'Walking Dead' star Chandler Riggs reveals gnarly behind-the-scenes photos of Carl's eye

This week's episode of The Walking Dead was the show's first disturbing dip into the strange, mentor-mentee relationship between Carl and Negan, in which Negan took Carl for a tour of the Sanctuary after Carl tried to kill him. It's all well and good — Carl sees Negan iron a man's face and meets his harem of wives, the usual post-apocalyptic stuff. But Negan did eventually make him pay for his attempted murder, which included gunning down two of his men: He wanted to see Carl's missing eye. 

It's an odd request, yes, but it's something the viewers hadn't seen since season six's chaotic midseason premiere, in which Carl was incidentally shot (just like in the comics!). 

Negan does find Carl's missing eye sufficiently badass. Similar praise should be doled out to The Walking Dead's special effects team for such a gruesome sight. 

To that end, Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl on the show, shared photos of the missing eye and the extensive special effects process on Twitter. "These are some of the continuity photos we took when we were trying to figure out how dark the eye should be," Riggs wrote. 

As badass as Carl looks, there's still some concern among the fans about the character's continuity in the show. Riggs is set to begin college next year, which could conflict with his filming of the series each year. But Riggs, for his part, believes it's possible to do both. 

"I want for it to work out," Riggs told the Hollywood Reporter. "Theoretically, I could take one or two classes on campus and maybe an online class. My professors would have to be willing to cooperate. It wouldn't be easy, but I think that could be possible." 

Still, there's no assurances Carl will be safe heading into season seven's midseason finale, especially considering how the show continuously deviates from the comic book source material. Negan's in Alexandria, making himself at home with Carl and Judith, which could finally push Rick over the edge. 

The Walking Dead's midseason finale premieres Sunday, Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. Eastern on AMC.