The Walking Dead‘s midseason premiere ended on as devastating a note as possible when Carl Grimes shot himself in order to prevent his transformation into a walker. After such a huge loss to the show, fans were left wondering what’s going to happen next. Well, the immediate answer is that the following episode is going to pick up exactly where the last one left off.
AMC has released the opening sequence for episode 10 of season 8, titled “The Lost and the Plunderers,” today and it sets the tone for a sombre installment of the series, but one with some classic walker action, too.
The clip kicks off with Rick and Michonne standing at Carl’s graveside, which we saw them dig at the end of the previous episode, “Honor.” While Michonne goes to let out some of her grief on some walkers who are creeping up on them, Rick tries to keep it together by his son’s grave.
Tellingly, he hooks Carl’s pistol onto the gravemarker for a moment…Â before removing and holstering it. It’s clear that he’s not quite ready to take his son’s last message, which is that his mercy should prevail over his wrath, to heart just yet.
As the pain is still so raw, the pair remain mostly devoid of emotion throughout the scene, until Michonne discovers the handprints Carl and Judith made on the porch. At this, she starts to break down… but soon has to pull herself together when walkers come a-knocking. At this point, she finally breaks the silence by telling Rick they have to go.
We’ve previously been told that Carl’s death will have an “incredible impact on everything going forward” and that the thinking behind the decision to kill the character off was to have it act as a marker of an “ending of an era for The Walking Dead” as well as the “starting of a new one.” From the looks of things here, that’s certainly true and we’re excited to see where the show goes next.
Be sure to catch The Walking Dead: “The Lost and the Plunderers” on AMC this Sunday, March 4th.
