The doomed hour has arrived on The Walking Dead [1]. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of months, then you've likely been mentally preparing for the show's Feb. 25 Winter premiere [2], which is all about the death of Carl Grimes [3]. The death was so shocking and surprising, both Chandler Riggs (who plays Carl) and his father immediately came out with strong reactions [4] just after the episode aired. And the heartbreak only continued from there: Norman Reedus (who plays Daryl) was clearly frustrated [5] when he asked, "Who's left?" Danai Gurira (Michonne) said she was absolutely devastated [6]. But like it or not, Carl is dying. And based on the promotional pictures for the premiere, I think I know how it will all go down.
Unless you're incredibly perceptive and eagle-eyed, there's a solid chance you missed the moment Carl was bitten [7]. It does not happen in the midseason finale [8], aka episode eight of season eight, aka the episode in which we learn about Carl's impending death [9]. Instead, it happens in episode six, when Carl and relative newcomer Siddiq [10] are ambushed by a group of Walkers as they make their way back to Alexandria.
It's a moment that's easy to miss. In this image, Carl is in the same clothes as that very scene, meaning this in-the-mirror moment likely happens just after Carl's fatal bite. Based on this, we can assume some, if not most, of the season premiere will happen in flashback; we're witnessing the precious few hours between the bite and Carl's death.
Carl is now in an interesting position. He's received a fatal zombie bite, and he's the only one who knows it. Another shot shows him writing some things down. In a post-mortem interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which was published just after the fate of his character was revealed, actor Chandler Riggs previewed the end of his character's story [11]. "Episode 809 is really Carl trying to teach Rick as much as he can about what he's learned and trying to convince Rick to not kill every single Savior because there's still good people out there . . . there's some humanitarian aspects that Carl is going to try and teach Rick in his final moments."
Based off of this information, it seems Carl may be spending part of his final day on Earth writing letters. It's true that he may be teaching Rick some of these lessons verbally, but it's all the more impactful for Carl to give parting words in writing. Perhaps Carl is writing other letters, too: letters to Michonne, to Daryl, even to his little sister, Judith.
Rick may be busy fighting a war against the Saviors, but Judith is not. In the quiet moments before the Saviors rain hellfire on the quiet community of Alexandria, I would imagine Carl would want to revel in the serenity and quietude of the day, especially with his sister. He'll have to talk to Rick later, but he has all day to soak up some love from Judith.
We see quite a few pictures of Carl and Judith hanging out in episode nine, so it's possible a good chunk of the episode will be focused on this flashback. We see them painting together, taking selfies, and having fun. Judith may not fully realize her brother will be gone, but Carl is giving her a few more memories before he goes (and likely getting some closure of his own).
By the time Michonne and Rick reach Carl, he is not well. There's a strong chance he's mere hours (if not minutes!) away from turning into a Walker. Given the action in this picture, it seems the priority is to get him to safety. I'd assume this is after Negan is long gone. They want to give Carl a comfortable place to rest. He needs a safe space for his final moments.
Then again, it looks like Carl is all posted up in the sewers here, which is a different situation than what we see in the midseason finale. Maybe Rick and Michonne are going from one sewer part to another sewer part? (I know, it makes very little sense.) Maybe they try to escape and Negan is still hanging around?
Regardless of how it goes down, it seems we'll be wrapping up Carl's long journey with Rick and Michonne. Whatever Carl hasn't put down in those presumed letters from earlier, he has the chance to say here.
So, that's the general flow of the episode, I think. I'm betting we'll pick up right where we left off, then flash back to Carl's final day in Alexandria. We'll get to see him reflect on this bleak world, on everything he's gone through since day one of the zombie apocalypse. Then we'll get to see his last moments with Michonne and Rick. Of course, there's always a chance the creators will throw in a couple of surprises. After all, there are a couple of miscellaneous shots with King Ezekiel, Morgan, Carol, and Siddiq. One thing's for sure, though: we're all going to sob the entire time [14].