The clock is ticking for young Carl Grimes.
Just before Christmas, The Walking Dead mainstay, one who has been a cornerstone of AMC’s zombie drama from the beginning, suffered a fatal walker bite, indicating that his days are very much numbered.
Shell-shocked, Rick Grimes struggled to process what is undoubtedly the show’s biggest death – so far, at least – and that’s something that can be said about The Walking Dead‘s impassioned community, too, who will be forced to say goodbye to the young, and often times fearless Carl Grimes on February 25th.
But what comes after that? Well, we know that in the aftermath of his son’s death, Rick will be taking his proverbial last stand against Negan and the Saviors. When it comes to episode 8×10 in particular though, which will be the first one after Carl’s made his exit, we’ll see the various groups “unite their forces and converge on the Hilltop, while Aaron and Enid search for allies.”
All of that and more is teased in the gallery down below, which features five brand new stills from the upcoming installment. Though not terribly revealing, we do get to see a lot of Rick and Michonne, with the former apparently being changed “irrevocably” after what happened to Carl.
“All of the back eight is this terrible death,” Andrew Lincoln tells ComicBook.com. “This emotion is unending throughout the whole cast and, I think, it’s palpable. The cost of this battle is much more full because of what happened. He’s lost the things that he’s fighting this war for. That has a huge effect on him and it changes him irrevocably.”
Continuing on, the actor noted:
“He has his extended family. He’s not Judith’s father but he’s her dad. And, of course, Michonne. They’re in love. But this is… There are times in the back eight that I felt that the show was very courageous in that we didn’t know what we’re doing. Season 1 through 4, we’re still investigating and work out what the show is. Still, I think we’re trying to do that, but it felt like a bit like those seasons in this back eight.”
The Walking Dead season 8 returns from hiatus on February 25th, and when it does, it’ll signal the end of Carl’s saga once and for all. Meanwhile, Lennie James (Morgan) will also bid adieu to AMC’s flagship in favor of hit companion series, Fear The Walking Dead.