I actually was pretty upset watching Carl in this episode because the impression I got from him throughout the seasons was that he was better adjusted to this new world than any of the others. Seeing his carelessness over and over again really got me upset. But I thought about it a bit and this is what my conclusions were.

The question shouldn't be if Carl is more like Rick or Lori. It should be what Carl's actions were. I think he was grieving for the loss of Sophia, his only friend. Without her he has no one to relate to in the group. No on is own age forces him to have to reach out to the adults. Regrettably, they are not giving him as much attention as they once did in the first season. Remember Lori always telling him to be within someone's sight. Now he can disappear into the woods and no one realizes it. I think this isn't about Randall so much as they are feeling overly safe in the farm. Its safe enough for them to not feel like they have to keep a constant watch on Carl. Which was wrong and which is why the attack at the end was great. It was meant to show that they aren't as safe as they like to think they are.

So back to Carl. He is trying to relate to the adults but they are ignoring him and treating him like a child. I do not think he took the gun to play with it. I think he wanted to prove himself. The fact that he was throwing rocks to the zombie was not a lets have fun with the Zombie, I think he was seeing if it could move. From a safe distance if it looked like it came after him, he would have bolted.

The reason he didn't tell him parents about the zombie can actually be two reasons. First he is afraid to get in trouble and second the zombie never came after him right away since one of its legs were still stuck. I guess he assumed he and the group were safe. No need to mention a walker who might not cause trouble only to get himself in trouble.

In the end I dont think how the writer wrote Carl's story was so bad. I think it was too sudden. We don't get any kind of precursor to Carl's actions. If he was slowly turning into a time bomb like Shane then we would have felt more comfortable with the development. But having it all happen in one episode makes it look like Carl is out of character when reality he is not, he's just not given enough time to build all of this up.

Though I hated what he did, he actions show that he was a kid who was lonely and ignored trying to prove he was an adult, and realizing in the end that life is a lot harder than it seemed to him.

 

[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]I go round and round about Carl. But really, I am most frustrated with Lori for not watching him. That is really the only thing that is totally exclusively her responsibility.

But back to Carl. He's about the three years younger than my son. Now my son, durring middle school when he was age 10-12, would have been EXACTLY like this kid only worse. Rebellious, acting out, defiant, impulsive, angry, rude, creative, funny and so so smart. He simultaneously got the highest score in his grade for IQ in 7th grade, and almost got expelled for fighting in the same week. He was simply incapabale of thinking beyond that exact moment. After a fit of temper, he was always remorseful, and always promised to do better. And inevitably, when the time came, he simply reacted to whatever was going on.

He would have poked at the walker and he would have thrown rocks at it - sure. I mean it's already DEAD right? He would have rebelled at being treated like a child and he would have grieved for his friend Sophia by having even LESS tolerance for bullshit from the adults with a significant dose of anger thrown in. He would have said exactly that to Carol about heaven - not to be disrespectful but becasue that is WHAT HE BELIEVES, and he too is still grieving for Sophia. Simultaneiously, He would have believed that Sophia got killed cause she was stupid for running, NOT because there is actually a danger to him, cause that stuff happened to everyone else not him.

Fast foward four years, he's 16 and almost through puberty. He's a thoughtful, smart, polite and focused young man looking at a paid internship at a computer networking company and taking college classes at the community college during his junior and senior year.

Cut Carl some slack. He's 12, throught his father was dead, everytime his dad leaves he worrys that he won't come back, saw his only friend as a zombie, and every time he tries to step up and help the adults treat him like a child and tell him to stay with the women. No wonder the kid rebells and is so angry. Throw in the fact that he's going through puberty, and he's just going to be an asswipe - he can't help himself.

I can totally get where Carl is coming from.
[/FONT]

 

I wish more people were parents, Maggie. That way they'd understand lol.

 

Carl is his mothers Son, can't be trusted to stay put. Always off trying to get killed. Wants Shane when daddy's not available. I alse assume he can't drive a car . . . as Lori demonstrated quite clearly she can't, honestly who has a crash on an empty road, watch where you're going. Carl is way different in the comic, more like Rick, he's like 9 years old in there and packing heat by the 5th Comic.

 

I don't see why we have to focus on who Carl resembles the most in this. Carl is making his decisions out of loneliness and grief. Its practically saying that you are the way you are because of you parents. We know our parents play a role in our lives but we also know that we are not their carbon copies. We can't understand Lori's motives for some of the things she does. But we can understand Carl's because he is grieving. What is Lori's excuse for her actions?

 

Well the thread is called . . Carl/ more like mom or dad?? . . . there might be a clue in the thread title?

 

LOL

agree totally. i really loved Carl in the comic. he's just such a punk in the show. but then again, i can place that blame entirely in the hands of Rick and Lori. they still have yet to come to the realization that sheltering him, keeping him from growing up too fast, its basically sentencing him to death. post z-day the fact that death can come to any of us any day becomes an even more pressing threat, and the best thing you can do as a parent is teach their kids to hold that off as long as possible. want your kid to have a fun, happy and safe childhood? sorry, that ship sailed when the dead began trying to EAT THE LIVING. GET OVER IT and help your kids to NOT DIE. teach them to use a gun, include them in important conversations and decision making. even if you don't take their suggestions, you show them what needs to be considered when making decisions, and you make them want to think harder. anybody who spends time with kids knows that they can be REALLY smart. and because they haven't lost all of their innocence yet, they're much more creative, and able to think outside the box better than adults. they just need to give him a chance to prove it.

 

I can't say which he's more like, but I'm inclined to say Lori because I've made no secret of how much I hate her. But Rick and Lori are both his parents, both should be paying much more attention to where he is and what he's doing. Someone said earlier that everyone is beginning to feel safe on the farm, and I'll buy that. I told my brother today that I'd keep better track of my dogs the end of the world than these two are of their son.

Is what happened to Dale Carl's fault? Absolutely. But Rick, Lori, and to a very small extent Shane, own part of that loss. And if someone doesn't get that kid in line soon before he gets someone else killed, I'm gonna eat the little bastard myself.

 

Probably more like Rick.

 

i dont think hes like any of them to be honest. hes a young kid of course hes going to make some mistakes like we all did. he will mature with time or in season 3-4.