2. Will Rick Let Carl Be New Carl?
Ever since Carl started to become a more prominent member of the group in season two, he has been a mixture of two things: extremely irritating and completely badassed. Carl has gradually changed from helpless kid to gun-toting teenager, even if he had to learn the hard way, inadvertently causing the death of group members and the callous killing of an unarmed enemy being a major factor in his development, but season four has seen Carl desperate to step up to help the group survive. Despite this, Rick has been striving to keep Carl leashed to the idea of childhood that existed pre-outbreak, one which can surely lead to nothing but being served on a platter to the walkers in current TWD times. Surely if the group is to survive, they need every member who can pull their weight to step up, playing at the whole farmer business will not help much longer, particularly as the walkers have already broken through the prison fences once. So the scene at the end of the latest episode where pa and boy join in that most sacred of acts, blowing a swarm of the undead away with assault rifles, are we seeing Rick finally letting his grip loose on his son? Rick is still unsure on handing Carl a weapon as that scene unfolds, and it's even the kid who has to give his dad a look that says "come on, back a bus up? Let's get the cannons" to finally twist Rick's arm. So maybe we might get an answer here, though I get the feeling it almost certainly will not be a smooth ride as Rick allows New Carl to bloom.