The Carrie Diaries Prepares to Tackle Walt's Sexuality Head-On

Even though Walt dumped Maggie and kicked off an unbelievable relationship with resident bad girl Donna — she's his beard — The Carrie Diarieswill finally jump-start Walt's (Brendan Dooling) journey to discovering his true sexuality during Monday's episode of The CW series.
"Starting in [Monday's episode] through the finale of the first season, we're really going to see Walt's journey take off," executive producer Amy B. Harris tells TVGuide.com. "I didn't want it to be an easy journey for him. ... This episode really kicks that off in a big and surprising way."

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Previously, Walt befriended Larissa's (Freeman Agyeman) colleague Bennett (Jake Robinson), who actually kissed him earlier this season during a party in the city. But Walt rebuffed his true feelings and decided to continue his relationship with Maggie (Katie Findlay) instead. After learning that Maggie had been cheating on him, however, Walt found comfort in a surprising place with Donna (Chloe Bridges), who will help him come to new conclusions much quicker than he could've if he stayed with Maggie."What was so compelling about being able to tell this story in 1984 is that nobody was coming out in high school," she says. "When I wrote the pilot, I actually thought I would have him come out a lot faster, but then when I watched the pilot, I realized that the time frame it's in, it's a very difficult thing. Even now, it can be really hard to come out, and I wanted that experience to be real for Walt, which is painful and scary."

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Walt will actually find help in that department from Bennett, who will come back into his life very soon. "I loved the feeling of seeing a gay character that is not necessarily stereotypically gay who has found his fabulosity," Harris says of Walt. "He's still just a regular kid. I like the idea that he will have a crush on a man, which is a little bit of a differentiation. 'The person I see myself romantically with is a guy.' I want to pursue that for him this season in having to come to terms with that emotional place, versus the physical, which will be scary."

The Carrie Diaries airs Monday at 8/7c on The CW.