The Walking Dead delivered its biggest game-changing twist in the season eight midseason finale, but perhaps we should have all seen it coming.
Just in case you haven't seen the episode yet and have somehow avoided any spoilers, don't read on after the photo.
Yes, Carl is not much longer for this world after he revealed to Rick and Michonne in the final scene of 'How It's Gotta Be' that he had been bitten.
Carl didn't come near any walkers in the episode, but showrunner Scott Gimple has now confirmed we DID see the bite on-screen.
"It happened in a moment that was on screen. We didn't see the absolute bite, but we saw when it happened and we even saw Carl's reaction to it after it happened in one of the episodes that we've seen this season," he explained.
Initially, we had assumed it happened during his encounter with Siddiq and the walkers in the woods in episode six, so after Gimple's comments, we decided to rewatch the scene and – sure enough – there's enough evidence to suggest here is where Carl got that fateful bite.
What to Read Next
Having been accidentally knocked to the ground by Siddiq struggling with a walker, Carl finds himself trying to hold off one walker who certainly seems to hover around the area that Carl revealed his bite to be in.
It then cuts to another walker heading over to Carl which he notices, leading to this face and potentially the moment he gets bitten.
BUT… we feel Carl is too adept at dealing with walkers to let one measly walker overcome him, even if he's momentarily distracted. So we reckon this moment is just a recognition of danger to come, especially as he manages to throw the first walker off him.
The second walker then attacks and here's where we think the tragic blow was dealt. While Carl holds off this other walker, the first one sneaks up from the side to that specific bite area as Carl is using both arms to fight the second walker.
Carl manages to kill both walkers, but it clearly wasn't without consequence: after the encounter, it's clear something else is on his mind and his attention is on his ribs, where he later revealed his bite to be.
And if you want further evidence, how about the distinct bloodstain on his t-shirt, right in the area you'd expect, as we've highlighted below?
Sure, this could be from the walker's brains, but it seems too specific not to be a result of the bite.
See Carl, this is why Rick told you not to give a damn about Siddiq.
The Walking Dead returns on February 25, 2018 on AMC in the US and February 26, 2018 on FOX and NOW TV in the UK.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
