‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7: How Will Chandler Riggs’ College Life Affect Carl?
How will The Walking Dead deal with Carl’s storyline in light of the recent revelation that he will be going to college? There are a variety of theories, one of which is especially heartbreaking. We’ve watched Chandler Riggs grow up on TWD, and he has his whole life in front of him. Like any teenager, he has decisions to make about his future — decisions that may impact his future on AMC’s hit show.
A couple of weeks ago, Riggs tweeted the news that he had been accepted to Auburn University.
ayy i just got accepted into auburn
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) November 7, 2016
The news immediately had fans talking about whether this could mean that he may be leaving The Walking Dead, but others were quick to point out that he wouldn’t necessarily have to quit the show in order to attend Auburn because of its proximity to the show’s filming location. Auburn is located about an hour and a half from Atlanta, where filming takes place, so it wouldn’t be impossible. But it wouldn’t be easy, either. The scheduling adjustments that would need to be made in order to accommodate Chandler’s class schedule and the added stress of making that commute on a regular basis would pose some real problems. Neither Riggs nor any of his representatives have confirmed whether or not he will stay with The Walking Dead after beginning college.
Those who believe that Chandler will be leaving The Walking Dead point to a scene from last week’s episode as foreshadowing his death. It’s the scene where Carl is practicing his dart throwing. He keeps missing the board completely. His aim is off to the left. As the Huffington Post reported, some are saying this foreshadows that Carl is going to try to shoot Negan, like he threatened to do earlier in the same episode but will miss, with his shot falling just left of him.
In the Walking Dead comics, this is what happens. Also in the comics, though, it isn’t a deadly miss. He is allowed to live. But given that Chandler Riggs is heading off to college, maybe that won’t be the case on the show. Maybe it will be the reason he kills Carl.
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If showrunners decide to follow the comic, Carl will make it to the Sanctuary, make a failed attempt to kill Negan, and then sort of become Negan’s project because he admires his courage.
There is a support from the latest episode of The Walking Dead that this will be the chosen path, at least Carl’s attempted murder. Think back to the interaction between the two in last year’s season finale. Negan asked if he was a southpaw, and he answered that he wasn’t — he’s right-handed. Those darts that kept missing the dartboard? He was throwing them with his left hand. And that scene where he pulled a gun on Dirty Davey and threatened to kill him? He was using his left hand. He’s making a deliberate attempt to learn to use his left hand, probably so he can catch Negan off guard by using his left hand to shoot at him.
Other theories abound, of course, several of which are explored at She Knows. A couple of them include the aftermath of Carl’s failed attempt at shooting Negan. If The Walking Dead does give us a scene where he shoots and misses, he could be beaten to death with Lucille for it, or he could take his shot from far off and his bullet becomes lodged in Lucille. Another possibility is that he never gets the chance to test his shooting. He may get caught in the van before he’s able to execute his plan. He could convince him to let him stay and then work against Negan from the inside while the villain takes him under his wing.
It’s also possible that either Jesus or Daryl will keep Carl from taking a shot at the leader of the Saviors. They could either sacrifice themselves for him or draw Negan’s attention away from him and onto themselves. Rick and Michonne could discover he’s gone, go in search of him, run into Enid, and head to the Sanctuary to head him off.
Time will tell what Walking Dead producers decide to do with Carl going forward. They had to know that there was a good chance that Chandler Riggs would eventually head off to college. They must have had plans for how to deal with that when the time came. This was not likely a shock to them. But what plans have they made? We’ll have to wait and see.
The Walking Dead airs on AMC on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET.
[Featured Image by AMC]
