#twd the rotten core

[cinemgc]

The Walking Dead (11ª Temp.)

Episodio 14: ''The Rotten Core''

• Dirección: Marcus Stokes

• Guion: Jim Barnes, Erik Mountain

• Cinematografía: Duane Charles Manwiller

• Cast: Christian Serratos

[wolfish-nightmares]

Game of Survival

Pairings: The Group x fem!reader

Era: Season 1-11

Warnings: TWD gore and violence. Bad language. 18+

Category: Fluff. Angst.

Word Count:

Summary: With no other choice, you must learn to play this new game of survival. 

Prologue

Season 1: 

1x1 - Days Gone Bye 1x3 - Tell It to the Frogs 1x4 - Vatos 1x5 - Wildfire 1x6 - TS-19

Season 2:

2x1 - What Lies Ahead 2x2 - Bloodletting  2x3 - Save the Last One 2x4 - Cherokee Rose 2x5 - Chupacabra  2x6 - Secrets 2x7 - Pretty Much 2x8 - Nebraska 2x9 - Triggerfinger  2x10 - 18 Miles Out 2x11 - Judge, Jury, Executioner  2x12 - Better Angels 2x13 - Beside the Dying Fire 

Season 3: 

3x1 - Seed 3x2 - Sick 3x3 - Walk With Me 3x4 - Killer Within 3x5 - Say the Word  3x6 - Hounded  3x7 - When the Dead Come Knocking 3x8 - Made to Suffer  3x9 - The Suicide King 3x10 - Home 3x11 - I Ain’t Judas 3x12 - Clear 3x13 - Arrow on the Doorpost 3x14 - Prey 3x15 - This Sorrowful Life 3x16 - Welcome to the Tombs

Season: 4

4x1 - 30 Days Without an Accident 4x2 - Infected 4x3 - Isolation 4x4 - Indifference  4x5 - Internment 4x6 - Live Bait 4x7 - Dead Weight 4x8 - Too Far Gone 4x9 - After 4x10 - Inmates 4x11 - Claimed 4x12 - Still 4x13 - Alone 4x14 - The Grove 4x15 - Us 4x16 - A

Season 5: 

5x1 - No Sanctuary  5x2 - Strangers 5x3 - Four Walls and a Roof 5x4 - Slabtown 5x6 - Self Help 5x7 - Consumed 5x8 - Coda 5x9 - What Happened and What’s Going On 5x10 - Them 5x11 - The Distance  5x12 - Remember  5x13 - Forget 5x14 - Spend 5x15 - Try 5x16 - Conquer 

Season 6: 

6x1 - First Time Again  6x2 - JSS 6x3 - Thank You 6x4 - Here’s Not Here 6x5 - Now 6x6 - Always Accountable  6x7 - Heads Up 6x8 - Start to FInish 6x9 - No Way Out 6x10 - The Next World 6x11 - Knots Untie 6x12 - Not Tomorrow Yet 6x13- The Same Boat 6x14 - Twice As Far 6x15 - East  6x16 - Last Day on Earth 

Season 7: 

7x1 - The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be 7x2 - The Well 7x3 - The Cell 7x4 - Service 7x5 - Go Getter  7x6 - Swear 7x7 - Sing Me a Song 7x8 - Hearts Still Beating 7x9 - Rock in the Road 7x10 - New Best Friends 7x11 - Hostiles and Calamities  7x12 - Say Yes 7x13 - Bury Me Here 7x14 - The Other Side  7x15 - Something They Need 7x16 - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life 

Season 8: 

8x1 - Mercy 8x2 - The Damned  8x3 - Monsters 8x4 - Some Guy  8x5 - The Big Scary U 8x6 - The King, the Widow, and Rick 8x7 - Time for After  8x8 - How It’s Gotta Be 8x9 - Honor 8x10 - The Lost and the Plunderers  8x11 - Dead or Alive Or 8x12 - The Key 8x13 - Do Not Send Us Astray  8x14 - Still Gotta Mean Something 8x15 - Worth  8x16 - Wrath

Season 9: 

9x1 - A New Beginning 9x2 - The Bridge 9x3 - Warning Signs 9x4 - The Obliged 9x5 - What Comes After 9x6 - Who Are You Now? 9x7 - Stradivarius 9x8 - Evolution 9x9 - Adaptation 9x10 - Omega 9x11 - Bounty 9x12 - Guardians 9x13 - Chokepoint 9x14 - Scars 9x15 - The Calm Before 9x16 - The Storm

Season 10: 

10x0 - Holiday Special 10x1 - Lines We Cross 10x2 - We Are the End of the World 10x3 - Ghost 10x4 - Silence the Whisperers 10x5 - What It Always Is 10x6 - Bonds 10x7 - Open Your Eyes 10x8 - The World Before 10x9 - Squeeze 10x10 - Stalker 10x11 - Morning Star 10x12 - Walk with Us 10x13 - What We Become 10x14 - Look at the Flowers 10x15 - The Tower 10x16 - A Certain Doom 10x17 - Home Sweet Home 10x18 - Find Me 10x19 - One More 10x20 - Splinter 10x21 - Diverged 10x22 - Here's Negan

Season 11: 

11x1 - Acheron: Part 1 11x2 - Acheron: Part 2 11x3 - Hunted 11x4 - Rendition 11x5 - Out of the Ashes 11x6 - On the Inside 11x7 - Promises Broken 11x8 - For Blood 11x9 - No Other Way 11x10 - New Haunts 11x11 - Rogue Element 11x12 - The Lucky Ones 11x13 - Warlords 11x14 - The Rotten Core 11x15 - Trust 11x16 - Acts of God 11x17 - Lockdown 11x18 - A New Deal 11x19 - Variant 11x20 - What's Been Lost 11x21 - Outpost 22

[my-mt-heart]

@indigoraysoflight, I really appreciate you taking a closer look at the audience reception to Diverged and explaining what it really demonstrates from a marketing perspective (18:55-25:18). It's one thing for fans to take what they see on Rotten Tomatoes at face value, but the fact that AMC could write the episode off as a flop is baffling and infuriating, especially if it was one of the arguments made for scrapping the original Caryl spinoff we were all looking forward to (to be clear, I don't know for sure if it was, but it wouldn't surprise me considering some of the unethical things I do know were going on at that point).

Like you said, the episode should've been used as a guide on how to niche down the audience for a spinoff centered on Daryl and Carol and their relationship. Pleasing everyone from the fanboys who "just don't get it" to the antis who review bomb out of spite for Melissa/Carol/Caryl should've never been a concern. Diverged was a hit for Daryl's and Carol's fanbase and that's what matters. That's the core audience the original spinoff could've successfully built on and the spinoff we're getting now still can. Does that mean there's no need to pull in other kinds of viewers? No. It means, as you said, finding the overlap between Caryl fans and lets say fans who love action-adventure or horror or whatever elements can be worked into the concept without splintering the core audience, expecting them to settle for less than what's owed. I fear AMC is falling back on old habits if TBOC promotion so far is anything to go by. They keep trying to appeal to the broader TWDU audience. It. won't. work.

Diverged is not a perfect episode. The core audience doesn't feel the most enthusiastic when Caryl are separated and at odds, but it's a shining example of how to keep us fully engaged despite the separation. The symbolism is rich, particularly the knife. It's a piece of Leah that's been weighing Daryl down until he tells Carol she can keep it. You and @kryptoniancape are right that he doesn't need it anymore, and he's also taking cues from his relationship with Leah, gifting what we see throughout Carol's chaotic day has become a piece of himself because he wants Carol to carry him with her. That positions Daryl and Carol romantically.

The character development is strong, showing us how much Carol is struggling not only with the mistakes she made, but with her self-esteem and the fear of being too broken in this world. Too broken for her community, but more painfully, too broken for Daryl. We even got to see some development for Dog, who served as Daryl's proxy, comforting Carol because he could sense she needed him.

The attention to detail is amazing. I particularly loved hearing Caryl's score play while Carol and Dog were cozying up in the garage, reminding us again how much she missed Daryl. Meanwhile, the parallels ("see you later, asshole") and the callbacks ("be pirates, heck yeah") helped eased the stress of watching Daryl and Carol struggle on their own, showing us very clearly how deeply they're still connected and how much they need each other.

Diverged might be filler, but it is one of my favorite episodes of TWD, one that I'm happy to watch a million times over, especially if I'm having a bad day, so a huge thanks to Angela Kang, the writer, the director, Melissa, and Norman for what they delivered. It felt just right. When I watch TBOC, I'm going to use Diverged as the golden standard for Zabel and Nicotero to meet since they're giving us another separation arc. We'll see what they accomplish because like you mentioned, Shalaka, trust has shifted in the last couple years, so ambiguous subtext without payoff isn't going to fly for me at all.

Thanks for another great podcast episode. Looking forward to more discussion on the potential that Find Me, Diverged, and the Reaper arc had to drive Caryl's story forward.

Nine Lives Two Mics (Caryl Podcast) | New Episode

🎙️Episode #37 - A Deep Dive into Season 10 of TWD (Part 7)🎙️

Join us as we discuss all the #Caryl scenes from 10x21 (Diverged) of #TWD.  

Spotify | Youtube 

[my-mt-heart]

Hey mt! So, Rosita was definitely teasing Daryl about the whole donut/bakery thing and I'd like to believe that she knows that Daryl is into Carol. Do you agree? Do you think she could be someone who tells Daryl to go for it? Not that he needs someone to tell him what to do. But.. I'd be cute. And yay for the Rosita/Daryl friendship.

I'm not convinced anyone is going to tell either of them to go for it. I think that spoils the fun of letting Daryl reveal what he's feeling on his own terms. But if Carol tries to push back and we get a short angsty period in between, that's when I think friendly advice will be fair game.

But since you brought it up, let me talk about the donut for a minute because, wow, I can't believe I missed it after watching the episode twice. Clearly I was way too tired. It's supposed to be our visual clue that Daryl did in fact go looking for Carol like he said he did since he knows and we know Carol works at the bakery. I'd venture to say his consumption of it emphasizes his efforts to satisfy a craving, not a sugar craving necessarily, but an emotional craving for Carol who he's been struggling to reconnect with.

When the donut is highlighted again, it sets up the cop joke and maybe calls back the scene in season 4 when what's-his-pants thought Daryl might have been a cop in the old world. BUT it's also a more heavy-handed clue that Daryl tried to visit Carol at the bakery, which I imagine Rosita would pick up on. Now I'm not saying I think their conversation is intentionally coded. That would blow my mind, but the subtext behind her comment is nevertheless "what's going on here?" to which Daryl replies he liked donuts before, meaning his behavior is nothing new and that also applies to his feelings for Carol. He wanted her before, he wants her now.

[mcbride]

“Just really living up to that stereotype.” - 👮‍♂️ + 🍩

Daryl Dixon & Rosita Espinosa in The Walking Dead 11.14 ▶ The Rotten Core 

[haircoveredwriter]

How are we feeling everyone?😉

[gneebee]

Those Daryl Dixon Looks. TWD S11 The Rotten Core

[spockvarietyhour]

lmao we gave negan a new wife, and she found out she’s pregnant. I’m measuring her continued lifespan in minutes.

[reedusmcbridedaily]

Carol (Melissa McBride) & Daryl (Norman Reedus) | TWD 11.14 “The Rotten Core”

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

Words: 2,759 Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: Alexandria Warnings: Language, mentions of violence, references to gore, mentions of anxiety, disturbing imagery, typical TWD stuff Summary: Daryl and Y/N are outside the walls when they hear a baby crying. A/N: THIS IS SO SOFT I MIGHT DIE. Requested by anonymous! Hope you like it! Thanks for the request!

Your name: submit What is this?

You froze. You glanced back at the archer, “D’you hear that?” you asked him in a harsh whisper.

Daryl strained his hearing. “Heard somethin’.”

You’d been venturing out with Daryl for tracking lessons for quite some time. He’d been somewhat opposed to the idea at first, not liking the idea of you wandering around outside the walls, but you’d worn him down. Now, you were getting quite good at reading sign and he had noticed that you seemed to be much more observant, vigilant as you moved through the trees. Your footsteps were nearly silent.

You straightened up, turning from the trail of the deer you’d been tracing, and Daryl watched as you turned to the side, your eyes lifted to some unknown distant point in the trees.

“What is it?” he asked, noticing the slightly anxious look on your face.

You shook your head almost imperceptibly. “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling more than anything.” You glanced back at him and were met with his steady blue eyes. You chewed the inside of your cheek for a moment. “Come on,” you said, stepping away from the deer trail and moving in the direction you thought the sound had come from.

You didn’t have to go far before you heard the sound again, and this time it was much clearer. Your wide eyes met Daryl’s, his brow heavily furrowed. Your stomach twisted. You turned and increased your pace.

You moved through the brush as quietly as you could and finally you saw a shape looming ahead. It was an abandoned house, more of a shack really than anything. The sound was clear now as you crouched at the edge of the lot. Daryl knelt beside you and you exchanged a harried glance with him.

It was a baby crying and it was coming from inside the house. There were about a dozen walkers beating on the rotten woods of the dilapidated structure. It looked like it wouldn’t be long before they broke in.

Daryl worried his bottom lip with his teeth. “S’a lot of walkers,” he murmured.

You gulped and looked back. “We have to do something.”

He sighed, hesitating, his eyes flickering between your face and the group of the dead.

You couldn’t wait anymore. There was a swell of urgency growing in your chest, like a high tide rushing in. You swore under your breath and unsheathed the knife at your hip. You rushed out of the brush and right toward the walkers.

Daryl scrambled up to follow you.

You plunged your knife into the skull of the first walker lurching at you and immediately repeated the action with another. As you pulled your knife out, you landed a kick into one of the dead who was grappling for you.

Daryl was soon beside you, slashing and stabbing just like you were to clear the way to the building.

By the time you were done, you were drenched in sweat and Daryl looked at the circle of now still corpses around you. There was a spray of walker blood across your neck. He was about to scold you for rushing in, but he was taken aback by the number you had killed, and you weren’t done with your somewhat frantic mission.

You charged to the door and saw that it was splintered from the latch. They’d almost broken through. You turned the handle and pushed inside. You froze with just one foot inside the small house.

Daryl looked in past you, over your shoulder.

There was the desperately wailing baby, still swaddled to its mother in a makeshift carrier. She was dead. You made a lunge toward the infant, but Daryl’s hand clasped your shoulder gently and stopped you. You glanced back at him, your eyes glistening with tears and your expression pure desperation.

He nodded. “We dunno what she died from. And she could turn at any second. Be careful,” he murmured.

You nodded at him and he lifted his hand. You approached the prone figure cautiously, all the while the baby’s cries piercing straight through you. You knelt down and carefully lifted the swaddled infant from the body of its mother, being careful and kind to the body of the woman who had probably given her everything to see that her child survived.

Daryl watched as you murmured to the infant in a soft voice, shushing and humming. “Shhh, it’s alright. It’s okay.” You pressed the baby to your chest and stood, bouncing slightly to try and soothe the cries. Eventually, she stilled. You glanced up at Daryl, your eyes still wide and glistening, although no tears stained your cheeks.

He was staring at you with a curious expression on his face. It was soft and thoughtful. He shouldered the strap of his crossbow and moved farther into the house, looking around. “Gotta be some supplies for that baby here somewhere, right?” he said. He felt the need to focus on a task because looking at you with the little bundle against your chest was bringing to life some warm, fluttery feelings he didn’t want to acknowledge.

“Hopefully,” you said, wrapping the sling around yourself and settling the baby inside. You smiled sweetly as she grasped your finger and a little laugh of joy bubbled out of you. Daryl looked up from his search and saw you smoothing your hand over her soft hair. “She has to be starving,” you said, your eyes a little starry.

Daryl tore his eyes away from the scene again. “Mm,” he acknowledged, the best he could do because he was worried what might slip out if he said any more. “Here,” he said, picking up a small duffel bag. It had some bottles and formula in it, as well as cloth diapers and a baby toy.

He shouldered the bag and walked back to you, peeking in over your shoulder at the little face pressed against you, your finger in her tiny, curled hand. “C’mon,” he said softly, surprising himself and you as his hand landed lightly on your lower back. “Let’s get her back somewhere safe.”

You looked up into his face and saw that his expression was open, earnest, soft. Your heart jumped. You nodded, but hesitated a moment when he started to head toward the door. Daryl looked back when he didn’t feel you behind him and saw that you were staring down at the still figure on the floor. “We can’t just leave her like this. She’ll turn,” you said softly, your brow furrowing.

He gulped and nodded. “Alright. Just wait outside a sec. I’ll do it,” he said, unsheathing his knife.

You gave him a sad but grateful look, pressing the baby against you more securely and nodded. “Thank you.”

_ _ _ _ _ _

You arrived back at the gate to Alexandria and Rosita let you in. Her eyes went wide when she realized what you exactly that bundle slung across your chest was. She came closer and peeked into the sling, her eyes flitting up to meet yours.

“We found her in an abandoned house, surrounded by walkers. Her mom was already dead,” you whispered. She was sleeping against you.

Rosita’s expression was sad for a moment, but then she smiled at the rosy cheeks and long eyelashes fanned out against the little girl’s cheeks. “Preciosa,” she murmured.

You smiled up at her.

Daryl was watching the whole interaction from a couple feet away and he couldn’t take his eyes off you. You were so soft and gentle, the look in your eyes like you’d never seen something more beautiful in your whole life. He kept feeling waves of warmth blooming out from his core and suddenly seemed unable to stand still, shifting his weight and tapping his fingers against his leg. “We should take her to get checked out by the doc,” Daryl said quietly.

You nodded, giving Rosita one last smile and then falling into stride beside him.

Daryl glanced over at you as you walked to the clinic. You caught him studying your face and gave him a questioning look.

“I wanted to yell at ya out there for rushin’ in like that,” he said. He glanced again at the baby. “But I get it. If you hadn’t, I woulda.”

You nodded. “I don’t what happened—I just couldn’t sit there and let them get her, even if it meant I might—” you broke off, not wanting to speak what was always a real possibility outside the walls.

“Yeah. Ya killed like seven of ‘em yourself before I even got there,” he said, slight amusement turning one corner of his mouth up.

You smiled abashedly. “Yeah…”

“I mean, I know ya can fight but—” he broke off, shaking his head, that vague smile still slightly curving his lips.

You arrived at the clinic and Daryl led the way inside. Denise looked up as he came in and immediately sighed. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me one of you needs stitches again?”

But she froze when you stepped in with that swaddled bundle in your arms.

Her eyebrows lifted. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked, bewildered, as you wandered over.

“Can you take a look at her?” you asked, lifting her out of the sling that was draped around you. She woke and stirred, immediately starting to cry again. The sound tugged at your heart.

Denise nodded. “Of course. Bring her over here,” she said, leading the way to a cushioned exam table.

“Shhhh, it’s okay. It’s alright,” you cooed, setting her down on her back. You offered your finger and she gripped it tightly. You smiled up at Daryl and his heart skipped a beat at the breathtaking light in your eyes and that irresistible grin. “She feels strong. That’s good, right?” you asked, turning to Denise.

She was setting her stethoscope aside. “Lungs and heart sound great. She looks healthy.” She glanced up at you. “I don’t know exactly what happened out there, but I have a hunch she’s lucky you found her.”

You nodded. “Yeah…”

“I think I saw some baby formula and other stuff you might need in the supply room. Lemme just check,” Denise said.

You scooped the little girl back up into your arms and her cries immediately became less desperate. You pressed her to your shoulder and rubbing her back softly, shushing her and bouncing, pressing her soft hair to your cheek. “Daryl, would you mind making up a bottle for her?” you asked.

He nudged his nose up in a nod, and you felt warmth in your face as you watched the tough biker pull out the canister of formula and a bottle, which looked tiny in his hand. You smiled to yourself as he went to mix up a bottle.

Denise returned with another canister of powdered formula and more cloth diapers as well as some other odds and ends for baby care. She shoved them into the bag Daryl had found at the abandoned house. Denise smiled and smoothed a hand over her soft hair. “Pretty amazing. Everyone is going to lose their minds over her. Little ones are so rare now,” she said. “First Judith and now this sweet little one.”

You nodded. “Yeah. I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if Daryl and I had waited until tomorrow to go tracking, or if I had just ignored the first sound I heard.”

Denise nodded. “But you didn’t. And she’s safe and healthy now.”

Daryl came back with a bottle he had warmed slightly in the microwave and you grinned at him as he handed it to you. You adjusted her in your arms and she immediately latched on to the bottle and started eating. Daryl studied the tender expression on your face, that little smile that seemed like it might stay there forever now. He reached a hand up and rubbed absently at the ache in his chest. You looked up at Denise again. “Thanks, Denise,” you said. “We should head back to the house.”

“Anytime.” Denise gently smoothed her hand over the tiny girl’s hair one more time and gave you a kind smile.

You and Daryl started back toward the house at a leisurely pace. He still had the bag slung over his shoulder and you watched as she drank the formula hungrily. You could feel Daryl’s eyes on your face again and you glanced up at him.

“This mean you’re a mom now?” the archer drawled. You were struck by the question your eyebrows lifted.

“Huh… I hadn’t really thought about it that way,” you said, adjusting the bottle in your hand and looking back down at the little one in your arms. “She needs a mom. And I’m here,” you said softly. “I guess so,” you said, looking back up at Daryl. “Life is strange,” you said, shaking your head, peering back down at her.

“Mhm,” Daryl agreed. “She’s lucky to have ya.” Your heart skipped a beat at his words.

You were immediately swarmed by the group when you arrived back at the house. Everyone pressed in to see the baby, cooing and smiling. She was going to be so loved.

“Can I hold her?” Carol asked immediately.

“Hey! Nuh uh!” Daryl said, hurrying to set down the baby bag and his crossbow. “I helped save her and I ain’t even held her yet. Give her here,” he said, holding his arms out.

You grinned at him and carefully passed her to Daryl. He smiled down at her, rocking her from side to side. The sight of him with that sweet little baby in his strong arms was doing things to you… You hoped your face wasn’t turning red from the flush of heat you felt. “She needs a name,” you said thoughtfully.

“Easy. Lil’ Asskicker 2.0,” Daryl said, letting her grasp onto his finger. Everyone had a good laugh about that.

_ _ _ _ _ _

That night you fell asleep on the floor of the living room with the little girl beside you on a blanket. You were curled around her and she was pressed close against you, needing the comfort of someone to sleep.

Daryl was sitting on the couch nearby, alternating between cleaning and sharpening his blades and thoughtfully watching you sleep beside the new group member.

Carol leaned on the back of the couch beside him, looking over at you and the baby, smiling. Daryl turned to look at her.

“It’s nice to be reminded that good things can still happen,” she said softly.

“Mhm,” Daryl hummed, nodding. He flicked his thumb over the edge of the knife blade he was sharpening, testing to see if it needed more. “Ya should have seen her out there. She just ran right into this group of walkers and started takin’ ‘em out.”

Carol’s smile widened. “Maternal instinct,” she said. She glanced over at the archer and saw his blue eyes fixated on you. “Looks like she has a mom. She’s going to need a dad.”

Daryl’s eyes snapped over to peer back at Carol, his brow furrowing low. He scoffed a little at her statement. “She’s got a whole group of us. She don’t need me.”

“So, you wouldn’t like that? Having your own little family within our big family? Especially with Y/N…” she said, a knowing smile on her face. “Come on, your ears turn red every time she enters the room!”

Daryl shifted uncomfortably as Carol spoke a wish that was close to his heart, but which he was too terrified to act on.

Carol quit her teasing and sighed, looking back at you and the little one sleeping peacefully. “You’re not your father, Daryl. You’re you. And you’d be an amazing dad,” she said. “And if you don’t try, find something worth holding onto, worth protecting, what’s the point anymore?” And more than anything, Daryl knew that you were worth protecting. And now so was this little one. So, maybe it was time that he tried for what he wanted.

[itsmymeaningoflife]

Just watched rotten to the core and here’s my review

Spoilers for twd s11e14

- preface this by saying that this is probably my favourite ep of 11b so far. Very focused on the characters I care about and a character driven episode overall

- I say this every time she’s in an ep but I love Lydia so much. She deserves better

- Lydia seeing Negan again and feeling #abandoned was like a knife in my heart. And her realising that he’s moved on and made himself a family… without her… oooof.. knife in the gut. How are your abandonment issues hmm?

- Daryl looking for Carol in the bakery?? And buying a donut on his way to work?? Iconic

-CAROL MY GIRLLLL. Looking hot as fuckkkkk in that red shirt

- no wonder Daryl stopped in his tracks and asked her on a date there and then

- also … “ITS A DATE” bros just kill me now

- also hilarious how Daryl’s boss was like “bro.. stop flirting and get your ass inside…you have a job to do.”

- ROSITA AND DARYLS FRIENDSHIP IS THE BEST FUCKING THING TO COME OUT OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL

- Daryl splitting his donut in half to share with Rosita was so fucking cute. Besties for life

- Sebastian threatening the kids??? Nahhhh you made a big ass mistake there,,,, Daryl and Rositas reaction!!? Bi panic activated

- also Daryl referring to Judith and RJ as his kids made me tear up I’m not gonna lie

- I actually quite liked Maggie this episode, I’ve had my issues with how they’ve wrote her since she’s come back but I feel like I’m starting to connect with her character again. Her realsing that Negan is getting everything that he took from her?? Oof that’s gotta hurt

- but on the flip side (and sue me, I’m a Negan stan, I’ve made that pretty clear before) Negan didn’t know who anyone was in Ricks group when he killed Glenn and Abraham. He owed them nothing. They were a group that slaughtered a whole bunch of his men in their sleep. Rick would’ve done the exact same if the roles were reversed. And he’s grown as a person over the last 7 (I think?) years so I think he deserves to have a wife and kid.

-I like Annie, and I really respect what she said to Maggie about no one has clean hands anymore. Don’t throw stones in glass houses and all that. (But I really don’t see her story ending happily)

- (Side note: Justice for Abraham. Everyone still brings up Glenn but Abraham was killed in the line up too )

- Negan saying “it’ll have to happen to me first��� when telling Maggie he will protect Hershel?? Melted me

- Aaron and Gabe continue to be an iconic duo

- Aaron emptying his clip into that arsehole soldier guy was everything

- Daryl… you’re acting like Carol hasn’t showed up to save your ass one hundred times before. This lady is a force to be reckoned with. You know she will get you out of a sticky spot

- “you didn’t show up for lunch” read as “I know you wouldn’t have the audacity to stand me up so here I am to save your sorry ass”

- Caryl is endgame And it’s coming soon

- I really like mercer. He’s deffo gonna be a key player when our group try and overthrow the commonwealth

- Carol playing Lance is also one of my favourite things but he for sure knows she’s a force to be reckoned with too

- I hâte Leah,,, I do ,,,, but she looked hot

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Rot as a Theme

I know I mentioned this in my last Youtube Video about the Big Spot, but I'm not sure I went into how it ties into S11.

This is what I sent to my fellow theorists:

So, totally random insight. I'm going to redo one of the TWD SA vids. The one about the Big Spot. I was listening to myself talk about the helicopter crashing through the ceiling, and I had a totally random but kind of intriguing insight.

In the video, I talk about how Daryl is standing on the pyramid of alcohol (which may represent his time with Beth and them looking for/drinking alcohol together) and he looks up at the helicopter which is coming through the roof toward him.

Ultimately, it kinda crashes through into his world, and they lose someone close to them (Zach). So, I think this foreshadows that them searching for alcohol, burning down the moonshine shack, brings them onto the CRM’s radar and ultimately Daryl loses Beth. It sort of crashes his whole world. That’s the point I make in the video.

But the new insight I had is this: The reason the helicopter crashed through the roof at all was because it was rotted out. So, we have a rot theme here.

I remember we had one of those a while ago (last season, I think?) on Fear, when John Dorie Jr. was under Virginia’s thumb and his tooth was rotting. Decay leading to destruction is a big theme in the show.

And of course the literal always symbolizes the figurative, such emotional as rot in communities or relationships. Or even individuals, which is what happened with John Dorie, Jr.

Anyway, I was thinking that maybe another thing this Big Spot sequence could foreshadow is how the CRM comes fully into the storyline. Like, at the end of S11 or the spinoff or wherever when TF truly becomes aware of the CRM and starts to interact with them.

And the idea is, it seems to be through some sort of decay, though I’m thinking that’s a symbolic theme for the decay of society. So, maybe what’s happening right now in the Commonwealth, and what will go down between Daryl and Carol soon, could also fulfill this foreshadow of decay.

Which suggests the CRM is about to come crashing into their lives again. Nothing groundbreaking. Just an idea I had while re-listening to my video.

@wdway:

I like the rot/decay idea. Wasn't water damage due to the weight of the helicopter was what caused the rot/decay? I want to say that Greg Nicotero said that in an interview or on TTD, not sure where. If that's true then the damage that brought down the roof was somewhat caused by water which is a Beth symbol. Ummm, it's as if it all ties together.

@galadrieljonesones:

Love this. Remember “The Rotten Core.” I think the idea of “rot” inside the CW is very spot on.

Also, it could interface with weevils in the turnips, which is what ruins the food crop at the Diamond, sending Nick and Madison out on a supply run that ultimately incites the fire that “kills” Madison and introduces her into what is probably the CRM.

That's all. Just wanted to share how this theme might connect to where we are in S11, and show that Beth and the CRM are just around the corner.

[my-mt-heart]

fwiw i think the difference between all of us in our own lives saying “it’s a date” and not meaning it’s a DAYE vs daryl saying it is that we don’t have writers deciding what we say, knowing it’s going to be overanalyzed and not missed by fans. they knew what they were doing using the word “”date””

They did indeed. I smell foreshadowing.

[mcbride]

Daryl & Carol in The Walking Dead 11.14 ▶ The Rotten Core

[sidecastr]

For Sun Mar 27: 94th OSCARS!

Sidecastr’s social DJs curate the best comments from the live tweet stream for:

The Oscars: '94th Oscars' (ABC, 8:00p ET) #Oscars, DJ'd by @alijen

Riverdale: 'Chapter One Hundred and Two: Death at a Funeral' (CW, 8:00p ET) #Riverdale, DJ'd by @melanie616

The Walking Dead: 'The Rotten Core' (AMC, 9:00p ET) #TWD, DJ'd by @melanie616

Transplant: 'Sever' (NBC, 10:00p ET) #Transplant, DJ'd by @alijen

Go to our Sidecastr web app or Sidecastr for iPad for a time-synced feed of our chosen tweets - whether you're watching live or later via your TV, laptop or any other video source. To see which shows we curate, check out our Covered Show List.

[gneebee]

Bloody Sunday - Daryl Dixon TWD S11 THE ROTTEN CORE