Season 8 of The Walking Dead has been a doozy. While the first half of the season was chock full of action and crazy gunfights, the midseason premiere ushered in a back half that is decidedly more emotional and character driven. Looming above the entire series is the recent death of Chandler Riggs' Carl Grimes, who was on The Walking Dead since its very first episode. The midseason finale revealed Carl had suffered a walker bite, with premiere giving him a final epic episode, complete with some heartbreaking scenes. TWD fans are still reeling from this twist, and Riggs was recently shown a compilation of fan reactions. Spoiler alert: there were tears shed. Check it out.
Well, my day is made. It's no secret that Walking Dead fans were very emotional over the death of Carl Grimes, and now Chandler Riggs was able to see it all first hand. His look of uncomfortability really says it all.
The video goes through Carl's final appearance on The Walking Dead, Season 8's midseason premiere titled "Honor". The film was no doubt given this name because it was the show's attempt at honoring both Carl and Chandler Riggs. Carl was shown having a nice final day in Alexandria, including spending with time with Judith and writing goodbye letters. It was an episode tailor made to elicit emotional responses, and the fans pictured in the above clip from Good Mythical Morning were no exception.
It's truly fascinating is seeing how truly devastated those Walking Dead fans were when saying goodbye to Carl. Rick Grimes' son hasn't had the best tenure on the series, as he was generally regarded as an annoying distraction during his first few seasons. Carl also made major mistakes that resulted in character's deaths, like Dale in Season 2. He eventually became a more independent and strong survivor of the apocalypse, but Carl was never quite a fan favorite like Abraham or Daryl.
Still, his death was shocking and hit the community hard, resulting in a petition to have the showrunner fired. It also seemed to have caused some havoc for Chandler Riggs himself. While this decision was likely made partly so Riggs could go to college, the actor himself didn't have much of a say. Riggs' father actually took to social media to tear down the producers, since his son worked for eight seasons on the apocalyptic drama. While watching the video of his fans crying, Chandler jokingly said his response to reading the script was similarly emotional.
While Carl Grimes may no longer be on The Walking Dead, his presence is still very much felt. Enid is reeling from his death and unsure if saving people is worth it. Additionally, both Rick and Negan seem to be affected by his death, which is motivating both men to kill each other and end the conflict.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC. In the meantime, check our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch. Additionally, check out our Amazon premiere list and superhero premiere list to ensure you don't miss a single episode.
