Star of The Walking Dead Chandler Riggs talks about his covert appearance in the series finale. The actor debuted in the 2010 premiere episode and went on to play Carl Grimes for eight seasons of the AMC series. Carl, the son of the show’s main character Rick (Andrew Lincoln), was a cherished member of the original group of The Walking Dead survivors and one of the show’s most notable characters for these reasons. The character, however, didn’t make it to the finish line; his passing midway through season 8 marked the end of his story on the program.
Riggs, who was present while they were filming, talked about his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the series finale during a post-finale sit-down with Entertainment Weekly. Episode 24 of season 11, “Rest in Peace,” The Walking Dead, which has been on television for 12 years and had run for 11 seasons, finally ended this week. Carl’s cameo appearance in the finale was in the background of one scene since he was harder to see since his death meant he couldn’t really return to the show. Riggs was able to reconnect with the actors and crew and participate in bidding goodbye to the program he grew up watching thanks to his brief appearance, which was a treat for the character’s fans.
It was for one of their wide shots, and they were like, ‘Let’s get you in there. Here!’ I was just in this shirt and jeans that I came down there in. They grabbed a hat from the wardrobe. It was like Father Gabriel’s hat! And they gave me a hoe and said, ‘Be a part of the background for one of the last shots.’ And they just tossed me back there, and I just did some hoeing in the ground in the background. [Laughs] It was a lot of fun. It was just a quick thing before the rest of the filming for the day, so it was pretty cool.
The impact of Carl’s passing on The Walking Dead
Carl’s optimism as he grew older in spite of the awful things he had witnessed and gone through solidified the idea that Rick’s children often represented hope in the grim, post-apocalyptic setting of The Walking Dead. His innate leadership abilities, bravery, and capacity for joy demonstrated that despite the state of the world, life was still worth living and that kids growing up in the zombie-infested environment still had a chance to succeed. Additionally, Carl and his sister Judith (Cailey Fleming) gave Rick the resolve to continue and uphold his moral standards, keeping him grounded despite the numerous challenging decisions he frequently faced.
Carl had a crucial part in The Walking Dead, therefore his death drastically changed the tone of the show and was a contentious decision because the character doesn’t die in Robert Kirkman’s original tale; instead, he takes the position of his father as the main character. Around Carl’s passing, several people stopped watching the show because they thought the decision was needless and detrimental to the program. After the season 9 time jump, Judith assumed the role of her older brother, donning the sheriff’s deputy hat that Carl had passed on to her and serving as the show’s last living member of the Grimes family.
Numerous comic book storylines were altered or lost as a result of Carl’s passing, including those involving Lydia, the daughter of Alpha (Samantha Morton), and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) (Cassady McClincy). Additionally, viewers greatly missed his chemistry with the other characters and his endearing relationships with the other survivors, yet his passing did serve as a permanent reminder to his loved ones to uphold his legacy of faith in humanity because he sacrificed himself to save Siddiq (Avi Nash). Negan was spared due to Carl’s message of mercy, which had far-reaching effects because the former bad guy is slated to appear in one of The Walking Dead’s many spinoff series.