Summary

Carl's survival after being shot in the eye was unexpected but essential for the storyline.
The bullet shattered his face but didn't penetrate the skull, allowing him to survive.
Carl's injury led to a visual change in appearance and mental growth as a character in The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead thrusts every character into real danger in almost every episode, whether through the threat of the walkers or from other human beings themselves. One character who often finds himself in the heart of the action is Carl Grimes, and while he is ultimately unable to survive, he does manage to get through some very serious situations.

Arguably, the most intense situation he ended up in before his death was when he was shot in the eye. It was a moment where The Walking Dead fans were sure that Carl wouldn't survive, but he was able to overcome the situation regardless of how serious the injury first appeared.

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By Lucy Owens

How Did Carl Get Shot In The Eye During The Walking Dead?

Carl had established himself as a confident leader within the group by the time season six, episode nine, rolled around, as it was in "No Way Out" where he was shot in the eye. It was one of the most dangerous situations that the character ended up in, not only because of the injury but due to being surrounded by walkers at the time. It was a storyline that was lifted directly from the comics, with Carl surviving there, too. In the show, Carl and several other characters are forced to navigate themselves through a group of walkers by covering themselves in walker flesh in a bid to camouflage among everyone. Unfortunately, that went wrong when Sam was eaten after being paralyzed through fear. That set off a chain of events that ultimately led to Carl being shot in the face.

Firstly, Sam's mother, Jessie, ended up being bitten after she screamed at watching her son die. However, when she was being attacked, Jessie didn't let go of Carl, forcing Rick Grimes to chop her arm off with an axe. Carl fell, and so did his gun at this point, which was picked up by Jessies older son, Ron. Due to witnessing everything that had already transpired, he prepares to shoot Rick, only for Michonne to kill him with her Katana in a bid to protect Rick. However, as Ron falls to his death, he pulls the trigger, with the wayward shot catching Carl in the eye socket.

How Was Carl Able To Survive The Shot?

Viewers of The Walking Dead were left stunned at the visual following this moment as Carl turned around to reveal he was missing his eye. With a giant hole in his face, people naturally presumed he was going to die, but the show had a surprise up its sleeve. That's because Carl ended up surviving, as it was revealed that the bullet only glanced Carl's face. It shattered the bone, which caused secondary damage to his eye, and while he lost vision, the bullet didn't penetrate his skull, which meant it never impacted the brain. That is how he was able to survive what was actually his second time being shot in the show.

Of course, this particular storyline took things to the extreme in regard to how believable everything was. Some audiences found it hard to accept that Carl would have survived a bullet shot such as that to the face, but in a show like The Walking Dead, there is plenty of freedom, given the series is about a zombie apocalypse. Considering Carl was a main character at the time, it wouldn't have made sense to kill him off. Instead, it was simply the show's way of bringing in a key storyline from the comic book that readers had always wanted to see take place. However, the way he loses his eye is different in The Walking Dead comic, as Alexandria community leader Douglas accidentally shoots him in that version.

This Moment Changed Carl In The Walking Dead

Carl might've survived his close scrape with death on this particular occasion, but the moment does change him as a character. Arguably, the biggest way it does that is visually, as he adopts a new look after this with bandages and eventually an eye patch to cover up the scar. This creates Carl's most iconic look throughout The Walking Dead and makes one of the most well-known visuals in the show's history, which allows him to stand out even more.

However, it also gave him a lot of character development. Carl was a child when The Walking Dead began, and he adapted to the world perfectly, managing to survive and learn new skills. But that's what makes this moment perfect as it proved he wasn't invincible, forcing him to be more careful and cautious moving forward. It also plagued him mentally for a while, as would be expected due to the nature of the injury. The way it matured him even further was only beneficial for his character and the show in general. So, not only did it create a huge talking point when it happened and moved his character to the next stage in The Walking Dead to strengthen the show even more.

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