The Walking Dead season 6 return embraced a moment in the Robert Kirkman’s comics even his hardcore fans weren’t ready for: Carl Grimes gets shot in the eye.
The scene happens a bit differently in The Walking Dead comic books than it does in the show. In The Walking Dead comics, Jessie has one son named Ron who’s about the same age as Carl. Ron is caught in the walker herd and Jessie tries to save him. Jessie begs Rick to help them, but Rick knows it’s a lost cause. He wants to keep moving, but Jessie grabs Carl’s arm to force Rick to help them.
Rick takes an axe and starts hacking off Jessie’s arm to free Carl from her grip. Douglas Monroe,leader of Alexandria, tries to distract the walker herd and shots as many as he could before they eventually eat him alive. Douglas’s finger is still on the trigger as he’s overtaken by walkers, and bullets fly everywhere. One of the bullets hits Carl in the eye and Rick rushes him over to the infirmary.
AMC's The Walking Dead series took a bit of creative liberties when it came to shooting this scene. Jessie has two sons, Ron and Sam, who were walking alongside her as they tried to make their way to safety. They made it to nightfall, but Sam starts to think about the things Carol told him about the monsters coming to eat him alive. Sam freezes in fear and gives the walkers enough time to grab him.
Jessie screams in horror as she watches her son get eaten alive. Ron calls out to his mother to keep going, but she eventually gets eaten as well. Jessie is still holding on to Carl, and Rick has to chop off her hand in order to set him free. Carl falls to the ground and loses his gun. Ron picks up the gun and aims it at Rick.
Ron believes Rick is at fault for the all the bad things that’ve happened to him. Michonne puts her sword through Ron’s chest and the gun goes off. Rick nods at Michonne in agreement for what she did. Carl calls out to Rick. Rick sees Carl’s bloody eye and watches his son drop to the ground. Rick picks up Carl and runs to the infirmary with Michonne watching his back.
In the comics, Carl survives the injury but is left horribly disfigured. His scar becomes this strange source of insecurity and power. Negan, the villain that The Walking Dead TV show fans will get to see by the end of season 6, respects Carl for being a survivor. Comic book Negan convinces Carl he doesn’t need to be ashamed of his eye, meanwhile Rick is being more overprotective than ever.
Carl’s injury will change the way he looks at the world forever. Do you think Carl will become less hopeful and more guarded? Let us know in the comments section below.
