How Much Of Princess’ Walking Dead Episode Was Real

Can reality be separated from imagination in The Walking Dead season 10’s Princess episode? Played by Paola Lázaro, The Walking Dead introduced Princess during season 10’s pre-pandemic run, encountered by Eugene’s group on their way to meet The Commonwealth. When they arrived, however, Commonwealth soldiers took the Alexandrians and their exuberant new Puerto Rican friend as prisoners. “Splinter” catches up with Princess as she’s herded into an empty train car but, surprisingly for the zombie apocalypse, her incarceration is more Fight Club than Dawn of the Dead.

The dark, confined space and intense isolation sends Princess into a panic, and she gives herself a splinter frantically scratching away at the wooden walls. Fortunately, Princess can communicate with Yumiko in the next car, as well as Eugene on the other side. She’s taken for an interrogation that rapidly escalates from passive-aggressive to aggressive-aggressive, then escapes with Ezekiel, who bursts into her train car via a hole in the roof. Princess’ The Walking Dead season 10 anthology episode then takes a psychological turn, revealing not all of her recent adventures in Commonwealth custody were real. How reliable is The Walking Dead‘s hair dye fanatic as a narrator?

Discerning real from fantasy, Ezekiel is the most obvious fallacy in “Splinter.” Every time the Tiger King appears to Princess, he’s a figment of her imagination, and all of his actions (such as attacking the rookie Commonwealth soldier) are performed by Princess. “Ezekiel” represents how Princess used to think – she’s better off alone, people will turn on her, she should look after herself and no one else.

The episode’s Eugene cameo is also confirmed to be an illusion. Realizing her mind has been playing tricks, Princess spins around to find the suspiciously convenient escape hole she sneaked through earlier isn’t actually there, meaning she never spoke to Eugene, and never escaped the carriage. “Eugene” is the voice of Princess’ anxiety – the fear that she’ll mess everything up for her new friends and they’ll hate her in return. Finally, the conversation with Yumiko is also entirely make-believe. The small gap Princess clawed into the wall isn’t really there, meaning she couldn’t have talked to Yumiko. Princess was subconsciously comforting herself by visualizing escape routes on all three sides of the carriage and putting a friendly face behind each.

Plenty of moments in “Splinter” remain vague enough that they could be real. Yumiko tasting the butt of a gun might’ve happened, but a Commonwealth soldier later claims he doesn’t know anything about this, casting doubt on Princess’ recollection, but not completely disproving it. The Commonwealth interview sequence appears to be legit, as Princess imagines things that make her feel better, not worse. The Commonwealth soldier (who definitely is real) says “you heard my boss,” all but confirming the interrogation took place, and Princess also retains the bruise she received during questioning – even after noticing her hallucinations. Princess’ splinter is likely genuine too, as the cut is still visible afterward. The wound could be a visual metaphor for Princess’ “splintered” psyche, since the wood comes loose once she stops seeing things. She might’ve failed to break a gap between the train car’s panels, but Princess still could’ve received the splinter while frantically scratching for a way out.

As for scenes that are definitely real in The Walking Dead‘s Princess-centric offering, all moments Princess speaks to herself in the train play out for real. So too are the locked-up zombies Princess finds while escaping with the guard’s rifle, although Ezekiel on the other side is obviously fake. The closing scene in which Princess’ friends are lined up outside her car with bags over their heads is almost certainly authentic too, as there’s little point doing the cliffhanger otherwise.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
(3643 Articles Published)

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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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