What Is Carl’s Role In The Walking Dead Season 5?

This season, we’ve learned a lot about several characters on The Walking Dead.  We had an entire episode based on Beth, learned the history of Gareth, gotten to know Father Gabriel and will find out a lot about Abraham’s backstory in Self Help.

Still, there’s a character that has just kind of been along for the ride, and that’s Carl.  Carl has gone on none of the supply missions, killed none of the Hunters, been talked to again like a child by Rick, and was a glorified babysitter for Judith.

WARNING: COMIC SPOILERS BELOW

In the Comics, Carl played a major role around this time.  After Ben (Lizzie on the show) killed his brother Billy (Mika on the show) to prove that people come back after they die, the group locked Ben in a van until they could decide what to do with him.  Carl waited until the middle of the night and killed Ben in his sleep.

The guilt from killing Ben ate Carl up inside.  He knew it had to be done, but he still was very emotional about it.  He cried nearly every night thinking about what he had done.  After he confessed his actions to his father, Carl was lectured about how good people sometimes have to do bad things.  He also told warned Carl that if killing becomes too easy that he should be careful, because that’s when good people become bad ones.

Instead, on AMC’s The Walking Dead, Carl has been again regulated to babysitting and staying in the house.  All the progress that he made during season 4 seems to have been lost.  Instead of building on saving his father from the assault on the prison, making his own supply trips, and building his relationship with Michonne, it’s a shame to see him being pushed back to being the “baby” of the group whose only purpose is to protect baby Judith.

Eventually this season, the group will split up and infiltrate the hospital where Beth is being held.  Odds are that Carl will be left behind once again to babysit under the watchful eye of the adults at the church.

And that’s a shame, since there’s so much more to offer from Carl during The Walking Dead’s fifth season.

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