Fans of The Walking Dead are no strangers to Rick Grimes frequently shouting his son's name throughout the long-running horror series. It was only a matter of time until the "Carl" meme was born, but it was Rick's variable pronunciation as "Coral" that graduated the meme from an inside joke to an internet sensation.

The series' main protagonist Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his son Carl (Chandler Riggs) were introduced in Season 1, Episode 1 of The Walking Dead. Rick, a former sheriff, awakens in a hospital to discover himself in the middle of a zombie outbreak. With his wife and son nowhere to be found, Rick searches an apocalyptic Atlanta, Georgia, for them. There is no cell phone service in The Walking Dead universe, so locating Carl isn't as simple as sending a text, leading to Rick shouting his son's name with a unique pronunciation on several occasions.

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The "Carl!" Meme Started With a YouTube Video

Carl Grimes leans on the door of a car while wearing an eyepatch and hat

In November 2012, YouTuber MichiganSt35 capitalized on Rick's shouting and crying, uploading a clip from Season 3 of The Walking Dead titled "Rick Finds Out Carl is Gay," which features Rick reacting to his wife's death. While the joke played into homophobic humor, the YouTube clip spread like wildfire and marked the start of the meme's legacy. A year later, BuzzFeed featured several comics that used the same scene from the YouTube video to depict Rick telling Carl various dad jokes. Two years late, YouTuber KYE ULTRA uploaded a video titled "The Walking Dead - Every Time Rick Has Said Carl."

In the years to come, people took to social media, creating countless dad joke memes and compilation videos using Rick and Carl's emotional scene in Season 3 of The Walking Dead. Rick's alternate pronunciation of "Carl" as "Coral" spawned its own plethora of memes as well. In one popular example, Tumblr user carlsburnbook photoshopped an image from Finding Nemo to feature pictures of Rick and Carl below the title "Finding Coral."

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Jokes aside, Walking Dead fans were shocked by Carl's death in Season 8, a fate that differs from his comic book counterpart. Against the advice of Rick, Carl helps a stranger kill a group of walkers. A zombie overtakes Carl in the heart-pounding scene, and the struggle leaves him with a nasty bite. The bite is a death sentence that Carl accepts with surprising grace. His last wish is for Rick to show compassion for the Woodbury survivors and their infamous leader, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Despite the sad circumstances, even The Walking Dead's official Twitter got in on the "Carl" meme action more than six years after its origin.

With The Walking Dead now done, the "Carl" meme has outlived the character. It's ironic that one of the show's most emotional moments became the backdrop for dad jokes. Despite its origins, the "Carl" meme has earned a place in pop culture history, and its continued use has the potential to renew interest in the franchise long after its final episode.