Fear the Walking Dead has shown how poorly it handled Carl Grimes' death in The Walking Dead. The franchise has demonstrated the long-term impact of character deaths, like with Maggie's story and her animosity towards Negan for Glenn's murder. Carl's death had emotional consequences, but the execution of the storyline had issues. Rick's reaction to Carl's death wasn't enough, and the show didn't explore the extent of his grief. Fear the Walking Dead, on the other hand, handled Madison's story of grief more effectively. The Walking Dead could fix Carl's death by exploring Rick's grief in his spinoff.