The Walking Dead season 8 is now officially on hiatus, but it’s fair to say that viewers are still reeling from Sunday’s midseason finale, “How It’s Gotta Be.”
In keeping with tradition, season 8 of AMC’s zombie drama reached the halfway point with an extended episode, one that delivered thrills, spills, and an endgame twist that diehard fans had admittedly seen coming a mile off. That tragic incident will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect on the remainder of The Walking Dead season 8 and sure enough, Chandler Riggs conceded to The Hollywood Reporter that Carl’s final moments will inform the second half.
You’ll see bits and pieces and memories of Carl throughout the second half. But his final moments are coming pretty soon.
So whereas Glenn and Abraham were brutally massacred at the hands of Negan, the death of Carl Grimes will be drawn out slowly, which will either heighten the emotional impact of Rick losing his only son, or leave The Walking Dead viewers bemoaning the lack of bite – no pun intended.
[ctgv-2]As for what’s next, well, Rick Grimes will be forced to bury his closest ally come 2018, and it’s not too much of a stretch to say that the loss of Carl will be remembered as The Walking Dead‘s biggest death…so far.
When pressed about his on-screen time bomb, Chandler Riggs told THR that any plans for Carl to succeed Rick as the group’s newfound leader have been lost like tears in the rain.
I didn’t know how it was going to pan out with Rick trying to move forward past this because his whole reason that he was pushing forward was to protect Carl and to raise him and to have him follow in his footsteps and have Carl be the leader one day. I don’t know how Rick and Michonne are going to handle it. I guess I’ll have to watch and find out!
AMC and Scott Gimple will close the book on Carl’s story when The Walking Dead season 8 returns on February 25th, 2018. And despite claims to the contrary – both from Chandler Riggs and his father, William – Gimple is adamant that Carl’s imminent death was always designed to serve the bigger story. Which means that Riggs’ exit wasn’t prompted by real-life events.