Warning: This post contains spoilers from the Sunday, February 25, episode of The Walking Dead.
It’s the end of an era for Walking Dead fans, who had to say goodbye to Chandler Riggs’ Carl Grimes during the season 8 midseason premiere. After being bitten by a walker, he said his goodbyes to his family and ended his suffering. However, he didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Enid, one of his closest friends, whom he also shared a kiss with.
“Chandler has always been a great friend and great help on and off set,” Katelyn Nacon told Us Weekly exclusively. “I know the show won’t be the same without having someone my age so easy to relate to, but I know he’ll only do great things from here. I wish him only the best!”
The entire cast was absolutely crushed by the news of Carl’s death, and having to say goodbye to Riggs, 18, who started on the show when he was just 10 years old.
“He’s really a young man and it’s been one of the greatest privileges to watch this man grow up on screen in front of my eyes,” Andrew Lincoln, who plays Carl’s dad Rick, told Entertainment Weekly. “When you work with somebody and watch a boy going to a man in front of your eyes — you love this guy. You admire him and learn from him, and you see him growing into this remarkable young man. He’s taught you about his country, and his family, and he has this beautiful heart into your heart. I just loved watching and marveling at this really extraordinary young man.”
For the young actor, the toughest scene was the last one he filmed – his goodbye scene with little sister Judith.
“It was super depressing, not the scene that I was excited for, but I think it turned out really well and I’m very happy with it,” Riggs told ComicBook.com after the finale. “I was very happy with the way Carl ended up going out. After reading the script, it made me feel a lot more comfortable with it and really excited to really show off what I can do in this last episode. This last episode it was some of the stuff that I’m most proud of. It’s super, super exciting to finally be able to talk about it and have people see my work.”
The Walking Dead airs on AMC Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
