'The Walking Dead,' 8X13: Is the Kingdom's Henry the next Carl?

Spoilers for the most recent episode of "The Walking Dead" follow below.

On Sunday night’s episode of "The Walking Dead," Walkers, which had become more of a subplot annoyance since Carl Grimes was bitten before the mid-season finale, wreaked havoc on the Hilltop after being turned by infected weapons wielded by the Saviors. This was a call back to the early years of horror and gore inflicted by the risen dead, but we also saw the return of another familiar trope, of children taking on more than they can handle. Henry, a young boy from Ezekiel's kingdom, showed some very young Carl-like qualities this episode, and not just because he refused to stay in the house.

Henry’s role in the episode

At the start of season 8 episode 13 "Do Not Send Us Astray," Henry asks to help the conglomerate of Hilltop, Alexandria, and Kingdom people fight the approaching Saviors. However, both Carol and King Ezekiel refuse, telling him it isn’t safe for him. Henry listens to them, at least for the first half of the episode. Then, before the recently-turned Walkers start their attack, Henry sneaks off to the pen holding the Hilltop’s Savior prisoners. Unlocking the gate, he enters and gives them a choice; surrender the man who killed his brother, or he will start shooting. Before he can get to the shooting part, though, Walkers attack the pen, and he is rushed by the prisoners as they escape into the night.

The episode ends with Carol and Ezekiel asking, “Where’s Henry?”

Similarities to Carl

Henry is proving to be the next generation Carl in many ways. Like young Carl, Henry is fueled by anger and the need to prove himself capable of protecting his people. In season 3, Carl, still reeling from the death of his mother and attacks from an opposing group, kills a young man in cold blood, and is convinced he had to do it to protect his family and friends.

In a similar scene, Henry, in the season 8 mid-season premiere, kills Gavin, a Savior lieutenant, from behind, also convinced it was the right thing to do. Henry, too, is fueled by vengeance, after his brother was killed by Saviors in the previous season (by one of the prisoners now being held at the Hilltop).

But like Carl, Henry’s actions don’t always lead to good outcomes.

In season 2, Carl teases a Walker out of a bog it was stuck in, only to see it kill a member of his group later in the episode. Henry’s fumble with the prisoners could also lead to deaths of people in his group, as many of the released make their way back to the Saviors to join their ranks. Henry and young Carl are both plagued by the desire to not be seen as kids, while still acting very childlike in their execution of plans.

What’s next for Henry?

All may not be lost for "The Walking Dead"'s most recent prominent screen-time child. Carl was supposed to have a very big storyline coming up in the show, per the comics. If the show follows the source material, the group will face off with the Whisperers next, a group Carl becomes entangled with.

Though Chandler Riggs would have no doubt played the part beautifully, many of the things Carl does during the next phase are so poignant because of his youth in the comics. Henry, played by 11-year-old actor Macsen Lintz, is closer to the age Carl is supposed to be in the comics. We could see Henry take Carl’s place in the Whisperers’ storyline, as we’ve seen other characters trade comic plots in the past.

However, this is assuming Henry lives to see the Whisperers enter the playing field, as he has presumably run off to confront the fleeing Saviors, with no back up to speak of. There’s also the time jump to worry about; if it is meant the be as significant as the first episode of the season suggests, young Henry might be too old to serve as new Carl, meaning either a recast for him or an untimely death to free up a role for the next new Carl.

Do you think Henry is going to take up the mantle of Carl’s story? Or do you think he is another child destined for a vicious fate? If there is anything we can expect from "The Walking Dead," it’s the short shelf life for their underage characters.