Carl’s attempt to take out Negan didn’t go as planned, and it might mean bad news for his father Rick Grimes.
Want to know what’s worse for Rick than death? Seeing his son drift away from him and go on an undesirable path. Instead of killing Carl in The Walking Dead Season 7 episode 7, Negan decided to talk to him. Negan had an actual conversation with Carl. Yes, Negan toyed with him for a bit, but he asked Carl a lot of personal questions. Carl couldn’t even answer some simple questions, like “what do you like to do for fun” because he hasn’t had time for fun.
Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl on the show, explained Negan’s thought process in dealing with Carl during the latest episode of The Talking Dead.
"I think the whole reason behind Negan bringing Carl to the Sanctuary is to build more respect from Carl towards Negan," Riggs said. "I think it works for the most part."
Riggs went on to say Carl thought it was “cool” that Negan treated him like an adult. We also saw Negan have compassion for Carl after he apologized for making fun of his injury. Negan also encouraged Carl to be confident and not hide his wound.
Negan didn’t kill Carl, but did manipulate him into seeing things his way. Negan was able to show Carl another way of life, which from an outsider’s perspective, might not look so terrible. Had Negan not killed Carl’s friends, he might’ve even liked the guy. Carl is also a teenage boy, so seeing a man with multiple wives is kind of cool.
Needless to say, Carl’s encounter with Negan will affect his relationship with his father Rick and surrogate mother Michonne. We’ll likely see Carl become a lot more bold and Rick will have no choice but to let his son come into his own. Hopefully Carl will become like his father Rick, but it’s possible he might want to take after Negan.
Do you think Carl will rebel against his father and become like Negan? Let us know in the comments below. The Walking Dead Season 7 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
