It may seem silly to stew on death in a series that focuses so heavily on it. I mean, it’s literally in the name and all. AMC’s The Walking Dead has just made some poor choices, as a series, in terms of character deaths—and no, I’m not talking about Glenn (Steven Yeun) getting Lucille’d by Negan. That was always going to happen. Carl’s (Chandler Rigg) death, however, was an unnecessary departure from the source material and served as a domino effect for other exits—not to mention the reasoning he was killed off and how shady it was.
Carl’s character was the heart of the show (whether you think so or not) and had so much story left to tell. This is especially true considering how he survives to the end of the comics. It’s unfortunate that his story was cut shorter than it even needed to be. Carl was killed off in season 8, but what episode did he bite the big one?
What episode does Carl die?
Trigger warning: mention of suicide.
The fact that Carl dies is terrible enough, but the way it plays out in the show is still infuriating. Carl wants a better world and for the communities to end the war with the Saviors, and the thing that winds up getting him bit by a walker is helping Siddiq (Avi Nash). The lethal bite is something that he manages to keep from everyone—until he can’t hide it anymore, and he shows it to Rick and Michonne at the end of season 8’s midseason finale, episode 8, “How It’s Gotta Be.”
Carl’s death occurs in “Honor” (season 8, episode 9), and before he passes (by way of a self-inflicted gunshot), he writes letters to several people (including Negan). It’s shitty that he even has to die at all, and that Judith doesn’t get to actually know him. His death and wishes are essentially what ends the All Out War arc during the finale. And while that seems like the most fitting way for the arc to come to a close, it’s still a bittersweet thing.
(featured image: AMC)
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