WARNING: The following contains spoilers for A Quiet Place II, now in theatres.
In recent years, the apocalypse has become a more common setting for exploring the good and bad parts of human nature. While A Quiet Place II is all about an alien invasion, it’s really a story about people finding a way to survive in difficult situations. Like many sequels, A Quiet Place II turns its focus to the children. The next generation has to find a way to grow into their new, difficult life. If they cannot adapt, they have no hope of surviving. That is exactly what happens to Marcus Abbott (Noah Jupe). Luckily, he shares a lot of similarities with another young child who successfully grew up in the apocalypse -- Carl Grimes from The Walking Dead.
Marcus might have started the film in the wrong direction. However, by the end, his character development is mirroring Carl’s more and more. If he continues on his current trend, Marcus should be bound for success in future movies.
Aside from the whole end of the world thing, Carl and Marcus are faced with many hardships in their early lives. Most notably, they are both directly involved with one of their parent’s deaths. Carl helps deliver his baby sister during forced labor in Season 3 of The Walking Dead. During the C-section, Carl watches his mother die. He is also obligated to shoot her in the head to prevent reanimation.
Similarly, Marcus watches his father die. In the first A Quiet Place, Lee sees that one of the monsters is about to kill Marcus and his sister, so he yells, distracting the monster after signing that he loves them. As such, he sacrifices himself to save his children. So, not only do Carl and Marcus have to deal with the trauma of losing one of their parents, but they were also directly involved in their deaths.
Carl and Marcus also have to cope with pretty significant injuries. Carl is shot by a hunter during Season 2 and almost dies. He is shot again in Season 6 by Ron and loses an eye. Marcus, on the other hand, nearly loses his leg. While he running for his life, he steps on a bear trap. His screams would have gotten him killed if his mother and sister had not saved him from the approaching monster. Both characters, though, did not let their injuries hinder them.
They also have a propensity for finding and causing unnecessary trouble. Over the years, Carl causes a lot of problems. He repeatedly sneaks out of various camps. Early on, he is partially responsible for Dale’s death. After sneaking away from Hershel’s farmhouse in Season 2, he sees a walker in the swamp but cannot kill it. If he had, Dale would not have been ambushed and killed later in the episode. Marcus nearly does the same thing. While his mother is away looking for medical supplies for him, he gets bored and decides to wander around the building. However, a dead body startles him. He makes a lot of noise which attracts a monster. Then, as he tries to make it back into their bunker, he accidentally locks the door, nearly killing both himself and his baby sibling. If he had stayed put like he was told, he wouldn’t have been in such dire straights.
Even with all of the trouble they cause, both Carl and Marcus find ways to survive and take care of themselves. In Season 4, while Rick was recovering, Carl wanders off and almost gets himself killed multiple times on his own little adventure. It’s the first time he really shows that he can make it on his own in the changing world, and he celebrates by eating a giant can of chocolate pudding. From then on, he's ready to be more responsible and becomes a regular asset to his group.
Similarly, even with all of the problems that Marcus causes, he survives. With a depleted oxygen tank, he kept himself and his sibling alive long enough for his mother to come and rescue them when he could have selfishly taken it all for himself. Shortly after, he uses the radio frequencies to incapacitate the monster and shoot it dead. It's his first time standing up and proving that he can make a difference and not simply rely on someone else to save him.
A Quiet Place II does a great job of developing Marcus’ character. The perfect example is at the film's beginning; he hides and covers his ears while his mother shoots one of the monsters. However, by the conclusion, he is the one saving his mother and shooting the monster. It's a huge step for him, and just like when Carl saved Rick from a zombified Shane, Marcus shows that he is willing to grow up fast and make hard decisions. After his gruesome injury, Marcus displays a lot of grit.
After Carl’s early trouble, he developed into one of The Walking Dead's best characters. He was responsible, determined and always ready to sacrifice to help other people, which is a quality often lacking in the apocalypse. With all of the situational and personality similarities, it seems like Marcus is headed down a similar path. Despite experiencing emotional and physical trauma, he finds ways to survive and save others. Hopefully, as A Quiet Place seems to be creating its own franchise, Marcus can continue his character development and become more like Carl, acting with grit and determination to survive amongst monsters.
Written and directed by John Krasinski, A Quiet Place Part II stars Emily Blunt, Djimon Hounsou, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Cillian Murphy. The film is now playing in theaters everywhere.