The Walking Dead will be drastically changed by Carl’s death

When The Walking Dead midseason finale showed that Carl Grimes was bitten by a zombie, his fate was sealed.

Now, as The Walking Dead mid-season premiere is upon us, there is going to be a lot of changes happening due to this surprising, and tragic event. This is something that is obvious, but TV Line reported that producer Scott Gimple pointed out the death of Carl will have a “sizeable impact” on everything that happens on the show from here on.

"“Looking at where the show is and where we wanted the story to go, Carl is trying to change the world even as he’s leaving it and that has an incredible amount of impact on everything going forward.”"

The most shocking part about the death of Carl Grimes is that most fans of the comic book series expected him to become the new leader when Rick eventually dies, and the comics end. Carl is the hope for the future.

As far as the TV show, it looks like The Walking Dead is moving entirely away from the comic books and there is no telling what the end game is now for Rick and the survivors. Carl’s death could drive Rick insane, but as the season 8 premiere showed, Rick survives and has a new society he is building when all is said and done.

According to Gimple, Carl has a lot to do with that when it comes to the future of The Walking Dead.

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Whether fans of The Walking Dead TV show like it or not, Rick Grimes and Negan are two sides of the same coin. Both men are murderers who have brutally killed people — innocent and guilty — to save their own people. While Negan has gone further than Rick when it comes to brutality, the attack on the sleeping Saviors that launched the war shows that Rick is not really a good guy.

Carl’s death might change that. For the past few seasons, Carl has tried to make his dad understand that there is a right and a wrong way to do things and Rick needs to regain what made him such a good, and honorable man to begin with. Without humanity, Rick becomes Negan.

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While Carl Grimes dying seems the wrong thing for the show to do, it looks like that is how Scott Gimple wants to help bring Rick back around to the hero that he was from the start of the series. Negan does not die in the comic books, and maybe Carl’s death will keep that from happening in the TV show as well.

Regardless, tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead will likely not leave many people with dry eyes as the boy that became a young man will leave his legacy on the series.

Next: Walking Dead: Kirkman's idea for next leader

The Walking Dead season 8 mid-season premiere airs Sunday night, Feb. 25, at 8 p.m. CST on AMC.