The Walking Dead: Carl’s greatest moments from chocolate pudding to his final farewell
We round-up Carl’s best moments on The Walking Dead (Pictures: AMC/Getty) The Walking Dead left hear..
The Walking Dead left hearts shattered and torn as Carl Grimes departed the show in emotionally satisfying style, so it’s time to get reflective on his best moments.
Chandler Riggs has played Carl since the show began in 2010, with audiences watching his growth as an actor, and zombie killer, unfold over eight years on-screen.
So as we’re all inevitably in an emotionally fragile state, let’s heal those tears with a stroll down nostalgia’s warm embrace as we rundown the finest moments of Carl Grimes.
Carl eating all the pudding (season 4, episode 9)
Let’s start off easy, shall we? After the prison is decimated, Carl has to fend for himself and protect his father who’s on death’s door. This is transformative event for the character as he battles a walker solo with newfound confidence and independence, before toasting his victory by bagging a huge tub of chocolate pudding he scoffs on the roof.
It’s now become one of the biggest memes for Carl, and a warming moment of human levity in a bleak apocalyptic show.
When Rick almost chopped off Carl’s arm (season 7, episode 1)
Being the standout sequence in the season seven premiere, Negan tortures Rick by asking him to cut off his own son’s arm or let everyone else die. It’s painful, heart-wrenching and leaves you wondering till the end whether Rick could actually perform such an act on his own blood.
It’s perhaps the greatest episode since Carl’s demise, meaning Chandler has essentially helped carry the two best episodes in The Walking Dead’s recent history.
Carl gets shot by accident (season 2, episode 2)
While the second season does suffer from spending too much time on Hershel’s farm, it starts out with a shocking bang as Carl is accidentally shot by Otis who was hunting deer.
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It’s an early example of The Walking Dead teasing how no character is safe from this world, where both humans and walkers are a threat to survival.
Carl shoots Shane to protect Rick (season 2, episode 12)
The flip side of season two sees Carl undergo a transformation, from literally being put down by a bullet to firing a gun against one of his own.
After Rick and Shane have a climactic fight resulting in the latter’s death, Carl stumbles upon the pair and points his gun at Rick unaware of the context around this confrontation, only to save his father’s life by shooting down reanimated walker Shane stumbling from behind.
Carl loses his eye (season 6, episode 9)
A classic scene in Robert Kirkman’s comics was brought to life in season six, seeing Carl lose his eye after being shot by Jessie’s bitter son Ron amid a zombie scuffle.
Carl’s had, by some margin, the worst luck on the show. Luckily as we come to discover, he looks pretty badass rocking an eye-patch.
Carl kills his first human, and it’s a young kid (season 3, episode 16)
In a moment he regretfully recalls during his death scene, Carl kills a kid who works for David Morrissey’s Governor even as he surrenders his weapon.
It’s a turning point scene which lingers long over the character, influencing his decision to embrace strangers like Siddiq and convince his father of a better path over war. It’s a slip in character, but an important test which goes beyond Carl’s moral boundaries.
The death of his mother Lori (season 3, episode 4)
A scene which is arguably the most harrowing the show’s ever produced, Carl is left to shoot his mother Lori who dies giving birth to his sister Judith.
It’s a pivotal moment which brings an end to the tense relationship between Rick and Lori after their love triangle with Shane, while also, in the aftermath, delivering the most iconic Walking Dead meme to ever exist.
CORAAAAL.
Carl’s death (season 8, episode 9)
Chandler Riggs delivers his best work yet in this emotionally devastating episode, seeing a passing of Rick’s hat to Judith, the penning of farewell letters, and that last brutal shot where Carl shoots himself with a pistol as Rick and Michonne break down outside.
It’s a loss which will undoubtedly affect the rest of season eight, as Carl attempts to convince Rick to change his ways to fulfil his idyllic vision of Alexandria.
The Walking Dead continues Sundays on AMC in the US, and airs in the UK Mondays on Fox at 9pm.
MORE: The Walking Dead showrunner defends Chandler Riggs’ ‘beautiful’ exit as Carl Grimes
