'The Walking Dead': Carl's Letters Play Key Role in Whisperer War

The Walking Dead brought back Carl's letter for a key role in Sunday night's Episode 9x11.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 9x11 follow. Major spoilers!

The Walking Dead brought about a tense exchange at the Hilltop's front door in Sunday night's episode. Alpha and her Whisperer gang marched straight to their doorstep as means to get Alpha's daughter Lydia back. It's something out of the ordinary for the savage group. Ultimate, the deal required handing over Lydia in exchange for both Luke and Alden.

The problem arose when Daryl discovered Henry had taken Lydia outside of the Hilltop to hide her from the group and her abusive mother. Enid, along with the teenagers of the Hilltop, figured out where Henry took Lydia but simply asking him to hand over Lydia wouldn't be enough...

A call back to Carl Grimes would help Enid persuade Henry in regards ot handing over Lydia.

Early on in Enid's time on The Walking Dead, the character lived by the mantra of "Just Survive Somehow." While many of the letters which Carl wrote after being bitten by a walker and cementing his grim fate were not revealed, Enid detailed a piece of what he told her.

"If there was something I could do to help her, I would. No one wants this but Lydia, she doesn't belong to us. Alden and Luke do. Her mother has them. She'll kill them if we don't give her back," Enid started. "It's something we're just gonna have to live with. When I was about your age, I saw my parents die. It changed me. It became all about surviving somehow. Then someone else close to me died. Someone special with a big heart. He left me a letter reminding me that just surviving, it isn't living. It took me way too long to get what he really meant. You live with it by staying who you are, by not letting the bad things change you."

As it turns out, Carl wrote to Enid about finding a better life for herself in the post-apocalyptic world than simply surviving and getting by. Since then, she has done just that. Enid is now happily in a relationship with Alden and fitting into the Hilltop community as a doctor. Previously, she was quick to block relationships or attachments as a means to harden herself for survival.

While Lydia ultimately volunteered to return to the Whisperers, Enid's persuasion of Henry from Carl's letter might have spared a lot of lives amongst the Hilltop survivors.

What do you think of the reference to Carl's letter on The Walking Dead? Are you happy to see Chandler Riggs' character continuing to play a role on the series? Share your thoughts in the comment section or by using #AfterTheDead on social media to be featured on ComicBook.com's live show!

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com's After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.