‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8: Will Carl Grimes Live Or Die In The Mid-Season Premiere? [Poll]

For many fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead, the shock revelation of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) being bitten by a walker has left them devastated. Ever since the mid-season finale episode, fans have been scouring the internet looking for more information on how Carl’s story will play out.

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information from the comic books that may create spoilers for upcoming episodes of The Walking Dead.

Initially, the cast and crew were adamant that Carl would die and that Episode 9 was his final episode on The Walking Dead. But then news started popping up indicating that maybe Carl wasn’t going to die. So, let’s have a look at the three most popular theories on what will happen to Carl, and then you can cast your vote in our poll as to what you think will happen to Carl Grimes when The Walking Dead returns.

Carl Will Die

As Scott M. Gimple initially stated when interviewed by Talking Dead directly after Episode 8 aired, Carl had been bitten and normal circumstances for walker bites would follow as a result. While he didn’t directly confirm Carl would die, so far in The Walking Dead universe, a bite from a walker means you die — no exceptions.

There was a very good reason to explain why the TV show had deviated so greatly from its source material as well. Around this point in the comics, a time hop occurs that sees Rick Grimes capture but not kill Negan. There is no strong reason cited in the comics as to why Rick didn’t kill Negan and fans had to make assumptions themselves. It is possible, as a result of this, that the show decided to create a valid reason for not killing Negan. There is the suggestion that Carl may be able to talk to his father before dying and convince him that killing Negan isn’t the answer.

A lot of evidence supporting this is presented just by watching the show. Carl has spent a lot of Season 8 of The Walking Dead coming to the realization that his father might be wrong about killing people when it came to the All Out War with Negan’s group. By the time he was allegedly bitten, he had also met Siddiq (Avi Nash) and voiced his opinion about his father’s views to him. So, to have Carl get bitten and then redeem his father would be a satisfactory completion to Carl’s story arc in this season of The Walking Dead.

Just because there might be a good reason to kill off Carl in the TV series doesn’t mean the cast has to like it. Cast members have voiced their sadness at losing Carl since the mid-season finale episode of The Walking Dead aired, actress Danai Gurira being the most recent.

“So, yeah, I was devastated. Michonne was devastated,” she told Digital Spy.

Carl Will Live

According to ComicBook, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman recently revealed the following during a Walker Stalker Cruise Q&A panel.

“He’s not dead yet. He might not die. You never know. But I think if, were that to happen, I think that it would have some interesting ramifications on Rick, that I think would energize and really kind of set things in motion in a really interesting way leading to the resolution of All Out War in a way that will make for a very exciting back half to season 8, so I think it’s going to be really cool.”

In the same way that Carl’s death could be the trigger for Rick not killing Negan when The Walking Dead returns on February 25, perhaps having Carl survive his bite could also be a catalyst for Rick.

But how could that happen?

In the comic books, there is a group called The Whisperers that Carl comes in close contact with. This group survives by blending in among the walkers. They do this by covering themselves in the skins of walkers as well as copying their mannerisms. So, it is possible a Whisperer could have bitten Carl, and not a walker. If this is the case, it might not be a death sentence for Carl.

There is also one more way in which Carl could survive.

Carl Will Die But Reanimate As A Human, Not A Walker

There is a popular theory out there among Walking Dead fans that Rick — at least — is immune to the walker virus. Considering he survived a coma and a vicious beating from the Governor (David Morrissey), this theory does, potentially, carry some weight. Most common within this theory is not so much that Rick is immune, but that his body does something slightly different to everyone else with the virus. As fans saw in the Season 1 finale of The Walking Dead, the walker virus only activates a small part of the brain after death, and that is what causes reanimation. But what if Rick’s biological make-up reacts with this process and somehow triggers his entire brain to regenerate after death? And, if this is the case, could it be hereditary?

If this theory is correct, Carl could die as a result of the walker bite but reanimate as a human after death. It would also go a long way to explaining how Carl survived two major gunshot wounds previously in The Walking Dead.

What do you think will happen to Carl when The Walking Dead returns? Let us know by voting in the poll below!

https://www.playbuzz.com/inquisitr/the-walking-dead-season-8-will-carl-live-or-die-in-the-mid-season-premiere

Ultimately though, fans will have to wait until Season 8 of The Walking Dead returns on February 25 to find out Carl’s true fate.

Season 8 of The Walking Dead returns to AMC on Sunday, February 25, 2018, at 9 p.m. Episode 9 will be extended to 82 minutes long (including adverts) according to Digital Spy.