Spoilers for The Walking Dead series!In The Walking Dead comic, Carl Grimes managed to survive the zombie apocalypse decades past what many assumed would be his expiration date, with his controversial choice of romantic partner seen at the end of the series finally explained by writer Robert Kirkman!
Having gone through his fair share of trauma after the outbreak began but also making some true friends and lovers along the way, Carl’s main relationships with kids his age over the course of The Walking Dead's almost 200 issues came in the form of Carol’s young daughter, Sophia, and the daughter of the Whisperers leader, Lydia.
And with all three making it to the final issue, the love triangle fans had been watching for years ended with the controversial choice to have Sophia and Carl start a family together rather than Carl and Lydia, a decision Kirkman has finally addressed directly.
Carl Choosing Sophia Over Lydia Was "Always The Plan"
Explained in the newly updated “Letters Hacks” column at the back of The Walking Dead Deluxe #61 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Dave McCaig, this fully colored rerelease of the series has been giving fans interesting tidbits of Walking Dead info as shared by Kirkman, with each new anecdote further enriching the kind of effort put into creating such an iconic franchise. Asked, “What made you choose to make Carl and Sophia a couple back in issue 193 and getting rid of Lydia?” this sentiment has been echoed by fans for years who felt that Lydia was a better fit for Carl in the long run. Speaking to that point, Kirkman says, “Just to show that things had changed and occurred in the time jump… and it was always that plan, that these two who had been together almost the entire apocalypse ended up together," succinctly telling fans who shipped Carl and Lydia why Carl ultimately needed to be with Sophia at the end of the series.
A controversial choice that makes complete sense when going by Kirkman’s reasoning, Carl and Sophia met as kids in the second issue of the story, going on to face the trials and tribulations of a violent world overrun by zombies as friends and survivors, even managing to hold a romantic relationship for a time, acting as each other’s first. Growing up side-by-side during unprecedented times, Carl and Sophia shared their happiest moments together as well as their most harrowing ones, strengthening a bond that grew even stronger as the years went by. And while Lydia and Carl seemed to get each other a bit more throughout the series as they bonded over their trauma and scars more than anything else, it can’t be denied that they were great for one another at the time and were exactly what each other needed. Furthermore, Lydia had once noted that her and Carl’s love wasn’t real love, foreshadowing their eventual breakup and becoming something that makes even more sense considering how jealous Lydia was over Carl and Sophia's close relationship.
So with how Lydia treated all aspects of Carl while they were together — including the creepy way she would lick the hole in his head where his eye used to be — fans weren’t wrong in thinking she and Carl were going to last forever, especially when it’s made abundantly clear in the series finale that Lydia still has feelings for Carl. In the end, the decades-long bond Carl Grimes shared with Sophia brought them back together, giving two iconic Walking Dead characters the happy ending they both deserve.
