Spoilers ahead for the midseason finale of The Walking Dead.
It’s both an exciting and somewhat daunting time for The Walking Dead. With the midseason premiere just around the corner, fans and crew alike are gearing up to say goodbye to Chandler Riggs’ character Carl Grimes. The last episode revealed that Rick’s son suffered a walker bite to the ribs, which means there’s no hope he could survive it all. As such, both Riggs and the fans are reminiscing about Carl’s long tenure on the apocalyptic drama. Now the young actor has revealed his favorite scene to shoot.
Episode 4 or 5 in Season 4. The episode where Carl and Rick are just mowing down all the walkers at the prison. That was definitely my favorite one to shoot. Because the child labor laws restrict kids under 14 from using firearms on set, and that night that we shot that was the night of my 14th birthday. And it was so fun to just go at it and just shoot a bunch. It was like I was in a video game. It was so much fun.
While Carl grew quite a bit as a character over the past eight seasons of The Walking Dead, it turns out that nothing is better than good old fashioned action. Chandler Riggs got to go to town with a rifle like he was in the middle of a war movie, and it sounds like a pretty awesome birthday gift.
The episode Chandler Riggs was referencing was “Internment”, the fifth episode of The Walking Dead Season 4. Things at the prison had been getting progressively worse, with favorites like Glenn and Sasha getting the mysterious illness. Meanwhile, the large horde of undead grew too strong for the prison’s fences, leaving everyone in danger. Rick and Carl eventually gear up in the courtyard, and mow down the undead by themselves.
This moment was an exciting one for Carl, as Rick had stopped engaging in battle during that point in the show. Carl getting his hands on an assault rifle was major, and it’s fascinating to hear that Chandler Riggs’ real life situation was actually something similar. It no doubt fueled his performance, and gave him a birthday he’ll never forget.
The child labor laws surrounding weapons isn’t something that casual fans probably think about, but it certainly makes sense. Chandler Riggs’ comments to CinemaBlend editor Nick Venable during a recent phone conversation actually explains that weird gun/suppressor Carl was seen using during the show’s first few seasons. I mean, check this thing out.
While Carl Grimes wasn’t always the most popular character on The Walking Dead, his impending death is one that shocked fans. Many took umbrage with this decision, with fans even creating a petition to have the showrunner fired over to the decision.
The Walking Dead will return for Carl’s goodbye February 25th on AMC. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch, and our Amazon premiere list and superhero premiere list to ensure you don’t miss a single episode.
