The Walking Dead Star on Siddiq’s Fate After Carl Died For Him: “Sh*t Happens”

Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) died for Siddiq (Avi Nash), but Nash says Siddiq’s death at the hands of secret Whisperer Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas) doesn’t take away from Carl’s memory — and in the world of The Walking Dead, “Sh*t happens.” After being run off by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in Season 8, Siddiq was taken in by Carl, who received an incurable walker bite when helping Siddiq put down walkers as a way of honoring his mother and her belief this show of mercy freed their souls. Some eight years later, Siddiq served as Alexandria’s lead doctor and fathered a child with Rosita (Christian Serratos), both things Nash says are part of Carl’s legacy.

“I think it’s really important to remember this is a show called The Walking Dead, and eventually everybody dies,” Nash told TV Insider with a laugh. “We have to recognize it’s been eight years since Carl found Siddiq, and since then, he’s upheld his promise to honor Carl and Rick by extension; to try and live with compassion and mercy, and to create a better world. In Season 9, his mission was to bring the communities back together. In Season 10, he has a child. The ability to have a child in the apocalypse is unbelievable, and that’s not something they had imagined way back when.”

Asked what he might say to fans upset Carl died for Siddiq only for his own death to follow two seasons later, Nash answered, “I would just say to the fans sometimes sh*t happens, but Siddiq definitely stayed true to his promise of honoring Carl.”

“Hopefully he’s been a character they care enough about and has been portrayed with enough sensitivity and depth that they will allow Siddiq to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the other great characters,” he continued, “and they’ll give him a place up there with them, looking down on the rest of the survivors.”

Siddiq’s death has already had an impact: in the midseason finale, Rosita endangered herself when fighting off walkers following Siddiq’s funeral, and Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) viciously murdered a jailed Dante to avenge the man he saw as a brother.

Carl’s mother Michonne (Danai Gurira) learned of Siddiq’s death in “The World Before” and grieved him in the presence of stranger Virgil (Kevin Carroll), telling him the same phrase Siddiq imparted on Rick: “My mercy prevails over my wrath.” The Walking Dead will next address Michonne’s heartbreak over Siddiq’s death as part of her final story, to air after Season 10 resumes after winter break.

On the Talking Dead episode that aired after Siddiq’s death episode, Riggs said Carl “totally” would have been proud of Siddiq.

“Carl, when he found Siddiq, he just saw another person in need,” Riggs said. “So the fact that he brought him back, he happened to be a doctor, and he happened to save all these lives and teach Enid (Katelyn Nacon) how to be a doctor, thus saving Aaron’s (Ross Marquand) life… I think he’d be really, really proud of the legacy he kind of left behind for Siddiq.”

The Walking Dead Season 10 returns with new episodes Feb. 23, 2020 on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.