It’s no secret to fans of The Walking Dead that Chandler Riggs was not particularly happy that his character, Carl Grimes, was surprisingly killed off the series back in the eighth midseason premiere. It was “devastating” for the actor, who was fired two weeks before his 18th birthday. Often, however, it seems like Riggs’ father William — who has lashed out a number of times — took Carl’s death even harder than his son.
In the wake of his exit from the series, however, Chandler Riggs mostly maintained a nonplussed attitude, and even admitted a couple of months ago that he was to blame for the demise of his character, saying, “I sucked when it mattered most.” Riggs even conceded that he should have been recast (instead of killed off).
Still, Riggs has had a good sense of humor about his departure from the series. He’s mostly taken it in stride, although every once in a while, he will throw shade on the series, although it’s all in good fun. For instance, after Carl was bitten in the eighth midseason finale — but before he died in the midseason premiere — Chandler Riggs mocked up his own meme to poke fun at the way that Lori returned to the series, even after her death.
don’t worry guys, i’ll be in the 2nd half of the season. in a white dress on a bridge. pic.twitter.com/08L2fPbReS
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) December 13, 2017
In fact, in the first look photos for his upcoming episode, Carl took another opportunity to make fun of his character’s impending demise.
tired af from getting 100% on expert pic.twitter.com/KbSvbzn6K3
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) February 2, 2018
This is a joke that he’s actually returned to on occasion, which is both a crack at his own expense and a dig at the writing.
when u spend like 3 years in the apocalypse but die bc you tripped and fell
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) February 2, 2018
In fact, he returned to that joke again just last month, but this time with a parody of the Rick/Carl Dad joke meme.
me @ carl when he died from tripping over a tree root after proving numerous times that he’s great at at surviving pic.twitter.com/cGwq14WfK0
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) March 12, 2018
He re-emphasized the absurdity of dying after tripping over a branch in reminding everyone that this is how he died in spite of surviving being shot through the eye.
like dude u literally got shot in the head
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) March 12, 2018
The latest dig came on Monday, in response to the official The Walking Dead account, which suggested that readers check out the comic books in order to learn the identity of the voice speaking on the radio at the end of the episode.
that's what i told scott gimple
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) April 1, 2019
HA! That, of course, is a reference to former showrunner Scott Gimple, who ignored the source material and killed off Carl Grimes, even though that character is still alive in the comics.
Finally, there was this one:
the last time this many people were disappointed was during the season 7 premiere of twd
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) November 9, 2016
Oh wait. Nevermind. That one was written the morning after the 2016 election. TOO SOON, CORAL.
i had a dream that everyone kept calling me coral
woke up crying in a fetal position
— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) April 30, 2018