent until the walkers' attention subsided.

Just as things were starting to calm down, Larry is struck by his heart disease and Lee is tasked with finding the keys to the drugstore in order to obtain his medications. Glenn eventually leaves the drugstore to search for gasoline. Lee is then given a chance to interact with the remaining survivors. It is revealed that Carley is actually a reporter working for the WABE in Atlanta, she is complimented by Lee on her dead-eye accuracy, to which she replies nobody messes with a reporter whose short on days of coffee. Additionally, she  revealed that Doug saved her and expressed interest in him. Later on, she tags along with Lee when Glenn gets trapped in the motor inn and calls back for help. After overcoming the obstacles at the inn, the group is introduced to Irene, a survivor who had been hiding out in the motel after being bitten by her boyfriend. However, the moment is short lived when she decided to take her own life using Carley's gun, causing the group to escape back to the drugstore before more walkers approached them.

Having found the keys to the drugstore, Lee and Lilly break in to get the medications that they need, unintentionally setting off the alarm and alerting the entire group of walkers within the area. While Kenny rounds up the rest for the survivors to escape, Lee, Doug, Clementine and Carley were left to hold the walkers back. She takes on a broken window with her gun while Doug takes another, leaving Lee to hold the door on his own. At this point, Carley runs out of ammo and is mauled by a pair walkers while Doug is grabbed by a pair of walkers and left defenseless which forces Lee to choose either one of them, choosing Carley would result in Doug's death.

At the motor inn, she thanks Lee for saving her and does not blame him for not being able to rescue Doug, although she is clearly disappointed and wished that the both of them could have made it. With Glenn gone and Doug dead, the rest of the group are left to fend for their own. Just as things were starting to seem better, the power at the inn shuts off.

In-Game Decision
Lee will have to choose to save either Carley or Doug from the walkers when they are attacked at the pharmacy.

Save Carley (Alive)
If Lee chooses to save Carley, Lee gives her ammo and she kills the walkers but they fail to save Doug. At the motel, she is upset about Doug but doesn't blame Lee.

Save Doug (Dead)
If Lee chooses to save Doug, Carley runs out of ammunition and is killed by a group of walkers. Later at a motel, Doug expresses regret that Carley is dead, but doesn't blame Lee. He also admits that this is just survivor's guilt.

"Episode 2: Starved for Help"
Carley will only appear in this episode if she is saved in Episode 1. Three months down the road, she is one of the survivors from Macon that holds out in the Motor Inn. This time round, Carley sports a different outfit. It is revealed that along with the rest of the survivors, she had been placed under intensive firearm training by Lilly and served as one of the team's watchmen. If Lee gives one of the food rations to her, it will strengthen their relationship between the two. Relying on her trusty Glock, she rescued Lee and Katjaa from the reanimated David Parker/Travis by shooting him in the head. When Andrew and Danny St. John approach the group for gasoline with food in return, she voluntarily tags along with Lee to the dairy to provide cover.

Depending on Lee's action and response to her in Episode 1, Lee's relationship with her will be portrayed on the trip to St. John's dairy farm. In the conversation, Carley expresses her interest in having Lee as the leader in the group, stating that the group looks up to him. She also questioned him about his past, and displayed her loyalty towards him by placing her faith and support in him. When Brenda provides the group with food, she goes back with Ben to round up the rest, taking Mark's rifle along; leaving Lee and Mark alone with the brothers. Having eaten some of Brenda's pastries on the way back, she and Ben stayed back to watch the inn while the rest of the group proceeded towards the dairy.

The St. Johns are later discovered to be cannibals and lock most of the group away in the barn while Katjaa and Duck are held hostage. After sensing something gone wrong, Carley and Ben decided to head back to the dairy to check on the group and arrived just in time to help the team rescue Kenny's family. During the ensuing fight between Lee and Andy, Carley attempted to shoot Andy in the head but missed and hit him in the ear instead. She later leaves the dairy with the group and discovered a huge amount of rations in an abandoned car, to which the group later grabs. Having found some batteries for Lee's camcorder and Clementine's walkie-talkie, she plays Lee's camcorder. The pair watches in horror as a spying video of Jolene's is played.

"Episode 3: Long Road Ahead"
Carley continues to appear in Episode 3 if she is saved back in Episode 1. Carley defends Lee and Kenny when Lilly goes on an angry rant. When Lilly mentions about some of their group not being above murder, Carley glares at Lee, as she is still the only person in the group who knows about Lee's past (except for Clementine who knew a small part if Lee told her in Episode 1). Shortly after, she tries to convince Lee to speak to Lilly in order to calm her down about the traitor situation. Carley also suggests that Lee should reveal his past to some of the survivors in order to gain their trust or at least ensure that they hear it from him and not someone else. She warns Lee to be careful about who he tells, as some of the group may react differently to the others. He doesn't understand, but agrees when he knows Carley cares about him and is right. She kisses him on the cheek and goes on with her day. During this conversation, Lee can tell her that he thinks about her, suggesting that they may be starting a relationship. This is further backed up by a conversation that Lee has with Katjaa when he tells her that a proper romance wouldn't be possible in the apocalypse, but he did have feelings for her.

After Lee finishes investigating the possible traitor in the group, Carley is rounded up with the others (except Lee and Lilly) by the bandits when they invade the camp after they don't get their promised supplies, but escapes when Lilly shoots one. She then helps Lee defend the RV against the invading bandits and walkers. After escaping on the RV. Lilly cracks under the emotional pressure and violently questions her and Ben with threats, believing one of them is the traitor. Lilly at first thinks its Carley, but then goes after Ben when he starts to panic at the thought of being thrown out of the group. She defends Ben, and will either be happy or mad at Lee, depending on who he sides with. No matter what, Carley insults Lilly, telling her that she is acting like a "paranoid, scared, little girl", which leads Lilly to believe that Carley is the traitor, and she shoots Carley in the face when she turns to face Lilly after watching Kenny getting rid of the walker trapped under the RV.

"Episode 5: No Time Left"
If Carley was saved in episode 1, and Lee returned the feelings she had for him, Lee can mention that he had hurt Carley to the Stranger. Lee's decision of saving Carley may also be criticized by the Stranger who states that Lee "saved a pretty girl with a gun".

"400 Days"
If Carley was saved in "A New Day", then Russell will lie next to Carley's rotten body, if he chooses to hide from Nate. Nate will proceed to tease Russell about his "girlfriend", implying that he was touching her corpse. Russell will blow him off. If you chose to stay on feet, Carley's corpse only is seen laid on the ground briefly, and curiously her body has been moved, and the zombie parted in two by Kenny is not present. Her eyes are now deep and dark, with maggots in it, her skin started to rot and the hole Lilly's shot left is still there.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Carley has killed:
 * David Parker (Zombified, Determinant) (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Travis (Zombified, Determinant) (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Linda (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Gary (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Tess (Indirectly Caused) (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Many unnamed Save-Lots Bandits. (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Numerous counts of zombies.

Killed By
Lee has to choose in Episode 1 whether to save Doug or Carley from the walkers at the drugstore after the alarm is set off while retrieving Larry's pills. If Lee chooses to save Doug, then Carley tries to run away but a walker pulls her down by her hair, while she screams. She manages to pull herself up using a freezer, but a walker pulls her down by her hair again and she is devoured by the walkers and will no longer appear after Episode 1.
 * Walkers (Determinant)

Killed By

 * Lilly
 * Ben Paul (Indirectly Caused)

After the RV pulls over, Lilly begins to interrogate both Carley and Ben, thinking they are both at fault for the bandit raid at the motor inn. Carley argues with Lilly, telling her that it wasn't her fault nor Ben's. Lilly then begins to think that Carley is the culprit, demanding that Ben tell her that it is indeed Carley's fault. Carley then tells Lilly off and tells her to start acting more like Lee. This caused Lilly to snap and shoot Carley in the left cheek, killing her.

300px|Carley's Death

Non-Canon Deaths
If Lee fails to complete certain tasks, it is possible for Carley to die. These deaths are considered non-canon and will result in a game over. Lee will then re-spawn and be allowed to try again. Below is a pictorial list of when Carley can die.

"Episode 1: A New Day"

Relationships
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Lee Everett
"I've been thinking a lot. About you."

- Carley to Lee.

Carley and Lee started a good relationship from the very first meeting of the two, where she and Glenn saved Lee, Clementine, Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck from a pack of walkers, much to the disdain of Larry and Lilly. Later on, she saves Lee's life again when she shoots the walker in the drug store. When Carley reveals she knows Lee's secret, he can choose to either trust her, or not. Either way, she'll be rather supportive of your actions. When given the choice to save either Carley or Doug, Lee's decision may lead to Carley's death.

If Carley is saved, Lee and her relationship continues to grow over three months, to a seemingly high level. She supported his decision to bring either David Parker or Travis to the camp after being injured. If she is given food, other than the apple, she will refuse it, saying Lee already helped her out, and tell him to give it to someone else. She will then save him once again when zombified David/Travis attacks him. After this, the two don't interact much due to her and Ben going back to the motel to guard it. Later on, during the night, Carley helps Lee against Andrew St. John, by shooting him in the shoulder. Carley will remain neutral towards raiding the station wagon.

In Episode 3, Carley will tell Lee to tell the people he trusts about his secret, and to talk to her when he's done. When he comes back, she and Lee will start conversing and seemingly flirt, leading Carley to kiss him on the cheek. When she is accused of taking supplies and giving them to the Save-Lots Bandits by Lilly, along with Ben, she will aggressively defend herself and Ben. Lee then has the choice to side with her or not, regardless, Lilly will shoot and kill Carley on the spot, much to the shock of everyone. After Carley's death, Lee keeps her gun as a memento of her.

Doug
"I just wish we both could have made it, you know?"

- Carley to Lee, if Lee saves her instead of Doug.

Doug and Carley are not seen together very much, though, through dialogue of Carley, she revealed Doug had saved her life, and that he was a hero. She had also seemed to develop feelings for him, which were mutual. Carley was deeply saddened by his death, and questioned Lee as to why he saved her and not him.

Lilly
"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you. But, you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it. Take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once."

- Carley telling Lilly off.

Carley and Lilly's relationship is not well explored in Episodes 1 and 2, though it seemed that, like the rest of the group, she disliked Lilly and her father, Larry. In episode 3, however, it is clear that Carley was thoroughly sick of Lilly's paranoid behavior. When she is accused of taking supplies and giving them to the Save-Lots Bandits by Lilly, along with Ben, she will aggressively defend herself and Ben. When the group is distracted by Kenny, Lilly pulls out her gun and shoots Carley in the face, shocking the rest of the group.

Clementine
Carley and Clementine seemed to have had a close friendship. If you give Carley an energy bar at the drugstore, she will ask Lee if Clementine doesn't need it. In episode 2, Carley will give Clementine batteries for her walkie-talkie. Also, in episode 3, after Carley's death, Clementine, having witnessed her murder, will become distraught and ask Lee about Carley. Lee can decide what to say to her.

Kenny
"You got it, boss."

- Carley responding to Kenny's command.

Carley and Kenny had very few interactions throughout the course of the game. Kenny seemed to respect Carley though. Upon reaching the drugstore, Kenny told Carley to rest up, since she was a good shot and he wanted her to stay that way. In Episode 2, Carley suggested to Lee that he should think about feeding Kenny and his family so they'll remember his actions if they ever leave the motor inn. In Episode 3, Kenny tells Carley to can it, after she sarcastically confronts him and Lilly about the arguing. Kenny seemed to be quite shocked over Carley's death and was the one who suggested they leave Lilly behind for killing her, though it's just as likely that this was due to tensions between Kenny and Lilly as any attachment Kenny had to Carley.

Katjaa
"Poor Carley. God, where did yesterday go?"

- Katjaa to Lee about Carley's death.

Carley and Katjaa had little to no interactions in the game. When Carley died, Katjaa expressed sorrow over her death.

Duck
Carley and Duck had few interactions in the game. However, Carley saved Duck from walkers in the street in Episode 1, and saved him again from Andrew St. John in Episode 2.

Mark
"Last night, when I accidentally grabbed for Carley's rations. I thought she was gonna take my hand off."

- Mark about Carley.

Carley and Mark seemed to have been friends or at least neutral to one another. From what Mark said, he accidentally grabbed for Carley's food one night and she almost took his hand off. Afterwards, Lee tells him to cut her slack, as they are all on edge and hungry. When Carley was about to head back to the motor inn to round up the rest of the group, Mark gave Carley his rifle to protect herself. Carley seemed shocked to later find out what happened to Mark at the St. John dairy.

Larry
"We almost died because of this bitch and her itchy triggerfinger!"

- Larry about Carley.

Along with most of the group, Carley showed a strong dislike for Larry. After Carley shot a walker attacking Lee, Larry angrily yelled "We almost died because of this bitch and her itchy triggerfinger!" In episode 2, Carley will tell Lee that Larry is a "dick."

Ben Paul
"Will you just fucking leave him alone? He's just a kid!"

- Carley defending Ben.

Carley told Lee she thought he made the right decision bringing Ben and his group back to the Motor Inn. Carley seemed to have trusted Ben, as she brought him back with her to the motor inn and trusted him to help her guard it while everyone was gone. In Episode 3, if Lee tells Ben his secret, Carley will doubt Ben was able to understand the information that was given to him. After the bandit attack, Lilly begins to question both Carley and Ben, accusing them of giving supplies to the Save-Lots Bandits. The two will defend one another, showing they have become friends. Carley will aggressively defend Ben against Lilly's accusations and after Carley is shot by Lilly, Ben is shocked and extremely guilt-ridden, as he was the one truly giving the bandits supplies. The guilt over Carley's death, along with Katjaa's and Duck's, makes Ben reveal to Lee that he was the one who gave the bandits supplies.}}

Trivia

 * Not counting Shawn and Duck, Carley and Doug are the first pair of characters that pit players in a decision making situation and the first character that Lee successfully saves.
 * If rescued at the pharmacy, Carley admits to having an interest in Doug. Later on in Episode 3, however, Carley shifts her interest on to Lee instead.
 * Similarly, Doug (if saved) will reveal he had an interest in Carley at the motor inn.
 * Depending on how Lee responded to her in Episode 1, Carley continues to place her trust in Lee and shows her support.
 * Carley is one of the survivors whom Lee can choose to give the rations to. Depending on the type of ration that he gives, she responds differently.
 * If Lee chooses to give her an apple, she'll take it and reminisce about how she used to have an apple with granola and six different kinds of almonds every morning and how it wasn't enough to fill her.
 * If Lee tries to give her the cheese and crackers or beef jerky, she'll reject it and insist that Lee and Clementine have it, in fear that they might start feeling weak. This still counts as making a choice to feed her.
 * Additionally, if Carley doesn't receive any rations, she will assure Lee that she understands his position in the matter and knows that he is still keeping an eye out for her.
 * If Lee repeatedly punches Andrew in Lee's showdown with him to the point where Andrew's face swells up, Carley will come in to the scene and stop Lee from inflicting further damage. To trigger the additional scene, Lee will have to punch Andrew for a minimum of 6 times or until the scene of the group watching Lee beat Andy up comes in to play, then punch Andrew for an additional 9 times to make Carley appear.
 * In Episode 2, "Starved for Help", Lee has to decide who to give food to. 15% of people choose to feed Carley, the third least out of any character, only before Doug and Lee himself.
 * In Episode 3, Carley mentions that her family is Lutheran.
 * When asked if there was a possible romance budding between Lee and Carley, the crew of Telltale Games mentions that there are subtle hints in between, although they do not deny nor confirm the relationship between the two. Lee can confirm in Episode 3 that he was fond of her, and her mannerisms towards Lee have hinted that she developed romantic feelings for him.
 * In Episode 3, Lee makes a teasing remark about Carley being small. The remark is an indirect joke of saying Carley is the shortest adult member in the group.
 * Also, when Carley tells Lee she was thinking about him, and he stays in silence, when Carley kiss his cheek, she says: "You're gonna have to be more talkative if this is gonna work".
 * In Episode 5, if Lee hurt her feelings in Episode 3, then Lee can say to the Stranger that he had hurt her.
 * Carley's death proved to be ironic, as she was killed by the very gun that she had used to defend herself during and before the zombie apocalypse.
 * Although Carley has been known not to lend her personal gun to anybody else, Kenny and Lilly were seen using it for the earlier part of Episode 3.
 * How her gun had managed to get in to the hands of the other survivors is not known, but it is assumed that Lilly made everyone hand out their weapons to her for safekeeping as a general rule, this is supported by the fact that the hunting rifle is present in Lilly's room when Lee discusses the issue about having a traitor in the group with Lilly.
 * After her death, Lee keeps her gun for the rest of Episode 3, presumably as a memento of her.
 * Her gun was used by Lee when he taught Clementine how to use a firearm.
 * Lee dropped her gun while trying to climb the drop ladder in the manor, the last memento of Carley being lost. (If Ben is alive, he will get it for you.)
 * Carley's VA, Nicole Vigil, has confirmed on her Facebook fan page that Carley makes her exit from the game in Episode 3, stating that while she very much likes her character, Carley's fate of dying has been determined much earlier by the game developers in Telltale Games, as a result of wanting to stay true to the recurring themes in The Walking Dead.
 * Carley's main sidearm (despite not being mentioned in the game) is a Glock 17.
 * In Episode 1, if Lee chose to help Carley with the radio she has, it turns out that she doesn't know it required batteries. After you give her the batteries then she will put them in the wrong way. This later becomes a recurring joke in Episodes 2 and 3, and Carley was ridiculed by the community over this.
 * In Episode 2, her lack of knowledge of batteries is referenced jokingly by Lee when she gives him some for the video camera and Clementine's walkie-talkie.
 * In Episode 3, when questioned about the broken flashlight, Carley quickly remarks "The batteries are probably in backwards." to a question of her knowledge of the object. When Lee responds with a statement that there's only one, she hastily replies, "Of course it does. Everything should. What was the question?"
 * If you do not save her in A New Day, the Stranger will criticize you because you let her die to protect your secret.
 * Alternately, if you choose to save her over Doug, he'll criticize you for "letting a boy die to save the pretty girl with a gun."
 * Carley and Doug are the first two characters to have multiple ways to die.
 * She can either be devoured by walkers at the pharmacy or shot by Lilly.
 * In Episode 1, when Carley turns on the radio and she is able to hear the WABE broadcast, she refers to the man on air as "Steve". This could be a reference to Steve Gross, well-known weekday host for WABE radio.
 * If Carley died by being shot by Lilly, Russell will find her decomposing body in "400 Days" if he hides from the incoming truck.
 * Noticeably her body has been moved as it is now facing the direction the RV came from.
 * So far she or Doug (Determinant) are the only characters from Lee's group to make an appearance, albeit dead.