Last night’s Walking Dead midseason premiere, titled “Honor,” brought the expected but still emotional death of Carl Grimes, as Rick’s son bravely shot himself after becoming infected with a walker bite. There’s no question that he’s actually dead, but there is still hope that fans might just see the character again at some point this season.
While speaking to various outlets as part of a press conference call, Chandler Riggs was asked if he’d filmed any further scenes for the show after this episode. Though the actor didn’t go as far as to confirm anything, his nervous reaction really says it all, with Riggs revealing:
“I can’t really say. There’s um…[laughs] Yeah, I’m sorry, I can’t really say anything.”
Obviously he could be speaking plainly here and simply admitting that he can’t talk about the future of the show regardless of whether he’s in it or not. But it’s the bit where he goes “There’s um…” that makes us think he’s hiding something. That sounds a lot like Riggs was about to begin describing a scene but thought better of it, doesn’t it?
How could Carl possibly reappear after meeting his tragic fate in the latest episode, though? Well, a good old fashioned flashback is a tried and tested way to bring back an old cast member, so that could be on the cards here. Personally, the option we think’s most likely is that at some point this season we’ll see the return of Rick’s visions of a perfect future, in which everyone – including his son – is alive and well. The thread seemed to be put to bed in yesterday’s episode, but it would bring things full circle if the motif was resumed in, say, the season finale.
Adding more fuel to the fire, Chandler Riggs even opened up about the potential for a return for Carl elsewhere, as he confirmed that he “definitely” believes it’s possible that his character could appear in a flashback, dream or hallucination at some point.
Unfortunately, this is all just speculation for now, but fans will want to keep a close eye on The Walking Dead as it continues to air every Sunday on AMC.
