Chandler Riggs played the role of Carl Grimes on The Walking Dead for a number of years. Carl started out as a kid who had to be protected but evolved into a character that commanded respect within the show.
Unfortunately for Riggs, the writers decided to write out the character of Carl, forcing his father (Rick Grimes) to deal with another tragedy. The loss of Carl also made it easier for actor Andrew Lincoln to leave the show.
Several times along the way, it seemed like Carl would die on The Walking Dead. In Season 2 of the show, Otis (Pruitt Taylor Vince) accidentally shoots Carl while he is out hunting.
Otis had worked for Hershel (Scott Wilson). Hershel operates on Carl and saves him, while Shane (Jon Bernthal) ends up murdering Otis for what he has done.
Then, during Season 6, Carl is shot in the right eye as he and his father are trying to save Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge) and her family from walkers that have descended upon Alexandria.
After Jessie is taken down by walkers, her son, Ron (Austin Abrams), grows angry about what has happened. He threatens to shoot Rick but is stabbed by Michonne in an effort to stop it. Ron still gets off a shot, accidentally taking out Carl’s eye.
How does Carl die on The Walking Dead?
During a Season 8 episode called “How It’s Gotta Be,” Carl revealed to his dad and Michonne (Danai Gurira) that he has a walker bite on his abdomen. Carl reveals in the next episode that the bite occurred while he was trying to save Siddiq (Avi Nash) and bring him back to Alexandria.
As Carl gets worse, he is faced with a difficult decision, but he decides that he doesn’t want to force Rick or Michonne to have to kill him before or after he has reanimated.
This leads Carl to kill himself through a gunshot to the head. It is a morbid ending to the character of Carl Grimes on the show.
Chandler Riggs wishes Carl could have made it to the Whisperers storyline on The Walking Dead.
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The fan reaction to what happened to Carl on The Walking Dead was mostly negative, as it seemed to come out of nowhere within the story. It also seemed to really surprise actor Chandler Riggs, who has always maintained that he wanted to stay with the show for many more seasons.
The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC.