The Walking Dead
"The Walking Dead" characters Ron (Austin Abrams, left) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln, right) have been bonding so far in Season 6, but it looks like that may come to an end now that Ron seems to have a desire to harm Rick's son Carl (Chandler Riggs, not pictured). AMC

While everyone is still breathing heavy from the reveal of Glenn’s (Steven Yeun) fate in Season 6 of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” the Nov. 22 episode set up a pretty grim future for one key character that remains in Alexandria. With the show starting to mirror Robert Kirkman’s comic book storyline more and more, many are convinced that the upcoming midseason finale will mark a huge moment for another fan-beloved member of the cast.

Although Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) began his run on “The Walking Dead” as a snotty little kid desperate for his parent’s attention, he’s since blossomed into a fearless zombie-killing man that just wants to take care of himself, and possibly get the girl in the process. However, the events of episode 7 strongly foreshadow the coming of an event in the comic books that changes the young character forever.

[SPOILER ALERT: The remainder of this article will discuss potential spoilers for the TV show as well as events in the comic book series.]

For those that don’t know, around this time in the comic books, Carl falls victim to a near-fatal gunshot wound that ends up costing him his right eye. In the source material, the walkers breach the walls of Alexandria during an attack by a group that’s similar to The Wolves. Rick Grimes leads a party of survivors through the mayhem, when Douglas Monroe, whom the show turned into Deanna Monroe (Tovah Feldshuh), begins shooting indiscriminately into the crowd of zombies. In his untrained haste, he accidently puts a round directly through Carl’s right eye. It’s a bad wound, but the character eventually wakes up and spends the rest of his life with the disfigurement.

While the show is not necessarily married to anything that happens in the comic books, the Spoiling Dead Fans posted an allegedly leaked image several weeks ago that appears to show actor Chandler Riggs on set sporting an eye bandage. As a result, many fans watched last night’s episode of “The Walking Dead” and believed they were seeing the first steps toward Carl losing his eye at the hands of none other than Ron (Austin Abrams). During episode 7, Ron begged Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Carl to take him shooting. However, the lesson ended quickly when it became clear that Ron was a little too eager to “practice” with live ammunition. With all of the guns locked up, Rick thought nothing of letting him carry around an empty pistol to get experience, but when Ron stole a handful of rounds from the armory, it became clear that his intentions are more than suspect.

The Walking Dead
"The Walking Dead" characters Ron (Austin Abrams, left) and Carl (Chandler Riggs, right) have had a tense relationship in Season 6, and it looks like it may come to a deadly end in the upcoming midseason finale. AMC

Although it may be a controversial statement: Ron can’t exactly be blamed for wanting to kill the two male heads of the Grimes family. Since blowing into town, Rick murdered Ron’s father in front of the entire community and Carl has pretty much stolen Ron’s girlfriend, Enid (Katelyn Nacon). While he’s developed a tacit father/son relationship with Rick in the time since his father’s burial, it seems there’s no apology that can satisfy a love scorned teenager who thinks he just lost the only age-appropriate woman left in the world. With his fully-loaded pistol, he pulls it on Carl with his back turned only to chicken out at the last second. Still, when the midseason finale opens, one of the key set pieces will include a vengeful Ron, a loaded gun and an unsuspecting Carl Grimes.

Do you think Ron will be shooting Carl’s eye out in the midseason finale? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.

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