8 Years Later, One Of TV's Most Frustrating Character Exits Still Haunts Us

Image via MovieStillsDB Published Sep 13, 2026, 7:45 PM EDT Misty Layne started as an actor and sketch comedy writer before deciding to concentrate mainly on writing. Utilizing both her love of television and film and her behind-the-scenes knowledge, she began a website reviewing films in 2013, with a focus on horror and indie media. Eventually, she began writing about all things television and film for other sites as well. Misty shares a home with five cats, a ton of books, and a fairly impressive vinyl collection. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Characters exit TV shows all the time. It's simply a fact of life. Some of these losses are more painful than others, though. After all, there's a difference between a character going off to do their own thing and one dying. Some TV exits make sense, while others leave viewers frustrated with the show. When a character leaves in a way that doesn't create the showrunners' desired effect or disappears only to further another character's storyline — such as when Tara tragically died on Buffy the Vampire Slayer — it can do more harm than good. There may be no more frustrating character exit on television than The Walking Dead's Carl, who died in season 8. Not only was he one of the show's original characters and played a significant role in its narrative, but his death didn't follow the comics and ultimately meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, leaving audiences infuriated. Carl Was Too Important To Kill Off In The Walking Dead By Yaut MovieStillsDB.com Andrew Lincoln's Rick might have been the main protagonist in The Walking Dead, but Carl was easily the deuteragonist. Carl had been on the show as long as Rick, and some could argue that his coming-of-age arc during the zombie apocalypse was more central to The Walking Dead's story than anything else. Especially when considering that in the comics, the ending focuses on Carl as an adult telling his children what happened to humanity and how they got to where they are now, which means the whole story was actually from his viewpoint. As much as some found Carl Grimes controversial, by the time he died, he'd experienced tremendous growth, going from an annoying child who often unintentionally led others into danger to a compassionate young leader, willing to protect those around him. He wasn't just the heart of the series; he was meant to be its future, as all that growth throughout the seasons was meant to lead to him taking over once Rick was done. Carl also had further storylines in the comics, which he should have been involved in within the TV series. His death was supposedly a way to calm the war between Rick and Negan, which it technically did, as during the two's final showdown, Rick chose to keep Negan alive, essentially in Carl's honor. However, the same thing happens in the comics without Carl dying. He plays a significant role in the Whisperer and Commonwealth arcs. After his death, his comic storylines on The Walking Dead were divided among other characters, such as Henry and Carl's sister, Judith, a decision that wasn't well-received by audiences. Carl's Death Was The Beginning Of A Decline For The Walking Dead By Yaut MovieStillsDB.com As if it wasn't bad enough that Carl was gone when he shouldn't be, his death was ultimately pointless in the show's overall narrative arc. Carl died by saving Siddiq, then Siddiq was killed a mere season and a half later, rendering Carl's sacrifice obsolete. Essentially, Carl's death was little more than a way to further Rick's story, which, considering Rick disappeared the following season, made it all the more senseless. By that point, several original cast members from earlier seasons had been killed off, leaving viewers feeling cold, and adding Carl to the list didn't help. The Walking Dead had always been bleak (as zombie apocalypses are wont to be), but people were getting tired of the doom and gloom, and the newer characters didn't spark as much loyalty or love as the earlier ones. Ratings had already dropped after Glenn's brutal death in season 7 of The Walking Dead, but after Carl's, they fell even more, and by the end of the show, it was down to less than season 1's viewership. Part of that was due to changes in streaming habits, though fatigue had clearly set in (via THR). After season 8, The Walking Dead was no longer as good as it had once been. Not all of that comes down to Carl's exit, but his death was certainly a major turning point that helped launch the beginning of the end for one of television's biggest-ever franchises. Release Date 2010 - 2022-00-00 Network AMC Showrunner Frank Darabont, Angela Kang, Scott M. Gimple, Glen Mazzara Cast Norman Reedus Daryl Dixon Melissa McBride Carol Peletier Directors David Boyd, Ernest R. Dickerson, Billy Gierhart, Guy Ferland, Laura Belsey, Jeffrey F. January, Michael Cudlitz, Sharat Raju, Alrick Riley, Michael Slovis, Michelle MacLaren, Rosemary Rodriguez, Seith Mann, Tricia Brock, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Daniel Sackheim, Fred Toye, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jon Amiel, Kari Skogland, Kevin Dowling, Tawnia McKiernan, Larry Teng, Julius Ramsay Writers Channing Powell, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Glen Mazzara, Jim Barnes, Vivian Tse, Robert Kirkman, Erik Mountain, Evan Reilly, Kevin Deiboldt, Julia Ruchman, Nicole Mirante-Matthews, Nichole Beattie, Eddie Guzelian, Geraldine Inoa, Magali Lozano, Curtis Gwinn, LaToya Morgan, Eli Jorne, Adam Fierro, Frank Renzulli, Ryan Coleman, Jack LoGiudice, Charles H. Eglee Franchise(s) The Walking Dead