What's gonig on with Carl? Will he be like Rick, Shane or the Governor?

Carol, played by Chandler Riggs. 
Huddleston, K. (2012, March 14). We predict Walking Dead's death odds: Who'll be the next to go? Retrieved April 25, 2013, from Blaster: http://www.blastr.com/2012/03/we-predict-walking-deads.php

It's easy to admit that Carl started out as an innocent child and now has become hardened by the circumstances of the Zombie Apocalypse.There is no doubt that this boy has been through a lot and growing up in a shift of moral compass cannot be easy. When was the innocence lost? Did it start when he ran away instead of killing the walker that killed Dale? Or when he killed zombie Shane? Was it when he was shot? When he found out the Sophia had been bitten and he watched as Rick shot her? Is it the daily massacre of killing what looks to be humans? Shooting his mom in the head after she passed while giving birth? Watching those he loved around him be consumed by an inevitable force? Is it the lack of stability in shelter, food, parenting? What or who influenced this slow decay of Carl's moral compass and do you think Rick's attempt at bringing civility back will change Carl's ways?

Parenting

      Carl is a very complex character. He starts the show with his dad, Rick, having "passed away" and Shane, his dad's co-worker and friend, taking the father role. Shane leads the surviving group with an iron fist in an attempt to keep everyone safe. What Shane wants he takes and often becomes a hot head when provoked or angered. When we meet Carl he and his mother, Lori, are living in a tent city outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The accommodations are grim and so is the outlook on survival but they are doing the best they can despite the circumstances. It is unclear rather Carl knew that Shane and his mother were an item but nonetheless he accepted parenting from Shane. He watched Shane's decision making and enjoyed the fun father son things that they did together like hunting frogs in the query. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

Carol when he shot the boy after the war at the Prison.
Johnson, S. (2013, April 1). The Walking Dead Finale: Carl’s Actions To Have Season Four Implications. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from Comicbook.com: http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/04/01/the-walking-dead-finale-carls-actions-to-have-season-four-implications/

     Enter Rick back into the scene. The excitement of seeing his dad and being a whole family again does not stop the confusion that comes from now having two father figures and having to decide which one to follow. He obviously takes the route of Rick, but continues to watch the ways of Shane. Rick, despite all of the horrors that surround his family, tries, to the best of his ability, to shield his son from the new world's hardships while explaining how life would be from now on. In an attempt to keep everyone safe, Rick makes many decisions some of which do not work out, and Carl is watching. Somewhere along the line Carl took a turn that Rick did not expect. There continues to be a battle between the men that Carl looks to and Rick ends up killing Shane in front of Carl. Leaving Rick at a loss when he realizes what Carl witnessed. Visibly shaken by this Carl then turns the gun on his dad...but when the zombie Shane came back he killed Shane instead. We don't know exactly what was going through Carl's mind at that point but we know that he had to kill Shane, one of his father figures. We find out later that until Rick confesses to killing Shane to the group Carl didn't really know that Rick had killed Shane, but had been curious about how Shane became a zombie. I wonder if this and Rick shooting Sophia is where Carl began to doubt Rick's choices. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

  
     Next Lori is pregnant which seems to excite Carl at the prospects of having a new sibling. However, there are obvious quarrels between Rick and Lori that Carl doesn't understand. Lori obviously loves her son and would do anything for him and vise-verse. However, upon Lori's death during the birth of Judith, Carl's new sister, Carl is the only one left to shoot his mother so she does not turn into a zombie. Parent figure number two that Carl had to kill. We wonder why he has a hard time respecting authority when he is constantly having to kill those who are in authority over him. This leaves Rick as the only parenting figure but he goes a little crazy and Carl is left to fend for himself. There are other adults who are around and help care for Carl but he is left to parent himself at a young age in the hardest of situations, the Zombie  Apocalypse. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

Carl fighting off the zombie that killed Dale. 
Yeoman, K. (2003-2013). ScreenRant. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3: Carl Grows Up: http://screenrant.com/the-walking-dead-season-3-carl-grows-up-yman-181911/

 Guilt

    Carl in Season three reasoned killing the boy when he happened upon them in the woods during the Woodbury attack on the prison by saying when people who attack aren't killed the ones he loves are. With this logic you can sympathize with him but does that justify murder? I believe the feeling of guilt that started when he saw that not killing the zombie at the farm ended up killing Dale. Despite the fact that the actions of the walker was not his fault and was out of his control, his role in the the swamp that day, he felt, made him responsible. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

     Moving forward he felt that he could save Sophia he was determined that she was alive and he was going to be the one to find her because she was his friend. But when she walked out of the barn and Rick shot her a piece of Carl died that day. Carl began to realize just how dangerous the new world they lived in was and that he had to save his people. Could this be that he watched the two father figures he had risk their lives day after day to save the others too and he was taking after them? Sure...but I think the guilt over losing his friend and Dale were two strong factors in his spiraling down the moral compass. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

Carl with his mom just before she passes away. 
Mullins, J. (2012, November 5). The Walking Dead Shocker: Sarah Wayne Callies Opens Up About Lori's "Difficult" Episode. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from E! TV Scoop: http://www.eonline.com/news/360152/the-walking-dead-shocker-sarah-wayne-callies-opens-up-about-difficult-episode

     The kicker, however, is when his mother dies, she was the last thing holding him steady and when he put that bullet through her head it cemented the guilt that he felt. This guilt eats him up inside and he makes decisions based on those feelings. Though his intentions are good no one has questioned his actions until the end of season three when he shoots the boy in the woods without cause. Hershel explains to Rick the real actions of Carl and Rick realizes that he has a problem on his hands. What is Rick's response? To bring civilization back to Carl. I wonder though is it too late? Will bringing more people into the situation just make Carl more aware of the people he has to protect and the guilt he feels for failing at that prior to their arrival or will it open him up to love and humanizing him again? Only time will tell. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

     Why is the fact that Carl is carrying this guilt around so important? Because he is the future of this new world, he is what they have to look forward to and it isn't looking good. Phillip also held a lot of guilt from his wife dying to his daughter being bitten and turned. His lack of being able to keep his family safe turned him into the "Governor". It lead to him hardening, dehumanizing, and killing even the people that he was protecting, the town of Woodbury. Is it possible that if Carl does not get a grip on his guilt that he could turn out to be like the "Governor", ruthless, cunning, and a murderer? I think Rick, in dealing with the governor, saw Carl in that light when he got back from the battle and heard what Carl had done. I give credit to Rick for trying to correct the damage, but I think it will take more than bringing in other people. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

 

Rick and Carl.
Perricone, K. (2013). 'Walking Dead' Season 2 premiere: Writer explains grotesque zombie autopsy scene. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/walking-dead-season-2-premiere-writer-explains-grotesque-zombie-autopsy-scene-article-1.965992

  On the other hand Carl had a great role model for ruthlessness when he had Shane. The passive aggressive undertones that Shane exhibited were an example for Carl.  Shane was willing to kill anything that stood in the way of what he wanted or needed and it didn't matter if they were human or not. A prime example is when Shane shot Otis to get out of the school yard and back with the gear to save Carl...he needed to survive and to get the medical supplies back so Otis's life meant less to him. Shane wanted Lori and he was willing to kill Rick to get her. And when he didn't get his way he went off the deep end, like when he pried open the barn and shot up the walker inside. Did he have a reason to be concerned? Sure, but the way he approached it was not right....and Carl was watching and learning. I worry that Carl took some of that relentless and aggressive behavior from Shane. Will Carl be like Shane? Again only time will tell. (Darabont, 2010-2013)

    One thing is for sure that Carl is rebelling against the leadership and example of Rick. He disapproves of how he approaches situations and feels that he endangers the lives of those that are in their group with the decision Rick has made. He feels that it's kill or be killed whereas Rick believes in mercy. I think that Carl has stepped away from the influence of his dad and Rick has a lot of work to repair his example. One can pray that Carl doesn't become one of the other two examples, can Rick change the moral compass of Carl, restore his guilt ridden heart, and humanize his son again? And the biggest question of all is will Carl accept it? (Darabont, 2010-2013)

Works Cited

Frank Darabont. (2010-2013).[The Walking Dead]. Gale Anne Hurd.  Atlanta, GA: Stargate Studios.

Frank Darabont. (2010-2013).Season 1 Episodes 1-6 [The Walking Dead]. Gale Anne Hurd.  Atlanta, GA: Stargate Studios.

Frank Darabont. (2010-2013). Season 2 Episode 1-13 [The Walking Dead]. Gale Anne Hurd.  Atlanta, GA: Stargate Studios.

Frank Darabont. (2010-2013). Season 3 Episode 1-16 [The Walking Dead]. Gale Anne Hurd.  Atlanta, GA: Stargate Studios.