Rick and Carl Meme Template
Rick and Carl Grimes from AMC's The Walking Dead share a tense father-son exchange, standing in for a parental lecture or a solemn piece of advice handed to someone who plainly won't follow it. The still freezes an earnest moment of guidance between an authority figure and a younger, often reckless, person. People reach for it to frame life lessons, warnings, or instructions destined to be ignored.
Caption this template- Category
- Situation Meme Templates
- Size
- 620 x 693 px
- Format
- Image
- Price
- Free, no sign up
Where the Rick and Carl meme comes from
Rick and Carl Grimes are central characters in The Walking Dead, a zombie survival drama that aired on AMC beginning in 2010, based on Robert Kirkman's comic series. The specific screengrab of Rick speaking seriously to Carl became a meme template because of how often Carl would disregard his father's warnings in the show, making 'Coral' a punchline in its own right.
How to caption the Rick and Carl meme
Put Rick's serious advice in a caption above the image and then reveal in a second caption or on the image itself that Carl - Or you - Is going to completely ignore it and do the exact opposite anyway. Use it to represent any situation where someone is given clear, reasonable guidance and immediately walks directly into the thing they were warned against. Open it in the meme generator, or read how to make relatable memes for more.
Rick and Carl caption ideas
Need a starting point? Try one of these on the Rick and Carl template, then make it your own in the meme generator.
- Rick: Don't text your ex tonight. / Carl: *opens the conversation at 1am anyway*
- Rick: Save some of your paycheck this month. / Carl: *adds the whole thing to cart*
- Rick: Go to bed, you have an early meeting. / Carl: *starts episode 7 of 8*
- Rick: Don't read the comments, Carl. / Carl: *scrolls straight to the comments*
- Rick: Just commit the working code before you change anything. / Carl: *refactors everything at once*
Best uses for the Rick and Carl template
Use the Rick and Carl template when the joke fits a situation format and the image can explain the feeling before the reader finishes the caption. It is strongest for relatable everyday moments, before-and-after jokes, and social observations.
This blank is 620 x 693 px and is a still image, so place the most important words where they stay readable after a feed crop. The near-square frame is flexible for feeds, group chats, Reddit, and Discord.
The sample captions leave room for a setup and a punchline without turning into a paragraph. Before exporting, read the caption once without looking at the image; if it still needs a long explanation, switch to a simpler setup or a more obvious related template.
Caption patterns to try
| Pattern | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Rick: Don't text your ex tonight. / Carl: *opens the conversation at 1am anyway* | This works because it gives the reader a specific situation instead of a vague label. |
| Rick: Save some of your paycheck this month. / Carl: *adds the whole thing to cart* | This pattern keeps the setup concrete, which helps the template carry the reaction. |
| Rick: Go to bed, you have an early meeting. / Carl: *starts episode 7 of 8* | This is a useful direction when you want the punchline to feel personal or self-aware. |
Common mistakes with this blank
- Writing a caption that explains the whole joke instead of letting the Rick and Carl image do part of the work.
- Placing text over the most expressive part of the image, especially faces, gestures, signs, or the main action.
- Using three different ideas in one meme. This template works better when it points at one clear situation.
- Exporting before checking the meme at phone size. If the smallest words blur together, shorten the caption first.
