‘The Walking Dead’: Who Will Kill Carl?

Now that we know Carl has suffered a fatal zombie bite and is just waiting to meet his end, The Walking Dead has a big question to answer, when it returns from winter break for the second half of season 8: Who is going to kill Carl?

The list of characters available to do the deed are limited, as Carl doesn’t look like he has all that much time left – at a point where Rick’s army has just been scattered by a retaliatory attack by The Saviors. However, in looking at the situation, there are several strong possibilities for how this could go:

Rick

The Grimes family has something of a tragic history when it comes to having to put down one of their own; Carl stepped up to kill his own mother, Laurie, when she was infected, so in a way it would be fitting if Rick had to step up and do the same for Carl.

It would be one of the most powerful dramatic moments in the entire Walking Dead series, not to mention a great parting gift for young actor Chandler Riggs to get to share one more big scene with his onscreen Dad, Andrew Lincoln. It would also fit with the tease at the start of the season, in which we see Rick seemingly traumatized and wandering around aimlessly. It would be fitting if that moment occurs just after he puts down and/or buries Carl.

Michonne or Daryl

As Carl’s surrogate mother and big brother (respectively), there would be no one Rick would trust more to carry out the one kill he himself could not.

Michonne is in a super fragile place right now, so even if she mustered the resolve to give Carl a merciful end, the lasting trauma of that act might break her. Even though Daryl hides his feelings well, he’s also in a pretty fragile place right now, and doing Carl in would probably have the same back-breaking effect on him.

In short: this is NOT an option we want for two of our favorites.

Carl

This option seems kind of dark – but hey, this is The Walking Dead, baby!

In the midseason finale Carl showed some incredibly noble bravery, offering to sacrifice himself to Negan and The Saviors if they spared the rest of Alexandria. It’s clear that Carl has accepted his fate, and is more concerned with what awaits those he’ll leave behind.

Carl’s sympathetic thinking, could move him to spare his father or any of his close friends the pain of having to kill him, by simply taking that choice away from them and doing the deed himself. If he did it in a surprising moment (like when Rick is blubbering in total denial of what needs to be done), then it would make Carl look noble, while still shocking the living hell out of viewers.

The Walking Dead returns for the second half of season 8 on February 25, 2018. Let us know who YOU think will put Carl down by hitting up @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.