SPOILER ALERT:
Do not read the following post unless you have seen The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 8.
Okay? Got it? Ready? Don’t say you haven’t been warned…
On the midseason finale of this beloved AMC drama, we learned that Carl Grimes had been bitten by a zombie and was knocking very loudly on death’s door.
Played by one of the drama’s original cast members, Chandler Riggs, Carl was believed be one of the few characters remaining who wasn’t in danger of being killed off.
Hence, the shocking reaction from fans.
Those who watch The Walking Dead online or on television obviously expected major deaths on a near-weekly basis.
But young Carl?!? Say it isn’t so.
It is so, however.
“Yes, Carl is going to die,” Riggs told The Hollywood Reporter after the finale aired, adding simply:
“There’s no way he can get back from that. His story is definitely coming to an end.”
Again, a long-time character bidding farewell is pretty much par for The Walking Dead course.
But this storyline has sparked a different reaction than prior deaths because Riggs’ father has actually come out and slammed the series of essentially firing his son.
“Watching [showrunner Scott] Gimple fire my son 2 weeks before his 18th birthday after telling him they wanted him for the next 3 years was disappointing,” William Riggs wrote on Facebook last night in a post that has since been deleted.
But this is the Internet.
It will live on forever.
“I never trusted Gimple or AMC but Chandler did,” William added.
“I know how much it hurt him.
“But we do absolutely know how lucky we have been to be a part of it all and appreciate all the love from fans all these years!”
In the graphic novels on which The Walking Dead is based, Carl does not die.
However, Chandler told The Hollywood Reporter that he was made aware of his character’s fate several months ago.
He told the outlet:
“I found out when I was doing rehearsals for episode six back in June. It was quite the shocker for me, Andy and everyone because I don’t think anyone saw it coming.
“It’s definitely not a bad thing because it has been awesome being on the show, but now I get to go and do a lot of other stuff that I haven’t gotten to do before.
“Scott wanted to meet in person because it was such a big deal.
“We had just finished rehearsing for a scene in episode six and he wanted to meet with me and my mom and dad and talk about what’s going to happen.”
Sounds a lot more diplomatic than his dad, doesn’t he?
The Walking Dead, meanwhile, returns to AMC Sunday, February 25, at 9/8c.
Were you stunned to see Carl go? Who do you think gets killed off next?
