Warning: spoilers ahead for the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
Carl Grimes hasn't had much to do in The Walking Dead Season 7, that is, other than nearly have his arm chopped off and get Alexandria's firearms confiscated by Negan. In "Go Getters," however, Carl had a plot of his own that could be taking him in a very badass direction. His major role in "Go Getters" means that there's plenty to discuss about where he's going as a character, and Kevin Smith appeared on the Talking Dead post-episode talk show to share his thoughts. Smith dropped a couple of fabulous nicknames for Carl during his analysis, saying this:
He'll never go away. Carl--Wyatt Twerp--will be with us until the end of the show. They'll never let him go. Patch Adams--as I call him now--he's never going away.
Kevin Smith dropped his two nicknames in response to a Talking Dead question about Carl's future on The Walking Dead, and I have to applaud the creativity. Wyatt Twerp could apply to Carl as much now as it did back when he first started wearing Rick's hat way back in Season 2. The Patch Adams nickname is more recently relevant, as Carl only lost his eye last year. He's been rocking the eyepatch ever since, and enough time has passed that it's just plain fun to make fun of him for it.
Carl/Wyatt/Patch is in a pretty dangerous situation at the moment, but Kevin Smith's optimism about Carl's survival isn't too surprising. Carl is such a valuable character to key players on The Walking Dead that he's not exactly disposable. If Carl were to be murdered by Negan and the Saviors, Rick would lose a lot of his motivation to go along with Negan's demands. After all, Rick didn't break in the Season 7 premiere even after the deaths of Abraham and Glenn. It wasn't until Negan nearly made him chop off Carl's arm that Rick was reduced to a sniveling mess in the dirt. Sure, Rick would still have Judith and the rest of his adopted family if Carl died, but Carl has been Rick's berserk button from the very beginning. Negan's life would probably get much more difficult if he killed Carl.
Then there's the fact that Carl is still alive in the Walking Dead comic series. Even though the show has never followed the comics to the letter, a lot of the big story beats make it from page to screen. Killing off Carl would cut the show off from adapting some epic Carl plots. I wouldn't be surprised if Chandler Riggs has the most job security on The Walking Dead after Andrew Lincoln and maybe Norman Reedus.
Fans who have been waiting for Carl to get what's coming to him ever since he first refused to stay in a house will undoubtedly be disappointed if he makes it to the series finale. Hopefully we can count on everybody finding new ways to make fun of Carl for as long as he stays alive on the show. As long as he keeps growing out his hair and wearing a bandage for an eyepatch, I know I'll laugh. He may be more of a badass than ever in Season 7, but he's still Wyatt Twerp/Patch Adams.
Tune in to AMC on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET to see what's next for Carl and Jesus on their mission to find Negan and The Sanctuary.
