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Norman Reedus was as stunned as everyone else when it was revealed that Carl (Chandler Riggs) had been bitten by a walker on "The Walking Dead" midseason finale.
"I was desperately unhappy about that," he told Entertainment Weekly.
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View StoryThe actor, who has portrayed Daryl alongside Riggs since the first season of the long-running AMC drama, went on to add, "I've seen Chandler grow up from a little boy. I've known that kid so long, and it always hurts when you lose a family member on the show."
The move was especially shocking to many fans because Carl is alive and well, even stepping up into a leadership position, in creator Robert Kirkman's "Walking Dead" comic book series. "I always thought Chandler would be the last man standing, to be honest," Reedus revealed.
He is only the latest cast-member to speak out about the show's most recent shocking twist. Andrew Lincoln talked with EW about the seismic shift this loss means to the show. "This is uncharted waters for the show," he said. "Loosening and untethering us from a lot of the story in the comic is one really interesting way of moving the story forward, and perhaps we can look at a bigger story outside of the one that we've been focusing on for eight years."
Reedus warned that the creators may want to be careful about whittling away too many more of the original cast-members. With Riggs set to die in the Feb. 25 premiere, and Lennie James shifting over to "Fear the Walking Dead," only Reedus, Lincoln and Melissa McBride remain of the Season 1 cast.
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View Story"The people that started this show, to me, are the heart of the show," Reedus said. "When you lose those key members, it's such a big blow to the show, and to the fans, and to us that are there. Who's left? There's only a few of us left out of all those people. If you wanted to turn it into a totally different show, you get rid of those people. But if you want to hold onto what made the show special, you've got to be very careful what you do with those people."
Riggs, however, promised that there are stil some important moments coming up for Carl in his final episode.
"He does have a lot to say because he's been watching Rick over the last however many years, and has been learning from him and seeing every mistake that he's made and every right decision," he told EW. "Carl's just really going to be trying to teach Rick as much as he can."
"The Walking Dead" returns to AMC on Feb. 12 at 9/8c.
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