Carl May Actually Get His Dying Wish, Thanks To This New ‘Walking Dead’ Character

Spoilers for the March 18 episode. During Sunday night's episode of The Walking Dead, Maggie meets an interesting figure who could change everything for the series. This is Georgie (Jayne Atkinson), a traveler who barters with Maggie and eventually gives her a document she calls "A Key To A Future," which outlines tons of information on pre-technological societies — something she thinks could help survivors of the post-apocalyptic world. Georgie isn't in The Walking Dead comics, at least not exactly as she appears on the show. But she still could have huge impact on the survivors we've been following so closely all these years.

Rebuilding modern civilization by looking back to historic ones isn't a new idea, but it's one that hasn't really been explored much on The Walking Dead thus far. Fans have had some interesting discussions in the past, though, about how the show could possibly explore that mode of thinking, and the bigger themes that those kinds of plotlines could draw out of the drama.

"The interesting question the Walking Dead raises is how civilization would or could maintain itself in the face of a serious, pervasive existential threat. What kind of states would we see? What kind of power structures in human society?" wrote a Reddit user, DeeperThanNight, more than a year ago, in a thread that quickly became an in-depth discussion about how the show's plot mirrors different kinds of governments and societal systems. There have been plenty of other similar conversations about the types of civilizations that could possible spawn from the likes of Rick and Negan struggling to create some kind of order, and these parallels, when they're noticed and pointed out, can add an interesting layer of analysis to an already nuanced show.

Though Georgie doesn't seem to exist in the comics as she does in the show, there are other characters that may serve as some kind of inspiration for her. George and Pamela, who are members of the Commonwealth, seem to have a similar goal to Georgie — the rebuilding of society in a methodical and planned out way — so that could come into play at some point throughout the remainder of the show's run. Regardless, she wouldn't be the first character that has been purely invented for the show, or the first storyline that has veered from the precedents set forward by the comics.

CinemaBlend outlined several characters, including Otis, Dale, and Shane, who died differently on the show than they did in the comic books. ComicBook.com also points out that some people like the iconic Daryl Dixon are completely absent from the comic books, signaling that the show has been unafraid from creative departures from the get-go.

One of the biggest departures from the comics came earlier this season, when Carl died as a result of a walker bite — something that didn't happen in The Walking Dead's source material. Showrunner Scott Gimple defended that change in an Entertainment Weekly interview, and said that despite the fact the show sacrifices a lot of Carl's future stories in the comics, it's a choice they stand by. "We have seen major stories from characters in the comic go to different characters on the television show," he said. "We’re committed to keep telling the story from the comic book. Yes, it’s going to be different."

He said that there's a way to keep the same tone and meaning throughout the entire franchise, even if the stories are told with different people or in different settings than the comics. "As usual, we do plan on telling those comic stories," he continued. "It just will have to be with different people and it’s a different way to tell those same stories. But we hope to still fulfill what those stories do."

Given all of this, fans of the show should be unafraid of this possibly impactful new plot introduced with Georgie's arrival. The show has made some gutsy choices in terms of comic departures, and with the hope she brings, this seems like a welcome one.