The Walking Dead is done, to an extent. That finale tied up some loose threads and set up the spinoffs, and now, fans have clicked that the very last episode has a heartwarming connection to the very first episode, 12 years ago.
I used to be well into the show and then I stopped watching it at the same time as a majority of others (if you know, you know). Since then, there's been the rise of Negan, Ezekiel's Kingdom, Hilltop, the Whisperers, the Reapers as well as the complicated alliances between our survivors and the new recruits that have their own agendas. It's been a lot, even just reading the season summaries, and I only commend Kate Harrold for keeping track of it all over the years.
The zombie apocalypse genre is satiated with all sorts of stories set in different times, and this one looks bloody brutal. Check out Blight: Survival here!
Spoilers for the finale of The Walking Dead follow, obviously.
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Rick's son Carl died in the eighth season as a result of suicide before he succumbed to a bite. His letter of farewell still stuck with his father, showing compassion and mercy when he would ordinarily have sought revenge for what was done to him and his family. While only a few of the original characters that were introduced in Days Gone Bye survived to see the sun set on another bountiful day at Hilltop, Carl actor Chandler Riggs managed to sneak into the background while Maggie speaks to Daryl and Carol.
"That was our last day of shooting and Chandler wanted to come visit," explained executive producer Greg Nicotero in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "And I looked at him and I went, 'Hey, you. Take that, go stand in the back of that shot.' It wasn't planned."
Fans have now noticed, too, that the only characters to show up in the very first and very last episodes of the show are Carl and Rick, creating a wholesome dovetail effect. Rick's one motivation was to reunite with his family to ensure their safety and he did his utmost to do so. Unfortunately, he lost Lori and struggled with his sanity, and Carl's relationship with his father was a shaky one as they differed on how to survive in this new world. They clearly loved each other though and that connection remained all the way to the end of the show.
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