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Oh Coral. We knew you all too well.

Something bad happened to Carl (Chandler Riggs) on last night’s Walking Dead episode. And I don’t mean indigestion.

SPOILERS

Yes, it was time for a new shocking death. We’ve watched Riggs grow from a scrappy moppet to a stone cold killer (he’s now 18) and now he’s off to other states, other lands, other roles. In Walking Dead tradition he gave an Exit Interview to the Hollywood Reporter, and even he admits he found reading the script gloomy.

The last scene I shot was my farewell scene to Judith. I remember reading the script and thinking how depressing all these scenes were. It was a really awkward day. When we finished the last shot, the entire crew had patches or bandages over their eyes [in a nod to Carl] and were clapping and cheering. It was overwhelming and everyone was both excited and sad to see me go. They gave me one of the original hats that Andrew Lincoln wore in season one and a framed t-shirt of one of the science dog t-shirts that Carl wore in season one, which was really cool.

Later on, he notes, he had a “death dinner” (a TWD tradition for departing cast members) but “morale” wasn’t bad because he was facing the future like he had one.

To be honest I didn’t watch this episode, and haven’t really watched since Negan came on the scene. Apparently I’m not alone, as ratings have begun to decline. The show is still absurdly popular, in modern TV terms, though, and it won’t shamble off any time soon. Good luck to Riggs! He’s dealt with a lot in his young life.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Hopefully that last line was said sarcastically. I’ve known kids who dealt with drug abusing moms, dead siblings and jailed dads. Not sure that starring on a popular tv show and being depressed by the script really counts as “dealing with a lot.” But maybe it was his starring role as a munchkin at age 9 that really threw his life into turmoil.

  2. I don’t watch the show but if I did and I wanted to avoid spoilers, I would need to not read the teaser blurb for this article. This is the last bit of it:

    “SPOILERS Yes, it was time for a new shocking death. We’ve watched Riggs grow from a scrappy moppet to a stone cold killer (he’s now 18) and now he’s […]”

    So, you know, if you’re going to bother to warn about spoilers, try not to post them on the lead-in to the article.

  3. Is there such a thing as a shocking death on that show any more? It’s been some time since I watched regularly, and when I’ve looked at it recently it’s been not only nasty but very tedious.

  4. I thought season seven was one of the strongest seasons, and I was pretty happy I stuck with it. It is a study in masculinity; as Negan would no doubt himself say, ‘swinging dicks’. I like this territory and it’s pretty fascinating

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