carl grimes

Carl Grimes is the deuteragonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is the son of Rick and Lori Grimes and the half-brother of Judith Grimes. During the initial outbreak, Carl believed his father to be dead, so he and his mother joined Shane Walsh to travel to Atlanta to the refugee camp.

During the first season, Carl is portrayed as a shy and reserved boy, only striking up a conversation with his parents and members of the group with whom he feels comfortable, such as Shane Walsh, Dale Horvath, and Sophia Peletier. Carl, being relatively young, is shown to often be frightened by the horrors of the world, thus looking to his parents for shelter and comfort. Carl is a kind boy who tries his best to comfort those closest to him when he recognizes that they are in need.

In the second season, Carl retains his shyness, but he develops a bolder personality and is seen to be less frightened of the world in response to the many ordeals he has experienced. He attempts to take on a more active role, wanting to help out the group, rather than be known as a liability; he finds the arsenal of knives for the group, and he helps with the search for Sophia. Like most children at his age, he is sometimes disobedient, but he shows shame and guilt when his actions negatively impact the group.

After accidentally being shot by Otis, Carl is stricken with negative thoughts. He develops the desire to fend for himself and also to prove his independence and maturity. This is especially prevalent when he accompanies the adults in gun training. After his friend Sophia is found zombified in the barn, he begins to form a noticeably colder personality, mentioning that he would have put Sophia down himself. In addition, he follows his father into the barn to watch him execute Randall, and he even eggs Rick on to do the act. Carl is occasionally pessimistic and rude. He also insults Carol for speaking of heaven. Despite this, he is not above apologizing and realizes that some of his words and actions are unacceptable.

after witnessing Lori's death, delivering his baby sister, and taking it upon himself to put his mother down, his despondent attitude amplifies. Carl goes through a stage of depression, neglecting to speak much unless he feels that it is necessary. He even tells his father to temporarily step down from his leadership position. Despite the traumatic impact that his mother's death has on him, it hardens him immensely. He becomes very brave, frequently helping people and risking his own life to save others; he saves Michonne outside the gates and his father from a hostile Morgan Jones, despite his father's pleading to stay back.

Despite Carl being young, he is not hesitant to call out his seniors when he believes that they are doing something illogical. Perhaps the most notable instance is when he tells Hershel Greene that he is not going to allow him to go into the woods alone, and also when he informs Rick that Carol Peletier should be permitted to teach the children of the group how to defend themselves. Throughout the course of the first half of the season, Carl gradually becomes more integrated into the defense of the prison, even fighting beside his father to stop a large horde of walkers, which Carl recognizes was a tough thing for Rick to allow. By the time of the prison's fall, Carl is severely shook up, most probably due to the loss of the prison, the decapitation of Hershel, and the presumed death of Judith.

After entering Alexandria, Carl, again, grows fairly sullen, worried that the community will make him weak and dulled to survival. Although he likes the people and enjoys living in large houses, he finds dealing with the other adolescents in the community rather complicated, though he eventually decides that he ought to make friends rather than live in isolation with his outsider group

After Carl gets shot through the eye by Ron and spends the next two months rehabilitating from the incident, Carl seemingly appears to remain normal, showing his usual smile to his loved ones, but it becomes increasingly clear that this is a crudely put up façade at best and that Carl is absolutely not okay. He presents a noticeably rougher edge when his loved ones aren't around

As time progresses, Carl slowly becomes hardened due to the severe loss of life and the environment around him. He has shown to be more than willing to assist and protect the people he cares about, especially Michonne Hawthorne, another survivor who he regards as a mother figure and his best friend.