Which Star Wars characters would these The Walking Dead favorites be?

Carl Grimes and Anakin Skywalker

A reckless but well-intentioned kid with huge expectations placed on him that just wants to do the right thing but suffers from disillusionment with the world around him. Where have we heard that one before?

Carl Grimes and Anakin Skywalker are incredibly similar when you look at the core of each of their characters. From a young age, both of them are expected to live up to exceptional legacies. Carl is the son of the mighty Rick Grimes and hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps by helping others survive the apocalypse. Anakin, meanwhile, is dubbed as the “Chosen One” by the Jedi Council and is forced to leave the only family he has to train in the ways of the Jedi.

And while both had a pure heart and desperately wanted to do the right thing whenever they could, they both struggled with their inner demons at times.

Anakin’s anger came out in full force (pun intended) when he learned of his mother’s death at the hand of a tribe of Tusken Raiders. As the infamous line goes:

"“I killed them all. And not just the men, but the women and the children, too.”"

Not all of the tribe was at fault, but Anakin’s rage forced him into a rash action that hinted at the dark future ahead for him.

We can look at Anakin’s chase of the bounty hunter who tried to kill Padme for an example of his hotheaded behavior. All he wanted to do was bring justice to the person who tried to hurt his future wife, but the way he went about it was all wrong. Rather than continue chasing the bounty hunter in his speeder, he elected to jump out into oncoming traffic, not considering that if he missed the bounty hunter’s ship then he would fall to his death. Again, Anakin’s intentions are usually good, but the way he goes about things can be problematic.

Carl also has some inner demons that he has to deal with from time to time. His darkness is evident when he kills a teen from Woodbury that had clearly surrendered and was not a threat. Carl didn’t even hesitate, shooting the kid in the head because he “couldn’t take chances anymore.” The look of horror on Hershel’s face after witnessing Carl’s brutal act told the audience all they need to know about Carl’s dark side.

The young survivor’s recklessness was abundant during his time on the show as well, most notably when he tried to single-handedly kill Negan and his men at Sanctuary. Rather than work with others to strategically take out the Saviors’ leader, Carl went in with an assault rifle and just started lighting people up. This easily could have ended with him dying, and while his intentions of ending All Out War were noble, he went about it in a reckless manner.

In the end, both suffered a tragic fate that was a result of meaning well but not fully thinking through the consequences of what they were doing.