In the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead’s eighth season, audiences said goodbye to the biggest character yet.
That’s right, Carl Grimes tragically died.
The episode centered completely around his death, tugging at the heart-strings of audiences everywhere.
The episode opened with Carl (Chandler Riggs) realizing that he had gotten bit by a walker. In a montage, Carl made amends as best he could with his death. He wrote letters to each member of the family, which will surely serve as another punch to the gut in a future episode. He then held his little sister and attempted to say goodbye to Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln), before realizing they had gone to fight the Saviors.
When the Saviors attacked Alexandria, Carl retreated to the sewers, where he would eventually be joined by Rick, Michonne and the rest of the family. From this point, the show was an emotional rollercoaster that left many fans sobbing.
In his first goodbye, Carl said farewell to his little sister. It served as a flashback to his mother’s death as he told her, “Before Mom died, she told me I was going to beat this world, but I didn’t. But you will.” The promise for her to live will likely serve as a guiding force for her as she navigates the world without her brother.
As if it wasn’t emotional enough, Carl then had to say goodbye to Michonne. Michonne lost her son early on in the apocalypse, so she always served as a maternal figure in his life. When the two were travelling to Terminus with Rick, they developed a deep bond and became best friends. As the seasons progressed, the two always depended on each other, making Carl’s death only that much harder. In his goodbye to her, Carl said, “You have to be strong for my dad, for my sister, and for yourself.” To end it, Carl heartbreakingly said, “Michonne, you’re my best friend,” and she replied, “You’re mine, too.”
In his final, and most emotional, goodbye, Carl thanked his father. He thanked him for bringing him and their people so far. He also imparted a vital lesson on Rick.
“Stopping the fight is what’s right. ... You can’t kill them all because there has to be something after. For you. For them. There has to be something after,” he said.
He then went on to say he had a vision for the future, which is what all of the dream-like sequences had been in the first half of the season. They showed Rick as an older manwith Michonne and his sister, and Alexandria rebuilt.
Rick told Carl that everything he ever did was for him. He said that nothing will ever change that. Finally, he promised that he would make the world Carl had dreamt of real.
When it was finally time for Carl to say goodbye, he decided to shoot himself in the head and prevent himself from turning into a walker. He emphasized that he had to do it himself, which showed to audiences how much he has grown from the beginning of the season. With Rick and Michonne sobbing outside, Carl killed himself.
Now that he has passed, Carl’s death will likely serve as a guide for Rick. His speech to his dad emphasized the need for the war to end and it will likely inspire Rick to stop it as soon as he can.
Viewers have seen Carl grow from a child. He changed from innocent child to brooding teen to a young leader. His death is perhaps the most traumatic and emotional one that the show has ever presented.
Although he died, the episode served as wonderful send-off for one of the most beloved characters in The Walking Dead. Carl Grimes will truly be missed by all audiences.
