I understand and agree on the perception of what the show was about. This is totally uncharted territory. Everything Rick has done and become to this point has been about his son. Everything. And now that reason is gone.

Where it goes from here is one big cloud of mystery but in MY honest opinion, Gimple's ego will get in the way of making any sort of sense of this. I am just as baffled as you are and I don't think there is a "dumpster" style saving of Carl. The little Sherriff will eat no more pudding.

Personally i think this is a HUGE mistake and can not believe TPTB agreed to this. SMH

 

Like the duster dive and season ending cliffhangers this will backfired and ratings will continue to drop... lol they thought it would save them.

 

The show became rudderless even before Carl's death though. We just have nonsensical things happening all around. Just in the last episode alone:

• Carol and Jerry arrive out of nowhere to rescue Rick in front of the sanctuary.
• The car Carol, Jerry and Rick are in gets rammed and then offscreen they only capture Jerry.
• Rick and Carol (however they escaped) proceed to run in opposite directions from one another. Good luck Jerry too.
• Armed to the teeth in "All Out War" Maggie's group just sits in their cars while they wait for the Saviors to surround them. Not a shot is fired from their side after weeks of fighting against the Savior outposts. Did they think Simon was driving an ice cream truck?
• Simon threatens to kill the miraculously captured and abandoned Jerry if Maggie doesn't cooperate with them. When she hesitates he kills a red shirt instead.
• After having these groups band together and attack the Saviors Simon doesn't think it's a good idea to send his people back to Hill Top to oversee things. Yeah, they'll all comply now. We trust them.
• Also how did the Saviors have enough people at this point to attack three separate locations, not to mention that they were so well organized after just breaking out of their Walkerfest.
• Rick finally gets a shot at killing Negan and he hits him with the knob of Lucille, not the sharp dangerous end that he's seen in action firsthand.

So I think the unnecessary death of Carl is actually just an extension of the rest the trash that they've been feeding us that is as ridiculous as the contrived Garbage People

 

Well I can help you with the two in bold. Lol

Rick, Carol and Jerry ended up splitting up into three separate cars to go to the three communities.

And Simon said he would kill someone either way. Jerry if they didn't comply and then when he gave option two, he said, I am still gonna have to kill someone. Bye Neil. Lol

 

This is my take on it. The comics, which allow Carl to continue living on and on, can go on as long as they want. They could go 50 years if Kirkman wants to keep going with it. The show, however, needs to be wrapped up with a satisfying ending. We may not get enough seasons to explore what happens with Carl as he grows into manhood like we do in the comics. So the show is taking a different turn. It's giving us a beginning (the first stages of the apocalypse when day to day survival was their biggest concern, and when Rick only cared about keeping his family safe), a middle (the forming of communities, war,etc.) and an end (what i think will be expanding the communities and defining themselves, politics, preparing for the future, etc.) Carl's death is hitting hard for good reason. Like everyone else said, he's what kept driving Rick from the beginning. But now it's bigger than Rick & Carl, or Michonne & Rick, or Glenn & Maggie, or Carol & Sophia, or Morgan & his family. No one is safe from loss, and they MUST go on for everyone else, the future of the world, for the other communities that are more than likely forming miles and miles away and will reach out one day...not just their own blood relatives. This is no longer about surviving day to day, but rebuilding civilization. They have to keep going no matter the losses they've endured. Everyone who has died thus far are their reasons to keep going, talking them through it in their subconscious, reminding them of the past and propelling them into the future.

I know most peoples' minds are made up about it, but i'm seeing the vision of this show and where it's going and I'm still a fan as hard as that is to believe for those who have written it off. I am legitimately baffled when I get done watching an episode and come here to see the negativity all over the place. I still think the quality of writing is strong, and aside from some criticisms here & there I am happy to watch every Sunday. I hate that we lost Carl but he was the bridge from the past to the present, and in that way I think this is still in large part, his story. Life will go on like he wants it to.

 

Beautifully said.

 

This actually changes my thinking on this issue. Reading this makes me want to stay and see where the show goes.

 

This is probably one of the best posts I've seen. I don't get the people who just bash the show over every little thing. I have some criticism and some things I wish they did differently (Carl's death being one of them) but I still enjoy the show. I never thought Carl would die and I thought he would outlive everyone.

Now I do want to see the direction they go with this. I'm a little worried because they haven't had their best moments when they have completed introduced non comic material. But the story has a lot of potential with Carl gone. Mainly Judith and Rick's story. I want to see how she grows up after the war and after they do a time jump.

 

I really do feel that this was as much Carl's story as much as Rick's, if not a little more his story in the long run. I feel that the show shouldn't deviate this much from the base comic storyline, especially since Carl was and IS still such a huge part of what the WD is all about. In the comic he is still a huge inspiration and motivation for Rick. And I have found great pleasure in getting to see how Carl develops and well, watching him grow up has been a treat. He is a truly complex and well-written character. I feel that someday he will rise and become an even better leader than Rick, which is what Rick wants I believe. Carl is already showing such maturity and drive and leadership. I'm so sad that will be lost in the show, since there was so much potential there. Rick loves Carl more than anything in this world. Carl is not only the future of the show, he is the one and only thing that can truly carry on the Grimes' blood and name. Carl has literally grown up in the apocalypse, and has learned to think and adapt. Ya he's had his moments that he didn't make the best decisions, he's been driven by anger and grief, been blinded by the pain of loss. But who hasn't? I think he has matured so much over the last couple of seasons and this season he was really starting to show what a good, moral, strong young man he was becoming. It broke my heart, looking back, when he was sitting in that corner in his room writing his dad that note: Dad, Just survive somehow. Ugh, now I know why he was writing that! And how he was willing to let Negan kill him to save others was a selfless act, whether he was going to die or not from a bite. This absolutely was a story about Carl, about the Grimes family in general (yes which includes people like Carol, Daryl and Michonne now too, and Maggie), about surviving, rebuilding, and going on. Now I feel that a huge part of the motivation to do that will somehow be lost, or people will at least struggle with it. Rick deserves to have Carl at his side until it's time to pass the torch. Rick has struggled and sacrificed and done the most difficult things all for the people he loves. And he loves no one more than Carl. I'm struggling with this one! I just hope that they make this terrible decision worth it somehow, in the long run. Though it won't ever be the same.

Now you'll have to excuse me, I have to deal with this the best way I know how...

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