The Walking Dead has killed off plenty of characters over the past 14 years on air, some handled considerably better than others. Of AMC’s many victims, however, Carl Grimes is the one that hurts for all the wrong reasons. Emotional and drawn out it may have been, but Carl ultimately succumbed to nothing more than a regular zombie bite – a disappointing outcome after eight seasons of successfully dodging rotten mouths.

The timing of Carl’s exit was even worse. Coming slap in the middle of Rick’s war against the Saviors, the story demanded that in the very next episode after Carl died, Rick Grimes immediately returned to plotting Negan’s downfall. This felt jarring for a character who had always been defined by fatherhood, and driven almost wholly by his son. Rick had no time to properly grieve, and even if Carl’s death did ultimately inspire Rick’s decision to spare Negan’s life, The Walking Dead failed to explain how Rick could even resume fighting so quickly after losing his child.

Carl’s death looks even worse against the backdrop of The Walking Dead’s comic books. Rick Grimes may be the protagonist, but, in many ways, Carl is The Walking Dead’s true main character. Carl is the character the audience watches grow up, the one being molded by the zombie outbreak, and the one pushing Rick to move forward. Tellingly, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comics kept Carl alive until the very end, and the final chapter focused entirely on Rick’s son as a grown man, perfectly highlighting how important Carl’s transition into adulthood is to The Walking Dead’s overarching premise.

Exactly why The Walking Dead killed off Carl remains unclear, despite plenty of speculation. One important confirmed detail is that Chandler Riggs did not quit, as revealed by the actor himself. TV shows are often forced to soldier on after a lead actor quits – just as The Walking Dead itself did after Andrew Lincoln left in season 9 – but Carl’s death appears to have been entirely the show’s call, which only makes the decision even more baffling.