Fans of The Walking Dead have picked out one character death as being the show’s “biggest mistake”, and wouldn’t hesitate to bring them back if they could.
If you’ve lasted the course with The Walking Dead, then you’ll know how tricky it can be to pick the most devastating death. After 11 seasons and a rotating cast of impactful characters, there’s a lot to choose from. (And with a show about the dead rising and humanity crumbling, what can you expect?)
Everyone has the death that cut them the deepest. Sophia’s shocking walker reveal, or Lori’s tragic childbirth. Glenn’s deadly encounter with a baseball bat, or Beth’s “accidental” murder. Take your pick — they’re all traumatizing for viewers.
However, one death in particular has been singled out by fans, for being wasteful as well as heartbreaking. In fact, when faced with the choice to bring back one character across the entire show, they all had one name in mind.
The Walking Dead fans say Carl’s death “still hurts” years later
When asked on The Walking Dead subreddit which character they would bring back from the dead, the majority of fans were quick to name Carl.
Carl, being Rick’s young son, served as the leading emotional force throughout the series, particularly in the first few seasons. While Rick reckons with a deteriorating humanity, it’s Carl’s future that keeps him going. Every tough decision is made with Carl’s survival in mind. So when he was unexpectedly killed-off in Season 8 Episode 9, fans were up in arms.
“Carl. Comic-wise, he was the future. Gotta bring him back in this situation,” one user responded.
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“Killing Carl still hurts all these years later — especially since it seems to have been more of a studio business decision than a narrative one,” another added.
“Carl,” another agreed. “I miss just about everyone on that list, and I wish I could bring back more. But story-wise, it makes the most sense for Carl to come back. He was Rick’s future, his actual blood. He should’ve stayed initially anyway.”
Although it was insisted that Carl met his demise for narrative reasons, fans have long-since believed that it was simply for shock value and to boost viewership. In his final moments, Carl is bit by a walker and makes the decision to shoot himself rather than turn. A poignant death it might have been, but fans still haven’t forgiven the decision in the first place.
“The show lost a lot of its soul when they killed Carl,” one comment added.
“Recently I was thinking about the importance of Carl’s survival,” one said. “Everything Rick did was for him, and everything Rick did is the reason the group stayed alive. So I think the show lost its spirit and sense of hope when they killed off Carl. I still like the show of course but I do think that was the biggest mistake.”
For more on The Walking Dead, check out our guides to The Ones Who Live and all the other spinoffs you need to know about.
