The Walking Dead Season 3: Carl to Become Stronger

For fans of AMC's The Walking Dead who were growing tired of Carl never being in the damn house, there is hope on the horizon. It now looks like, in the future, Carl will be the one telling other people to stay in the house instead. 

Talking to TVGuide, Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara commented on Carl's evolution in the upcoming third season, which is slated to premiere in October. "We're interested in exploring Carl as a child soldier in this war against the walkers," Mazzara shared. "He becomes a very, very effective, strong part of the group. He's no longer the young child who needs to be cared for and who needs to be minded. That Carl is gone."

That's all facilitated, in part, by his killing of zombie Shane at the end of the penultimate episode of season 2, "Better Angels," as well as his indirect responsibility for Dale's demise in the episode before.

In the graphic novels on which the series was based, Carl shot non-zombie Shane in the neck, killing him to defend his father. The comic book version of Carl is significantly darker than he has been portrayed on the television series thus far; he's committed several shocking killings, and has been in life-threatening situations too many times to count (Otis shooting him wasn't the last time Carl was shot). Whether or not Carl follows this dark moral path set by the source material remains to be seen, but at least he'll no longer be just a kid to be rescued by the time the third season rolls around.

The Walking Dead's third season will premiere in October.