#wake me up when we have scenes of carol and or caryl

[thewalkingdeadband]

Me after all the good news and hope renewed for Carol

Me after the Morgan news:

[haircoveredwriter]

A bunch of Carylers and I got to chatting about what Caryl callbacks we’d like to see in RTD season 1 - now that we have confirmed Melissa involvement - and I figured we should spread the joy. These are just a few of what I’d like to see:

While out walking with French Henry and co they stumble across a still pond, Daryl pauses for a moment and we get a flash (in his head) of what he saw staring at Carol in the finale before he left.

Daryl is asleep, camera flashes around to help with the physical acting to show he’s having dream/nightmare. Faintly but growing stronger, we hear in his head Carol repeatedly calling his name before he’s awoken to one of the new cast members who have been trying to wake him up (ofc this would be after he tells them his name).

Daryl trying to get home the first few days after waking up in France, him telling the newbies about how he needs to get home to people. We get the voice over of him telling Carol “if we get split up you meet me right back here, okay?” as well as there being a few flashback scenes to them arranging their “meet ups” while he’s on the road.

CP’s character tries to prod Daryl into maybe not trying so hard to get home, or backing off because he has/is hurting himself. Daryl says he can’t and when asked why, we get a flash of Daryl in the cell with Dwight when he says “I get it now, why you did it.” Then cut back to real time Daryl and he finishes off saying “because I’m thinking about someone else”.

What are some callbacks everyone else wants to see? Consider this your free-for-all positivity thread😉❤️

[my-mt-heart]

Caryl Callbacks

There weren’t nearly enough of them in the show’s final season, but maybe there’s room in whatever’s still in store for Caryl’s story. If so, these are the ones at the top of my list.... 

1. Cherokee Rose 

Don’t get me wrong, the flower Daryl left on Carol’s tray in 10x04 counts for a lot, mirroring the first time he offered her hope in the wake of losing a child. But for fans, the Cherokee rose symbolizes more than that. It stands for Caryl’s entire relationship, which was meant to be the heart of the show going into the last  season, so it isn’t unreasonable to expect it to crop up again somewhere before the end. 

2. The Prison Bus 

The shoulder massage. Screw around? I’ll go down first. So much good material to refer back to should Daryl and Carol start to explore physical intimacy with each other again. I can’t be the only one who misses Carol’s raunchy side... 

3. Sophia 

There were plenty of opportunities for Daryl and Carol to talk about her in an impactful way, so it’s really a shame S11 chose the one anecdote in 11x18 that barely scratched the surface. The character might be long gone, but she was the catalyst for the most iconic relationship on the show. Daryl and Carol suffered her loss together, like co-parents, and miraculously found hope in each other. 

4. A friend thinks you’re perfect when everyone else thinks you’re broken 

Jerry planted that in my head, and I haven’t been able to get it out ever since. Imagine hearing Daryl tell Carol she’s perfect, effectively putting her insecurities to rest. I don’t even care that it’s on the nose. 

5. Bracelets and Acorns

I’ve already talked about this at length, so I’ll keep it brief. Where is Carol’s friendship bracelet? Where is Daryl’s double capper? Seems like they’d make pretty strong visual cues now that Daryl and Carol have to spend more time apart -_-

6. The Grove 

This is arguably the darkest memory Carol’s been forced to carry with her throughout her journey, doing enough damage to her self image to prevent hers and Daryl’s relationship from taking its natural course into romance. A confession seems like the most logical way to get back on track. Daryl could serve as her long, hard look in the mirror, letting her know--with words-- he sees her for who she really is, not who she thinks she is. 

7. Man of Honor

Back in S2, Daryl asked Carol what she wanted and she made it explicitly clear. A man of honor. How is it that the series is now over, and she still hasn’t gotten what she wants?  

8. I know where I’m supposed to be

The subtext seemed pretty clear. Not a doubt to be had. But then S11 happened, and now we’re stuck with the sexy clown spinoff no one asked for. To pour salt on the wound, Daryl floundering around in France is supposed to stir feelings of uncertainty about where he belongs...again. Maybe though, just maybe, the tenth time will be the charm and he’ll realize he needs to be wherever Carol is. Forever. All the time. 

9. The “No Sanctuary” Reunion

How to top one of the most iconic scenes of the whole series: Step one, needlessly separate Daryl and Carol for an extended period of time. Check -_- Step two, put Daryl in danger. I mean, that’s probably going to happen. Step 3, send Carol on a rescue mission. The woman knows how to sail. Step 4, have her blow something up. Step 5, let Caryl run into each other’s arms and kiss. 

10. Start Over

Daryl has told Carol multiple times that they can start over, meaning they can start over together, and we know what that’s supposed to look like. It’s the two of them on the bike, exploring parts unknown whether it’s New Mexico or somewhere else. Not France though. You can’t cross the ocean on a bike -_-

[freefromthecocoon]

Hope Is A Good Thing--Caryl Edition

Well, I think I have finally put my thoughts together about Caryl. 

Carol and Daryl throughout this episode were in complete sync. I think this is one reason we are all so upset they are separated for now. They really do need each other. But they can function without the other person there….just not as well as when they are together. 

Carol and Daryl can calm each other with just a touch as has been demonstrated several times throughout their arc over 11 seasons and also in these final eight episodes with emphasis on Carol being able to calm Daryl with just a touch. 

This was first evidenced in the hospital when he woke up on the gurney to the tears of Luke’s family as he succumbed to his traumas. Carol could sense Daryl’s worry about Judith’s well-being as she helped start a blood transfusion from Daryl to Judith in an amazing callback to the farm in season 2 with Rick and Carl. 

After Tomi performed surgery on Judith, we watched Caryl keep a vigil over their beloved Judith. This was a girl they got to save together. The looks that Daryl and Carol share before Judith awakes speaks volumes about the bonds that Caryl have forged over all these years. The moment Judith wakes and sees them both there, it was lovely to see Carol and Daryl smile down at the little girl who they both have repeatedly worked to protect throughout her young life. 

The time jump was frustrating as I would have liked to had that time with them. Alas, that was not presented to us, so that’s where all my Caryl moots who are excellent fic writers can come in. 

After Maggie’s discussion with Caryl about looking in other territories for what I assume are other communities, we get to the most beautiful scene in the finale.  Our soulmates sitting by a body of water together. And unlike in Find Me, they are not separated by the water, but on the same side. I like that symbolism. I was also reminded of the Season 9 premiere as they sit on the loading dock of the Sanctuary. These two have such an ease with each other at times and can say the most appropriate things and other times I want to bang my head against the wall and yell at them. I think this may be one reason we all relate to them so well. We see ourselves in Daryl and Carol. 

Earlier in the season, Norman said that Caryl had some heartbreaking scenes coming up and Lord I hate that he was right. But Norman and Melissa acted their asses off, but I suspect a lot of those emotions we saw between them were very real for not only Daryl and Carol, but for Norman and Melissa as well.

I alluded to this in my overall review of the entire episode, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say something here. Bear McCreary and Sam Ewing pulled emotional beats with the score that I don’t think would have been possible otherwise.  The scoring over this farewell scene with Caryl was perfection, it pulled at the heartstrings with crescendos when necessary and an appropriate hush of the music when Daryl said those three words. 

I pray that at some point if there were extensions to these scenes that were cut for time, we get the full scenes added back in for a 4K release. Especially that hand holding scene as they walked to Daryl’s bike. 

Daryl saying goodbye to the kids and asking Judith to watch over Carol, warmed my cold, dead heart. Then observant little Judith went and did it and told her Uncle Daryl that he deserved a happy ending as well.  Judith knows, just like Henry knew as he saw them interacting in Season 9 that these two are more than just really good friends

I said in another post, I had very low expectations going into this episode. I didn’t know how they would handle the departure of Daryl without Carol.  If you had told me that Daryl Dixon would tell Carol that he loved her, I would have called you delusional. No way would that gift be given to us. But guess what? IT FUCKING WAS!!!! DARYL LOVES CAROL AND SHE LOVES HIM BACK!!!! 

I know people have differing opinions on what canon means to them, but I am totally claiming canon on this scene alone. Words mean things folks, especially coming from Daryl Dixon. When I tell you I gasped and almost passed out, I am not lying. I have watched this scene a million times and it gets better every time I watch it. I think Carol’s reaction was meant to mirror ours as none of us was expecting that to be said.

It was hard to watch him get on that bike and leave her standing there. But she and he are brave souls. I believe in my bones they will meet again one day.  I go to my standard hope quote here: “Hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies.” 

I hope my words have helped you somehow.  I am here for you if you need to talk. But know this, I am very hopeful about Carol and Daryl’s future. 

[waynedunlaptheorgandonor]

watched s11ep1

i will provide you with a quick review before i disappear back into the ether of twd avoidance

lots of spoilers under the cut. also i wrote way too much and i worked all night and haven’t slept so i didn’t bother to reread literally any of it, so it might be completely nonsensical, tho if you don’t expect that from me by this point idk whose blog you’ve been reading

enjoy:

hokay, first off, i’ll start by saying that i enjoyed it more than i expected to. i’ve been avoiding any sort of discussion about stuff, but my google algorithm is so fucked at this point that i still get recommended articles and stuff every now and then, so i was already pretty aware of what i was walking into, and was expecting it to be eh, but actually i prob enjoyed it more than i enjoyed the finale

(don’t get too excited tho, the finale was rly boring lmfao)

anyway

episode starts off with a tense scouting mission

it takes .005 seconds into the episode for caryl to exchange a look of longing, establishing that they are still having weird conflict and are both too fucking stubborn to do anything about it even tho they hate it desperately

i imagine that will continue for a while

rosita, kelly, carol, maggie, what’s her face with the bad hair, and lydia (i think that’s everyone?) lower down to some army bunker or something, where a bunch of walkers are taking a snooze, and the girls are very respectful of walker naptime, and do their best not to wake them up

obviously they eventually wake up, but i’ll get to that in a sec

as they’re tiptoeing through the walker tulips, there’s this split second where carol spots a machine gun, and looks at maggie with a face like, “can i plzzzz, i am mad horny for that machine gun,” but maggie tells her no. (i 110% expected her to defy orders and accidentally wake up all the walkers, but she actually behaved herself for once. well. mostly)

never fear, tho, after the girl gang collects a bunch of MREs they go back to wait for the dudes waiting up top to pull them up, and bc men ruin everything, one of the ropes break, and daryl catches it before it falls, but then a slow motion drop of blood falls on a walker’s face, and just like that, walker naptime is over, and carol uses her bow and arrow for two seconds before she is like “fuck this” and whips out the machine gun

yes, she is super hot using it

yes, daryl watches her do it

anyway, all the other girls get rescued, and carol is about to be pulled up, but bc she is a #girlboss, she first makes a beeline for one more crate full of MREs. daryl covers her while she gets the loot, and when she gets back up top they have another charged moment as carol hands him back his knife

just fuck already, jfc

titles!

cut to alexandria where everything is still not smilestimes

BUT, we do get to see uncle daryl run and hug rj and judith (and dog), and FUCKING HERSHEL JR, LIGHT OF MY LIFE is also there

istg, they could not have casted a better child, i a d o r e him

oh, and some friends of maggie’s show up too, idk

cut to a staff meeting where everyone is like, whomp whomp, we’re all gonna starve to death unless we figure out something quick

cue maggie going, “oh, i know where food is, but it requires me to tell you my tragic backstory, in case anyone didn’t watch my bottle episode”

she tells her dramatic backstory about all her friends getting slaughtered by the reapers for no apparent reason, and then she’s like “anyway, let’s go back there!”

no one thinks it’s a great idea, but a group of people decide to go anyway, including daryl and gabriel. rosita is super pissed that gabriel is going, and carol doesn’t go, probably partly bc it’s a shitty fucking idea, and also bc they have to keep caryl apart bc otherwise they’ll fix their problems ahead of schedule and they won’t be able to drag out the needless angst

daryl looks kind of annoyed that carol doesn’t volunteer to go 

bitch, i thought you wanted her to stop putting herself in the line of fire! make up your damn mind!

moving on

cut to a thunderstorm, where, if you look closely, you’ll notice daryl is wearing the STUPIDEST hat i’ve ever seen. just get an umbrella, jfc

for some reason negan is with them, bc ig he knows his way around washington dc, and no one in six years has bothered to figure out how to get around the city and/or get a map, and he is like “hey guys, maybe we shouldn’t try to walk in this fucking hurricane,” and everyone is like “FUCK YOU NEGAN, YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF US!!!” 

this will be a common occurrence 

but eventually daryl is even like “actually, it’s rly unpleasant out here, and my hat is mad stupid, can we go inside plz?”

so they go inside an old metro station, which is actually a rly cool cinematic choice. i rly like the idea, and they executed it rly well

speaking of executions

there are some fucking RULL CREEPY walkers. idk why they bothered me so badly, but they were what they at first assumed were corpses wrapped up in tarps, but turns out none of them had been properly put down, so they go through killing these rotted bodies that had supposedly been there since The Fall, and it’s very gross and cool

this entire time, btw, negan is like “hey, i know i’m a shitty person, but i have some rational arguments about why we shouldn’t be doing this right now,” and everyone is like, “FUCK YOU NEGAN, YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF US!!!” and he’s just like “god fucking damnit”

(i forgot to mention that at one point, when they’re headed into the metro station, negan is trying to warn ppl of the potential danger, and everyone is ignoring him, and he tries to talk to daryl, and daryl is like “fuck you, you think we’re BUDDIES?” and negan is like “oh, ok, so you’re gonna be like that too? fanfreakingtastic” and it’s very funny)

anyway. a fat monster zombie escapes its tarp at one point, and tries to eat some npc, and negan saves him, again is like “hey, anyone else realize that this is a FUCKING BAD PLAN?”, and everyone is like “we don’t care, you’re still shitty and we’re not listening to you, and you don’t actually care about random npc i would literally not be able to pick out in a lineup bc his face is so generic, you’re not the boss of us!!!”

it’s at this point that negan finally is like, “why am i even here? bc i know how to get around washington dc? do none of you have a map?” and i was like, “right?! that’s what i said!” 

it’s then revealed that maggie only brought negan along to murder him under the guise of “oops, he got hurt in the line of duty, it wasn’t my fault,” and daryl has this look on his face that says, “i seriously need to stop hanging out with lethal women bent on revenge bc it’s gonna give me high blood pressure,” and maggie has a badass moment where she points a gun she has for some reason at negan and is like “i have like, one shred of human compassion left inside of me, and if you keep pushing me i will fucking kill you without a second thought, so shut the hell up”

(in her defense, negan had just dropped glenn’s name to purposely antagonize her, which was rude as hell)

(for the record, i’m completely on maggie’s side here, but negan still is right that trapping themselves in a metro station is a bad call)

anyway, moving away from that briefly

i think this jump cut happens sooner, i don’t actually remember, but whatever who cares, point is, we get to the part of the show that actually matters, and that’s anything involving my love, juanita “princess” sanchez

and also eugene, yumiko, and ezekiel

they are being asked increasingly invasive questions by commonwealth ppl, some of which i wish they actually would of answered (what do they use to wipe their asses with?? surely toilet paper has long since become extinct)

zeke, who is so much more tolerable as a character now that he’s not larping as a king, has this incredibly weird and sort of sexually charged moment with a dude in an orange stormtrooper costume, where he’s like, “i bet you were an asshole cop back before The Fall, you stupid fascist, #fuckthepolice, mb literally? idk, this moment has a lot of pent up aggression that could easily translate to hate sex, it might just be the intense eye contact, but w/e, let’s just move along,” and then he has a coughing fit to remind the audience that he’s currently dying of cancer, and orange stormtrooper is like “lolz, loser, drink some water you dumb piece of shit”

cut to the wholesome foursome sitting at a picnic table in a guarded courtyard eating gruel, and yumkio, who finally has a personality, and princess are like “hey, this place fucking sucks, can we leave?” and zeke is like, “yeah, i met this orange stormtrooper who i think might be dtf and/or murder, so we should probably bounce”

but eugene is like, “but i want some hot stephanie ass, and also some bullshit excuse about how mb commonewealth will save alexandria” which, they left before things went super downhill, right? idr. it was after hilltop fell, but they don’t know alexandria got fucked either, if i recall? w/e, not important

two seconds after he says this, they talk to some people who are like “we’ve been here for four months, or maybe it’s been nine, i don’t actually remember, i’ve stopped processing the passage of time,” and the wholesome foursome takes this as a bad sign, tho that’s just the life i’ve lived as a night worker during a pandemic, so i was like #mood

but then they watch some guy get dragged away screaming to get “reprocessed” and eugene is like “ok, nvm, let’s bounce”

(my theory on what “reprocessing” is, is that they’re stuck in a room and have to watch hours and hours of customer service training videos on vhs from the 90s)

i definitely got my jump cut scenes mixed up bc i think the negan accusing maggie of a murder plot thing happened in between this scene and then the next commonwealth scene, but w/e, i’ll just finish what happens in the commonwealth arch

the wholesome foursome are trying to hatch a plan to escape, except princess, my love, is distracted watching some stormtroopers flirt, and the other three are like “wtf, dude, how can you even tell any of them apart?” and princess then tells them every stormtroopers backstory bc she is brilliant and pays rly close attention to shit, and the other three are like, “this is useful information, thank you for being an insane person”

their plan involves yumiko and eugene dressing up as stormtroopers and leading princess and zeke out of the place, which works fine actually, except on their way out they come across the Depressing Wall of Probably Mostly Dead Missing Loved Ones

they’re about to leave, when princess is like, “wait, yumiko, you’re on here, that’s weird huh?”

sure enough, yumiko  is on the wall, with a note from ig her sister 

the scene ends with yumiko going, “guys...i can’t leave...i have tragic backstory to unveil”

tragic backstory to be continued ig

back in murder metro town, npc and some other npc have stolen all the supplies, there’s a train blocking the track, and a horde of walkers are coming towards them, so things are not going fantastic

they horde is too big to take down, so they start to climb on top of the train car to get away

but dog runs away!

and daryl, being every pet owner ever, is like “gotta go get my dog, guys, try not to get killed while i’m gone, c u soon!” and he ducks under the train and disappears

#priorities

the episode ends with maggie climbing up the train car but getting grabbed by a walker and dangling off the edge, and negan is there and they have a lion king moment where maggie is like, “scar! help me!” and negan is like “long live the king, bitch” and walks away into the shadows, leaving maggie to a potential death

which, while i know isn’t actually going to happen, would be a really fucking funny move on the writers’ part

like, “look, lauren’s back! and now she’s dead, bet you didn’t expect that!”

anyway

my assumption is negan will actually end up helping her up or something, continuing his ambiguous morality bullshit that actually isn’t ambiguous bc he BEAT GLENN TO DEATH WITH A FUCKING BAT WRAPPED IN BARBED WIRE IN FRONT OF HIS PREGNANT WIFE

the maggie/negan arch is kind of dumb, but whatevs, i’ll tolerate it, as long as my boy glenn gets justice in the end

anyway, cue credits!

final assessment: good episode. i’m much more interested in commonwealth than the reapers, tho i am hoping that daryl’s personality-less ex turns out to be a monster killing machine with no conscience, that’ll be fun. princess is a gift from god. hershel jr needs his own tv show. needs more carol (and caryl)

the end! going back into my walking dead free chamber! see you next episode!

-diz

[sparksflamesembersashes]

**Spoilers for 11.4** Some babbles concerning "Rendition":

Dog barks so much, he'd be a total liability in a real ZA. And it's always the same audio bark loop, I mean, c'mon, that's as lame as it is lazy. I don't have to hear Dog to see him, and in a ZA, no one should.

How realistic is it that Leah is the only woman among fifteen savages like the Reapers, and isn't being passed around among them like a tray of party snacks?

I want Dog to kill Leah in the end. Not Daryl. Not Carol. Dog. Leah clearly still has a thing for Daryl. This is why (in my mind) he can't be the one to kill her. It would be just too cold for our redneck archer, who is a soft and fuzzy teddy bear inside. And Carol doesn't need to be further stigmatized by slaying her soulmate's ex.

The way Leah chloroformed Daryl is sneaky and cold as hell. If he had any illusions about what might exist between them, it should've ended there.

Water boarding. Afghanistan. Shades of Guantanamo, Blackwater, and the Bush regime. That's not an accident. For anyone who hasn't noticed yet, Season 11 is especially political.

Where did Leah find a cosmetologist to color her hair in the ZA? It looks blonde to me, not gray. Speaking of hair, how much does Leah look like Carol in some scenes, it's like a mirror. Her hair (long & swept back), her stance, her sheer badassery? Even down to the locks of hair dangling alongside her face. @gunmetal-ring (I think, apologies if it was someone else) refers to this as Evil Carol, and I have to agree. It's so obvious.

Daryl in a concrete box again... hey wait, I've seen this movie before... except this time, he's clothed and not tortured with "Easy Street" and eating dog food sandwiches.

Oh goodie, religious fanatics. Pope talking in tongues is a nice touch to ramp up the crazy. Just when you thought the Whisperers were as whacked as they get. Also, is it just me, or is Pope the spitting image of Walter White, aka Heisenberg? I see you, AMC.

Leah: "Couldn't have been happy. Not in a world like this." I see this as foreshadowing for Caryl who WILL find happiness in their world.

I really really don't want Leah to redeem or sacrifice herself to save Daryl, please don't make her that would be too fucking much to stomach.

Pope tells Leah, "I just see a guy who wants to get in your pants," "...who couldn't stop gazing at somebody he loved." (Caryl Caryl Caryl, cuz we know how Daryl gazes at Carol, riiight?) Ok So maybe Pope needs new glasses cuz I didn't see that at all re Daryl gazing at Leah, but whatever...

Love how Pope told Leah he trusted her more than the others, then tried to fry her crispy in that shack with Daryl. Reaper love is weird. And Leah telling Daryl "you left me." Bitch, you ran off and abandoned your DOG. So, don't even.

Also, how is it they can start all these fires on TWD and they never blow up into a conflagration that burns half the state? That's what would happen where I live.

Every time I heard "Bossie," a cow mooed in the back of my head.

If he's only got 15 people I don't see how Pope made the good call by frying one of them in the campfire.

Carol was religious once, too. Just a random thought.

Where is Dog? What happened to him?

Once again, Leah levels the business end of her shotgun at Daryl. You think he'd learn.

Of course Leah has feelings for Daryl. He's a man of honor.

Pope: "human nature is to run when you are scared.... It takes divine strength to face your fear head on. To risk everything for someone else." Remind you of anyone?

The smouldering embers on Daryl and Leah's clothing as they escaped the burning shack was a nice effects touch.

Did I mention I am thoroughly enjoying S11, so far?

Caryl need to suffer a long separation, if we want an epic Caryl reunion that double duties to wake their asses up. Therefore I won't be shocked or dismayed if they are still apart at the 11A finale.

[superleeleehipster]

Caryl Spoilers/Positivity

Well, I woke up to a storm of craziness. No wonder I had a bad sleep last night, my mind knew what I’d be waking up to the next morning. 

This is kind of my take on things, and I will put a positive light on them, because I’m a chronic optimist despite this damn show. Warning for spoilers below.

I was hoping that they would stick to the idea that Daryl’s never had a serious relationship before due to his past. I mean, who wouldn’t have wanted to see a Caryl love scene where Daryl is shy and admits he’s never been with anyone, so Carol sweetly helps him navigate through wonders of female satisfaction. 

Gotta admit, this sucks, but this was something I was kind of expecting ever since we heard about this Leah character. I didn’t want it to be true (obviously), but I had a feeling...

The grief that settled in the pit of my stomach when I found out was the same grief I felt upon hearing Carol marrying Ezekiel. But, we've survived that and it wound up working out better than expected in the end. After all, Kang did say that Carol and Ezekiel is just a chapter in a bigger story that surrounds Daryl and Carol. And God help me, I still have faith that this will turn out for the better for us.

- If we go by the brief synopsis, it says that we see the “toxic situations that led him to be dog’s owner”, which is red flag #1 for me in this relationship he has with Leah. Why would they describe the situation with Leah toxic? We know she gives him an ultimatum, stating that he needs to decide which side he’s on (which is a shitty thing to do, and also an abuse tactic). Why would she tell him that that there weren't issues already between them?? Knowing that Rick is dead, and Carol is lost to him, he probably decided to go with her (there was no one in his life at that point) And then she leaves before he could get back in time. So im wondering if this relationship is really real for Leah or if she may be using him for some reason...

But I also knew that there was a possibility that they would let him have a relationship before he and Carol became an official thing. Some people would argue that “it’s only fair”, because Carol had a small fling with Tobin that she himself admitted could’ve been more if she had stayed in Alexandria, and of course her relationship with Ezekiel that last six years. So it’s only fair that Daryl would find someone else too during that time frame. But there are other folks who say that it’s out of character for him to have a relationship with someone else so quickly, and I do agree with that. Kang has said that Daryl wouldn’t start a relationship with someone he barely knows, so this whole situation seems extremely left field to everyone. In fact (and I know this has been said already), I think the general audience will even be thrown off because it's so out of the blue. Hell it would've made more sense for him to sleep with Connie than a random person.

But... here’s the thing. Maybe it’s supposed to be out of character for him. Here’s what I mean by it:

- The second thing that caught my eye is that the spoilers state that in a flashback, Carol tells Daryl that she’s not going to visit him anymore, and that it happens BEFORE he meets Leah (the latter isn’t confirmed yet). If that is truly the case, then him going for a relationship with Leah actually is starting to make more sense. Not only had Carol decided to live with Ezekiel, but she willingly said to Daryl that she’s not going to visit him anymore ; therefore, it sounded like she would be truly lost to him in Daryl’s eyes.

Also, we don’t even know the specifics of what Daryl and Leah bond over. Maybe Daryl admits to Leah that he’s lost everyone he loves, one way or another, and he’s all alone, and Leah being there to comfort him kind of drives him to “make a life for himself”, b/c him and Carol don't have a chance (at least at the time).

-Now this whole fight scene is... I'll admit, I'm nervous to see it. But I don't want to judge it before we get the full details on how the fight started, what they're fighting about, etc. My guess (and also my hope b/x this is the only way it would make some sense to me) is that when the fight happens, Daryl sort of goes off on everything he's held back when it came to Carol. He very well might point out that she's left him multiple times throughout the years and then hit the nail on the head when she left to live at the Kingdom and told Daryl she wasn't coming back. I'm not blaming Carol, but she has left him a lot, so I wouldn't be surprised if that comes up during the fight. Also, if Daryl has kept his frustrations dormant this entire time, what would happen when they're finally released into the wild? What happens when we keep things to ourselves and then something breaks the dam and we go off on the person who's done us wrong in our eyes? We say things to hurt them, we say things we don't necessarily mean, but you want that person to feel as much pain as you do at the moment. And maybe that's what happened with the fight. Daryl got too into it and he blamed Carol for Connie's death.

Listen, I don't like the new development as much as anyone else does. It's really out of character for Daryl, but I do believe we need to wait and see what the episode is like before jumping to conclusions. Like when we found out Carol had sex with Ezekiel, and the episode turned out way better for us than we thought. It could be a case like that. My hope is it'll be like this: Carol tells Daryl that she can't come see him anymore and he looks all sad and dejected and then he comes across Leah. Daryl blatantly says that he loved someone but she's in love with someone else, and Leah pushes him to be in a relationship by tugging at his heartstrings, but he had this dejected look after they have sex, like what they just didn't wasn't right... Then Leah tells him to pick either her or his past because she can tell he's holding onto it, but then leaves before he could come back. Then caryl get into a fight about their feelings and Daryl points out that everyone always leaves him in the end, Carol including and... they have a bad fight but also get a ton of shit out in the open. That's my hopeful take on it.

For those who are done, I get it. I mean, I GET IT. We've gone through so much and it seems like they're just toying with us at this point. But I do believe caryl is endgame. It might just take time to get there.

Side note: don't let this ruin your love for fanfiction. There's a reason why we have it. Keep reading and writing those lovely caryl stories loves 💘.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Beth/Eugene Entanglement, Part 1

Morning Everyone! So, for probably the next week or so, I’m going to be doing a series of Beth/Eugene entanglement posts. I meant to get them written and posted for this week, but time has been getting away from me. So, here’s the first one. I’m basically just going to be showing how many parallels exist between the two characters, which will back up why we think Beth will appear through Eugene’s story.

So today, we’re going to start with some basics.

1. He starts out weak but becomes strong over the course of years.

This is true of both Beth and Eugene, but many other characters, too. Eugene, when we first saw him, was very weak, very afraid, and couldn’t fight walkers. He was trained, mostly by Rosita, and is now very strong and capable in that regard.

Same with Beth. We already saw her become strong in S4, but I think she’ll return much stronger than when we last saw her.

Now, as I said, this arc isn’t unique to Beth and Eugene by far, but there are other specific similarities between the two.

2. Trained by a Stronger Character

This is going to feel like a tangent, but I promise it’s not. To review, when it comes to romantic couples, there are only two types of character. Yes, this will be a major oversimplification of character personalities, but for ease of understanding, there is always one member of the couple who is dominant, somewhat dark, and prone to being destructive. The pairings that work are when they enter a relationship with someone who balances those qualities out. Someone who is more optimistic, hopeful, and positive.

So the more destructive ones are Daryl, Michonne, Rosita, Carol, Enid, Sasha, and Maggie. All of these characters are paralleled to one another at times because of their similar personality traits. (As I often say, this why ships like Caryl and Darsita would never work. They’re WAY too similar to Daryl.)

The more hopeful characters are Beth, Rick, Gabriel, Ezekiel, Carl, Abraham, and Glenn.

So why am I reviewing this? Just to show that Rosita and Daryl are similar. Beth was trained and strengthened by Daryl.

Eugene, by Rosita.

3. Coda

Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of similarities between the two of them in S5, especially right around the time Coda happened.

Eugene confessed to lying about the cure and Abraham punched him in the face, injuring him badly. I have to say, I always thought that story line was just a tad over-the-top.

Of course it’s totally possible to hit someone hard enough to give them a concussion or do other damage, and Abraham is a big guy. But what most people don’t realize and Hollywood rarely takes into account is that if you receive a head injury bad enough to knock you unconscious, and you don’t wake up for hours, you would have massive brain damage. People can definitely get knocked out, but they usually wake up in less than 30 seconds. If they don’t, it’s either because they have a sedative or other substance in their system, or they need a neurosurgeon.

Now, we saw Carol miraculously recover from internal injuries at Grady. So, like that, this n ever bothered me much because I figure it’s probably unrealistic on purpose, and meant to be symbolic. (A parallel to Beth recovering from her injuries.)

So Eugene is hurt (blood on his forehead, no less) and for a while, his group isn’t sure if he’ll be okay. Maggie even uses a ladder to give him shade (there’s totally symbolism in that). Eventually they pick him up, put him in a vehicle, and…drive him to Grady. 🤔

There was never much doubt about Eguene’s survival in this story line, because of the way they presented it to us.

What’s clear is that while at Grady, Eugene was just sleeping.

Later Eugene wakes up and is okay. Just saying.

4. 9x06; After the Time Jump

And finally, we didn’t see Eugene really come into his own until AFTER the 6 year time jump in 9x06. You can see how that will be similar to Beth, as she’s been gone for years, but when we see her, she’ll be much stronger than the last time we saw her.

Not only does Eugene show up much stronger, more confident, and an excellent walker-killer, but he looks a little different, too.

He’s suddenly sporting long, braided hair with beads in it.

People have compared the braid to Beth having a braid. The beads could be seen as a Native American or western theme, both of which we’ve applied to Beth. And Eugene uses a surprising amount of “western” references in his speech. I’ll get to more of them in later posts. I do think some of this also applies to Eugene himself and his “Sampson” arc, but suffice it to say, he shows up with a lot more Beth symbolism around him and specifically his appearance, than he used to have.

Finally, the deer. The first time we see him in 9x06, he has a dear draped across his shoulders. The Deer Theory is one of the deepest and oldest Beth theories we have. So having Eugene appear this way feels like a very obvious way of pointing him out as a Beth proxy, and perhaps saying she will show up via his story line.

As a side note, we also saw Michonne with a deer draped across her shoulders in 7x04 after she went out hunting. Because she shoots a deer, and kind of by accident, there, we’ve always known that was an important, foreshadowing scene. But it’s hard to interpret how it will apply, yet. Michonne definitely has some interesting arcs still coming up that they’ve foreshadowed for us, but I haven’t entirely figured out what they are, yet.

I’ve considered that this deer-across-the-shoulders think might be about being involved in a death fake out. (Because of Rick’s disappearance.) But we didn’t see that with Glaggie or Bethyl, so probably not. More than likely, it’s something that’s tied directly to Beth. We just haven’t figured it out entirely, yet.

Anyway, just thought I’d throw that in for reference.

To recap for today, Eugene goes from a weak character to a strong character, he was injured in S5, and taken to Grady while unconscious, much like Beth. He was trained by a stronger character (Rosita), just as Beth was trained by Daryl. And after many years, he showed up with a deer draped over his shoulders, long braided hair, and heavy western themes.

Don’t you just love TD parallels?

Stay tuned for more Beth/Eugene entanglement to come.

[wolfwhiteflowers]

10x16+, Connie, and NM thoughts

We got spoilers from DearTVshow about the finale...or ep 16.

So #TWDSpoilers ... about Caryl, *NM*, Connie, etc.!

*pro Caryl post.

ok yeah I have a lot more thoughts from the TWD news and spoilers. okaaay. 

So from DTV, the source said Connie is alive but only audience knows and it’s real quick.

--“I’m told that no one knows Connie is alive when the viewers first see her. Also, Carol & Daryl make up, with a hug, but no canon. And New Mexico is mentioned once again.”

--“Caryl has a big reunion hug on par with ‘No Sanctuary’. Daryl asks if her revenge is done. And she says "Well, I’ll never have what I want"

Daryl then says: "You have me...and New Mexico is out there still." And then Carol says “they have some things to do first”  

Ok my first thought is that I was surprised to learn Connie was alive and was thinking what are the writers are doing with the Connie/Magna cave plot and what will they do with Connie later on. Long ago, I made a post that I’m like in the middle of what I want with Connie. Still am, I guess, I hope writers write Connie like a Sasha than like a Beth. Sasha is more like a her own character and isn’t propping for a ship. Anyway I hope it means we get more sister bonding with Connie and Kelly. Idk what s11 will be like but just want smart and respectful writing. 

So, with that C/M cave plot, it then makes me worried about Magna and other fans are worried about Kelly (kill off sister pairing trope). But in the finale spoilers/pictures, it seems they’re also both safe too!   I think so...I think Magna is safe. There’s a promo pic of her after the horde moment. I think that instagram pic from GN of walkers eating a person is Beatrice(Oceanside lady). I think I saw someone pointed out she got the same bright blue shirt on. Anyway, yeah that crazy cave-plot is done with and is dumb. No one died from it..from TWD a horror show lol. It’s all really ends up being a plot to make Caryl/Carol angst, which the s10 is mostly about.

Like I thought, if Connie is alive it would be a short scene based on filming tracking. And therefore it’s a short scene for Connie reveal. I’m surprised only fans will learned about it. Maybe she's at Commonwealth idk and in 10C or s11 the comic plot of Michonne reuniting with her daughter will play out but with Connie and Kelly. I guess that’s what will happen but sigh ..it’s like down playing the comic version. Plus ..they kinda ruin the surprise too..? (Sorry.. it’s just comic Michonne’s story and that plot was everything. But I guess TV Michonne will do something like that too. Whatever.. from the comics it was so meaningful for comic-Michonne!) 

Anyway, the more I think about Connie’s alive reveal the more it’s like meh. It’s like writers just...still ..write her like a minor character. Idk if they could’ve done more or not but meh. She’s alive but no one knows...so ... no one cares? We get closures from characters, we get Caryl forgiving each other, but they don’t know about Connie. It’s like it doesn’t matter Connie lives or not, character’s stories are fine. I also think ..to think of s10B of Connie’s story, she doesn’t have that good ending in s10. It’s like half there and meh. Maybe other characters will mention Connie in ep 16, it would be a nice lil wrap up for Connie fans. I’m just saying it’s kinda crap writing for Connie fans. But whatever, she’s alive and there’s 10C. Eh. I hope the real reveal scene on the show will be better..like she’s at Commonwealth so then it’s like moving the plot forward. 

ETA. spoiler from instagram, Connie is revealed alive and wakes up and sees Virgil ..in time to save her I guess. That’s it...I guess. I’m glad there’s more to move the plot. But Idk where Virgil and Connie will go to..or when? Maybe they show up in ASZ later. Oh I guess we won’t get mentions of Michonne in ep 16. It would be later I guess when they’re in ASZ to talk about Michonne and the plan on finding Rick. eh wish it was on ep 16. So about Caryl. I'm so glad Caryl will talk it out and he mentions NM!  Even when they don't know about Connie being alive. It's a real forgiving scene between them. Someone said that he was mostly upset in 10b because of Carol’s actions and it’s proves..that it is what is about. Seriously s10 is so Caryl - season. Daryl is all about Carol this season. omg. shoo haters. (haters are weird..can they be real and if they don’t like how it’s going ..i mean if it’s me, I would’ve quit the show.) Anyway, I’m like LOL at the haters. I just omg like from the spoilers, Caryl forgave each other, made up, had a great hug, Daryl saying “you have me ..and let’s go to NM.”, all while they think Connie’s dead. sheesh. It really doesn’t look good for DCon shippers. whatever. 

I’m curious how the Caryl scene will go and all and how s11 will go. :3 So yeah they got stuff to do first = which makes me think of how s11 is the final season and writers got stuff to do. Wrap up character stories and stuff. Idk what they will do with them and Grimes kids and whatever the main story/Rick’s story will go. Also s11 is a long season and idk what they’ll do. Plus s10C lol. I can’t speculate.  

They mentioned NM again! My thoughts on “New Mexico”. Since we learned about the spoilers and the spin-off show, the moment is a clear foreshadowing moment. Like for real, they will run away together. It’s not some end of the series idea wishful hopeful moment. idk the word. Like they’re legit leaving ASZ. 

So the more I think about it and I’m just wondering why “New Mexico”? It just seems oddly already answered or so. Like ok here’s a plot and let’s go. I wish there’s some reason or build up to it why NM. Idk. Maybe Daryl will explain more why he wants to go there.  I also think, unpopular opinion?, maybe they won’t go to NM but it’s the idea~~ and that NM means they will travel away together. I’m speculating about the overall story of TWD/Rick movies ..., so maybe the writers want Caryl to travel and help out in some way for Rick/’s plan, in the spin-off show. Maybe part of CRM is in like Texas, so Caryl is like well ok we’ll do it, we’ve been wanting to travel so let’s go to Texas.   Or, it’s in s11 finale when Idk everyone kinda knows about Rick and CRM situation, maybe like Michonne will say (idk) we need someone to find supporters for Rick against CRM elsewhere-NM or Michonne will say Rick is out there in the west somewhere, we need someone to search for him in the west, Caryl is like let’s go to NM first.

I also wonder how spin-off is the Caryl spin-off show is. Will it only be Caryl-shippy? The Dixons-with Lydia and Dog? or Caryl and Grimes kids too? Caryl and others from s10-not so shippy/drag on slowburn? So far I’m leaning toward Caryl - shippy and (maybe Lydia, Grimes kids and Dog) will be there. I actually want Caryl with Grimes kids and Lydia and Dog. But idk. sigh TWD overall planning there... What about the kids?

Idk. It’s all whatever writers want to do with Rick’s story, s11 and the spinoff show. It’s all hard to predict and kinda hard to not get hopes up ahh.  I can kinda imagine Daryl giving Dog to Connie in s11 if Dog is not included in Caryl spin-off show. I think Grimes kids could stay with Maggie, Aaron, or others at Commonwealth or ASZ. Idk about Lydia, maybe she stays in ASZ or Hilltop. 

[sigurdjarlson]

Your Caryl first lovemaking scenario/s?

Oooooh.

I feel like it will be post fakeout death if we get one. Possibly the reunion itself if they’re alone or during one of the talks after said reunion..

The idea of him paralleling Carol by having dreams of life with her while he thinks she’s dead is something I desperately want. Only for him to wake up and remember she’s “dead”.. and it’s pure torture because it felt so real. She was just there in his arms and now he’s forced to face the reality that she’s gone :( (or thinks she is)

So when he sees her again he’s just so fucking relieved she’s okay. And she’s there and with him and all he knows is that he wants to touch, feel for himself she’s there, she’s real and this isn’t a dream. He’s so terrified sits a dream. So he clings to her like a lifeline and sobs, like the Terminus scene but dialed up to 100.

And she’s whispering comfort to him and stroking his hair. “I thought..” is all he can say again and again. And she just holds him. He pulls back and presses his forehead to hers and they just stay like that for a few moments, staring into each other’s eyes like they do.

And he kisses her, impulsively. His emotions get the better of him but of course Carol responds just as eagerly. And then we get desperate, needy, passionate and emotional “I thought you were dead thank god you’re alive” sex. Just two people needing to feel as close as possible to each other.

And it’s a culmination of ten years of pining over each other. So much tenderness and love :’)

—-

Oh or maybe Daryl doesn’t necessarily break down crying at first. He reacts the way he does whenever he’s upset. He’s relieved but then he gets angry. Stay with me. He snaps at her asking why the fuck she would do something like that? She almost died! He thought she died! Doesn’t she understand what that would do to him? What it did to him? (she doesn’t because she has no idea how deeply he loves her)

And she doesn’t. She keeps saying shit about saving him, it being worth it, about making up for taking his happiness away from him? She sure did by almost getting herself killed but she’s not talking about herself. She means Co//nn//ie. Who he of course cared about as a friend but he wasn’t in love with her. Carol is the person he can’t lose and she doesn’t get it.

It seems like no matter what he says she doesn’t get that he loves her more than anything or anyone. He needs her. So, impulsively he kisses her. It’s him trying to show her I need you, this is how I feel about you, this is how I love you and this is how much I love you. She returns it of course and it goes from there.

And he’s crying now but fuck it he doesn’t care he needs her. (They’re both gonna get super emotional cry during their first time I know it. I feel it in my bones) and it’s the same “I need to be close to you, I need to feel for myself you’re alive” vibe as the first scenario I mentioned now.

And they’re both left panting and overwhelmed and fuck...they have a lot to talk about, don’t they? Cue the awkward post sex “what are we now?” conversation! 😂

[haircoveredwriter]

Some thoughts after watching 11x06 "On the Inside". I'll put it beneath a break because there's more than I thought to my mindless rambling.

Okay so they're going with a straight horror movie intro but skipping the usual 'we're having such a good time out here in the woods...wait, something it out here too'

Both LR and KC do a really good terrified for their lives

Also have to say Virgil really seems to have stepped up since we met him because dude can actually take out walkers now. Good job, sir. Never stop learning.

More of Leah walking around amoungst a group of people and having no real reason to be there or contribute anything to the scene. 🙄

Damn, Hondo! Stop pulling at Frost's nails! I can't rip half mine off at work without feeling like Hershel when Rick chopped his leg. Fingers and toes always make thigs worse.

Chokeholds are illegal, Daryl. Someone needs to have him watch his own earlier seasons.

The conversation beneath the conversation between Daryl and Frost is spot on and super interesting.

Daryl's like 'look...I'm going to have to chop your finger off but it's for a good reason. Gonna save your life and who knows, maybe one of these weirdos has a Govenor closet somewhere and they'll let you take it home with you.'

Plus him taking off the vest was WAY more entralling than it needed to be, but I'm a woman with eyes so don't judge me. 👀😍(Enthralling? yup, that's what we'll go with)

It's a definite sign Daryl's not all team Reapers because he's basically taking off/hiding who he really is to fit in with his crazy ex-girlfriend's new posse.

Though my science schooling is giving how little blood there is from the amputation the side eye. Guess Frost just willed his blood some place else.

Am I crazy or is the music playing while Daryl torutres Frost the same that was playing in 10x07 while Carol tortured the Whisperer? Coincedence??🤔

Evil Monopoly man seems like he enjoys playing games with his people.

If Connie looking in the mirror is not me everyday I wake-up😏

GUYS! There were medical scissors in the medicine cabinet. You know what this means??? Queen Beth is gonna rise from the dead and save Vonnie all while less half a brain. LOL.

whoever belongs to that eye in the hole needs to get checked for jaundice.

Ofc the pencil breaks when Connie TRULY needs it. Fate really has it in for her, screwing her over with one of her most trusted friends.

These Reapers have no idea do they about how to sneak up on a building without being seen. Maybe they need it to be night before their powers activate. Funny Leah is in charge when she's the least believable one there.

Daryl pretending to be a cat hiding behind a plant with that mailbox...no one can see you my friend. You're good.

Carver and Leah remind me of the evil version of Caryl and Daryl.

They obviously have something going on and/or had a thing in Daryl's abscence. All those "Always" remarks sound an awful lot like The Princess Bride's "As you wish".

Yup, Carver is uber jealous of Daryl. Leaver is setting sail ya'll.🚢

Carol strolling in to find Kelly stuck in the mud with her casual "need some help" is perfection. I actually lol'd.

AT is also SUCH and underrated and underutilized actress on this show, I need more Kelly on my screen because she needs to be protected like the sweet cinnamon role she is.

WTH is with this episode, they really out here trying to start a bunch of new ships or something? I'm down for Vonnie.

He's so into you, Connie. Who else is gonna keep talking to you knowing you can't hear them but needing to vocalize how much more important they see you to themselves.

Oh, come on...he's said her name in this ep more times than anyone has in the last season. He's trying to rival Daryl for saying Carol's name in s10.

So in case you're keeping track...we now have Vonnie and Leaver riding the crazy shipping seas.📃

Great... more posturing about who cares about Leah more.🤮 Carver you aren't getting it; Daryl's been phoning it in since Day 1, he's not a threat just wait it out and he'll audios up out of here to go find his fire queen back home.

Leah's even telling Daryl "stop pissing of my secret boyfriend okay?"

Note to everyone: a dancing phone line is the sign to run to the basement and not a sign of an overeager squirrel running across the line for his acorns.

So the jaundice family watched The Ring too many times and think this is how all the cool kids act in horror flicks. All they keep saying is 'hungry'; Connie, Virgil, someone get them a Mars bar and it'll be done.

A+ fight put up by Virgil. He's been taking some classes during the lockdowns to better himself.

The Reapers are HORRIBLE military folk. How do ya'll not see Maggie & co leaving when you have people on the perimeter for the sole purpose of finding runners?! Do not hire them. 1 star on Yelp.

Yup I'm all over Vonnie. That "together" stuff was by far the shippiest thing we've seen all season.

And their reunion hug through the walll .... guuurl.

walker guts trick again: the express version

why do I feel like they could do a mini spin off of just a little war going on between the walkers and those jaundice mo-fos? Then one of the walkers falls for a crawler girl but her family thinks he's from the wrong side of the yellow house and don't like how he thinks he's better because he's taller than all of them.

Kelly found Connie! So happy this storyline ended with the 2 people the arc was truly about; the 2 sisters finding each otherafter years of the show hating siblings.

Now can we finish with Carol's self-hatred stuff and let her heal? We know Daryl is gonna be finished with his "gotta save 'em all" issues soon so it would be fantastic if they could finally be on the same baggage free playing field. Just a thought Kang.

Overall I thought it was a good episode. Only a few things I would nitpick ie. limited Carol, cheesy music during some of the haunted house bits, and the reapers need to go back to basic training and learn some stuff and thangs.

Ofc the spoilers beforehand were blown way out of proportion though I'm not surprised. I didn't go in expecting to see what was foretold and thankfully the spirit Gods prevailed again in defeating the overreaction we go through EVERY episode.

[my-mt-heart]

What makes you think that Daryl really is thinking about Carol? Alas for me it's only an exaggerated assumption on Carylers' part ☹️ And honestly, the whole thing about Daryl missing Carol is laughable when you remember (it still hurts) that he left her without any f***ing reason and this alone makes me not to wish watch that show. I feel it will be a hardship for me to watch s2 for Malissa only. I love her and she needs our support but I still can't go over how AMC hijacked Kang's story and destroyed all the joy for me.

It seems clear that they brought Melissa back because of the backlash but they also seem unconcerned bc they still think they can throw any shit at us now that Melissa will come back and I can't stand such disrespect. Enough is enough.

There are visual cues that heavily suggest Daryl’s thinking about Carol, including a brief flashback to their last scene in TWD as Daryl wakes up in the convent. But I think the point you’re making is it’s really difficult to have faith which is 💯 valid. I absolutely trust Melissa’s judgment when it comes to S2, but because of all the gaslighting this past year, we need undeniable evidence she and her fans are being respected.

[freefromthecocoon]

TWD Finale Review

So, Thanksgiving is complete and I finally had a chance to sit and review the finale. I got kind of long winded with this so buckle up. I will do a separate Caryl review as well.

We open as Daryl arrives at the hospital to get help for Judith. He gets knocked out by a trooper. Judith wakes enough to barricade the door to delay walkers from entering and we end on the shot of them laying on the floor that we saw back at SDCC trailer time.

Opening theme. I really loved that Bear used a full orchestra to score this episode. It added a lot to the scenes.  Bear McCreary and in recent years Sam Ewing also have done a wonderful job of scoring The Walking Dead.  The 2 songs picked for this episode were perfect as well. 

Poor Jules didn’t even get a toast later. Luke shouldn’t have disappeared to go play in Potterworld. It really did feel like they only brought them back to kill them off as soon as they arrived. 

Daryl laying on a gurney as he wakes up to bloodbath of poor Luke and his family. Carol trying to take care of Daryl and Judith. The scene with Luke and his family was sad and caught their emotions. I have to say, I wouldn’t mind a Tales episode showing how they came to be a family. There was so much focus on using Connie for shipbait, that we really didn’t get enough of their story and it was a disservice to all of them, even Connie. 

I know there is frustration that Daryl and Carol don’t use their words, but I also know that goes to the chemistry that Norman and Melissa have and that translates to Daryl and Carol. They can exude so much emotion and communication with just a look. Carol knows that Daryl is looking at the scene with Luke’s family and their grief and that he is worried for Judith as she is hurt badly. Daryl makes an executive decision for a blood transfusion. I like that this was explained using a Merle memory and we do have background of Carol having some medical knowledge from years in the apocalypse, so this works, but as a nurse, I have to let a lot go with this show. 

Princess and Max literally bust Mercer out of jail. We get a mini reunion of sorts, that felt unearned to me, but we had to show his escape so he could help overthrow the government. 

I think we have spent way too much time on the Negan/Maggie dynamic, more on this later. 

Our trio of Gabe, Eugene and Rosita arrive to save the babies. Never get in the way of a mama bear whose babies are in danger.  

Judith wakes and is still out of it and so Daryl isn’t sure if what she said about Rick and Michonne was just dream talk or what. She passes out and the walkers begin attacking the hospital.  Daryl barricading Judith in her room was a nice callback to the earlier seasons of the show when Shane did the same for Rick. I’ve always rolled my eyes at the use of walkers on the show, but I do think it was done well here and in the scenes with Rosita. The walker with the rock breaking the window was definitely a Season 1 callback.

I would be walker food if I had to climb a drainpipe to get away from zombies. I REALLY loved the scoring here when Rosita popped up out of the zombies and climbed on top of the ambulance. I really thought that maybe the spoilers had it wrong that Rosita would not die. Sadly, I was wrong.

Team Family gets to the safe house that Mercer has set up and we get the payoff for Yumiko outing that Tomi is a surgeon. He begins the work to save Judith. I loved Aaron helping Lydia and giving her a pep talk on coping with losing part of her arm. Carol is nearby, always listening and watching. This poor child has lost so much and I was so glad she didn’t lose Elijah. More Negan/Maggie drama…yayy. I do like Negan’s apology here, it seems very heartfelt and sincere. They somewhat come to a truce so to speak. 

Now for the beginning of the true heartbreak. Rosita’s arc turned into one of the best of the show. Eugene and Rosita’s scene here is just everything and Christian and Josh completely knocked this out of the park. Eugene seemed to know something was off and Rosita sadly confirmed she was bit. I loved her being Rosita in this moment, telling Eugene to pull his shit together.  Rosita just wanting to spend her last moments with her family, enjoying being with them. The I love yous exchanged between Rosita and Eugene are different than the ones with Daryl and Carol later as R/E are truly platonic best friends and he immediately goes to Max who is, as Eugene calls her, his beloved. 

Daryl and Carol holding vigil over Judith is an intimate scene that calls back to Rick and Lori holding vigil over Carl so long ago.  Again the looks between Carol and Daryl without words convey so much, that’s chemistry folks.  The relief and humor when Daryl says Lil Asskicker and Judith responds as only she can with Big Asskicker.  

Mercer decides to make a stand and Zeke gives an inspiring speech as only he can as a rallying cry to Team Family. The standoff at the gate was intense and Negan was correct, arresting Pamela was a more fitting punishment as she would have escaped through death, although it was nice seeing Walker Lance again, Maggie was right to not let Pamela get off that easy.  Can I tell you that seeing Jerry stroll through those gates gave me life. I really thought we were gonna lose my cobbler king. I adore him and was happy he made it through.  

I need to mention Gabe’s arc here. Gabe went from my most hated character to one I truly loved and respected.  When we first met him, he was a cowardly man who locked his parishoners out of his church and he ended with risking his own life to open the gates for the CW people to be saved. I was also glad to see Gabe come to terms with his faith and to be able to reclaim it. Well done, Gabe. 

The scene with Team Family in the town square battling the walkers, were the final scenes filmed for the show, The videos of the confetti and the final wrap call for the show were just after this scene.   I admit, I did a little head banging hearing Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality”, it’s such a kick ass song and should be added to your playlist immediately…yes I’m old, lol. And yes, the explosion was very OTT, but I will allow it as it was the finale to a big ass show that meant a lot to all of us. 

Carol being the ultimate boss bitch in her conversation with Pamela as Daryl proudly watches his woman and Mercer slams the door shut was a chef’s kiss moment. 

I have given a lot of grief to the Negan/Maggie storyline over this season, but this scene with Lauren and JDM was so well performed. Maggie’s description of Glenn and why she cannot forgive Negan and also Maggie acknowledging that she knows he is trying to change was well-written and well-performed. In having anger with people in my own life, I completely understand the idea of letting go of anger to keep from burning yourself up, even if forgiveness isn’t a possibility. Negan seemed to grasp this and at long last respected what Maggie needs from him. I still don’t understand how they wind up in New York together, but I guess that will soon be explained.

The family dinner scene was precious to me and was a realization of Rick’s vision of a celebratory family dinner. Seeing that Dog is okay and begging for scraps was sweet. Daryl’s little head nod to Negan was appropriate. Gabe learning of Rosita’s fate was so well-performed. The music here is great too. Landslide was a total gut punch of a choice for scoring and perfect choice to convey the emotion of TWD coming to an end. 

I haven’t read the comics, but the Rosita goodbyes are a callback to the Comic Andrea goodbye and was really well done. I know some people have asked why Daryl wasn’t more prominent in these scenes, but filming for all this took place while Norman was out due to his concussion. I would have liked to see Rosita and Daryl say goodbye to each other, but I think they handled that as best they could. Eugene and Rosita being there together at the end was precious. 

I know we are sick to death of time jumps, but I think this one was appropriate. It was nice to see everyone catch up. Zeke and Mercer are the new leadership at the CW.   Eugene and Max have a baby named Rosey. I liked the Daryl and Connie scene. It’s obvious that each of them are content in their own lives and that each of them are happy. A really good friendship scene.  Lydia and Elijah have taken on the roles of couriers for the communities and I like them being able to do this.  Negan checking in with Judith was appropriate and I liked the payoff of him sending the compass back to her. ASZ looked wonderful and thriving as did Hilltop’s rebuilding. Chandler Riggs was on set for the last day and Greg put a hat on him and gave him a job as a background gardener, a nice little Easter egg.  

Maggie wants to begin exploring for other communities (this is the way I took this as it wasn’t clearly explained). So this explains why Daryl leaves. I won’t get into the debate about whether he should have left the kids and Carol.  I think a lot of people misconstrued that he was leaving to search for Rick and Michonne, that was not the reason he left. I will explore this more in my Caryl review of the finale. 

As I said previously, I plan to do a separate Caryl review, cause there is so much to unpack, but I will say here that Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride could read a phone book and I would watch it. They nailed their goodbye scene as we all knew they would and I gasped when Daryl told her he loved her as it was so much more than I expected we would get.  It was hard to watch him ride away, but I am left with so much hope that we will see them together again. 

I know the majority of fandom needed to see Rick and Michonne participate in the finale, I loved their scenes. The only thing I would have done differently here would have been to end with Daryl fading to black and playing the credits and then have the Richonne scenes as an end credit scene. I would also suggest watching World Beyond if you haven’t. I admit WB is a slog fest at times, but the CRM points of the show are what I refer to as tie-ins, not directly of course. But there are some definite Easter eggs from WB in the Rick scenes especially.

So, TWD has come to an end. I think overall, they stuck the landing. Obviously, the Reapers arc was a disappointment and a waste of precious time with all the characters we care about. The Negan/Maggie stuff was overplayed and I think if cutbacks had been made there, we could have gotten a more fleshed out story with the characters we care more about. But hindsight is 20/20, so I won’t belabor the point here. I think going into the finale blind and without spoilers or opinions from biased reviewers really helped my enjoyment of the episode.  If you have stuck through on this word vomit from me, I will do a more extensive Caryl review and post at a later time. Thank you all for reading this if you could slog through it, lol.

[waynedunlaptheorgandonor]

ok, if i don’t write this im gonna lose my mind -cue dmx ‘party up’-

here is a ridiculously detailed analysis of why i am bordering on near certainty of caryl endgame, and how everything that’s been set up from the start of s9 (yes, even c@rzekiel and d@nnie) has been leading up to this

spoilers and long-winded analysis under the cut

let’s take this step-by-step, okay? starting with:

The Titles:

i have said this about a million times now, but the very first indication of caryl came from the new opening credits, where mmb’s name was very strategically placed above the graphic of daryl’s crossbow, what’s meant to symbolize henry’s pike, and a bunch of cherokee roses. it was foreshadowing, not only of henry’s death, but also how her relationship with daryl was going to unfold, and, bear with me here, the downfall of c@rzekiel. speaking of which, let’s go there

C@rzekiel:

i have also rambled about this, too, but the way that kang designed this relationship between zeke and carol was so brilliant, because it was never supposed to be real, but you weren’t able to fully see how until the whole story was laid out before us. (which goes with my belief that kang tells stories over long, connected archs, and not just “you know what would be fun to toss in here rn for some drama?” 

carol

1. denied zeke’s proposal

2. never once told him she loved him

3. explicitly told those saviors she could have done without her ring (a line that had absolutely no need to be in there)

4. continuously rejected the title of queen

5. regularly visited daryl in the woods

6. said herself that all it was, was a fairytale. something i’ll delve into more when i talk about carol’s ptsd

but let me touch on how daryl plays into this. we know she regularly went out into the woods to be with daryl, and she did it because he was her tether back to reality. she was living a fantasy life, and knew deep down that it wasn’t real, but had to do it, for henry’s sake, and for the sake of her mental health, because at the time of the relationship, she had not remotely begun to deal with any of her grief

the first scene we get with her and zeke is directly after daryl saves zeke’s life, which is telling. and the first time we hear her talk about her feelings about zeke’s proposal she turned down it’s with daryl, and let us not forget that the script notes stated that daryl was experiencing jealousy about it. he never asked her not to, though, because he thought she was happy, and that was more important to him than her being with him. he was willing to give her up if it meant she was happy, like what kind of angst trope suffering is that?? -chefs kiss-

and we can’t forget that zeke canonically views daryl as a threat to his marriage (i mean, rightfully so). he literally tells daryl to back off his wife so that he can fix their marriage, because he knows carol is starting to go back to him

next!

flowers:

flowers have been being used as symbolism between these two across the past two seasons a bunch. flowers are in mmb’s title card. the first scene of carol/daryl in the time jump shows them seeing flowers. daryl brings carol a flower on the dinner tray. one of the upcoming episodes is “look at the flowers”. obviously the cherokee rose scene is iconic between them, and flowers to carol represent this weird dichotomy. on the one hand, they represent daryl comforting her and giving her hope, and on the other hand, they represent her downfall mentally from the grove. interesting that one of the threads throughout this current season is carol grappling between trying to stay grounded with daryl, and her losing herself to her grief

speaking of grief!

Carol’s PTSD:

people have bitched that kang is just telling carol’s same storyline all over again, to which i’m like, tf show are you watching?? here’s what kang has done. gimple dealt with carol by literally just locking her away in a house to mull over how terrible she is a person, while never once actually dealing with her grief, and then handed that over to kang as a boiling slop of diarrhea, and somehow kang managed to take that, perform alchemy, and turn it into delicious loving carol juice.

she had henry killed off to parallel sophia, yes, that’s true, but the /reason/ she did that is because she’s righting the wrongs that were done to carol by essentially rewriting her storyline the way it should have gone. carol has lost So Much. more than most, i think, and kang is like, “that would fuck someone up pretty fucking bad, i think, so let’s see her actually have to grapple with that.” kang stays true to the carol gimple created, in that her instinct is to run away (think boat), but she’s using daryl as a means of forcing her to confront her demons. the two of them, at any given time, are running away from their struggles, but daryl is finally at a place of stability, and so he’s taking carol by the hand and saying, “no. i’m not letting you do this again. you have to stay,” and carol does, because she loves him, but consequently she’s having to actually feel it (something she explicitly stated she “can’t let herself do”), and is now experiencing the consequences of it, and poor daryl is stuck trying to handle it. his entire plotline this season has revolved around trying to help carol heal her wounds so that they can finally be together the way they should have been ten years ago.

they should be together, and daryl shouldn’t be with anyone else? glad you asked, because that brings us to:

D@nnie:

i actually think that kang never meant to make daryl/connie a ship, bc nothing in season 9 really indicated anything more than a mutual respect, and part of me truly believes that she saw the reaction to the two of them, and was like, “you know what? i can work with this.”

carol is pushing daryl towards connie because she wants to take alpha down and knows she might go down with her and she needs to know daryl won’t be alone. that’s it. period. end of sentence.

but okay, let’s extrapolate. she asks him if he’s interested in connie, and daryl very, very bluntly says no. you can’t tell me that his answer was meant to be evasive. he delivered that line like straight up “no.” no room for debate about his feelings. if they wanted to leave room for doubt they would have had norman redo his delivery, because it is too obvious. he is shutting it down completely. and carol is like, “why not?” and /that’s/ when daryl gets evasive. very “don’t worry about it, why are you worrying about it, i’m not in love with you, shut up.” 

fucking kills me, guys.

now the current spoilers about carol telling daryl to get angry at her for (supposedly/probably) killing connie furthers this belief that she wants daryl to pull away from her. because he’s her tether, she loves him, and as long as he still wants her around she can’t leave. she wants him to hate her, and daryl refuses. he’s pissed as all get out about what she did, sure, but he doesn’t hate her. also, the idea that daryl going back to try and save connie and magna means he’s in love with connie is absolutely baffling. have you met daryl? his instinct is to save people at all costs. he wouldn’t leave his friends stuck in a fucking cave, are you serious? just because connie is a woman doesn’t mean daryl wants to fuck her. he’s allowed to care about his friends.

but anyway, the point here is that every “d@nnie” spoiler has been music to my ears, bc not once has it been actually shippy. that first episode with the asl book and them together? it was supposed to juxtapose zeke and carol, and how carol and daryl immediately forgot about connie and zeke in order to be with each other. every other thing with connie has either been very cute and platonic, or has been carol trying to push her on daryl. -chefs kiss- my dudes, you’re worrying about nothing

Misc bc I’m Late for Work:

here are just a handful of other indicators that caryl is on the horizon

-the dream where she dreams she’s MARRIED TO DARYL, and the scenes where she wakes up in bed and looks over and he’s not there. why set that up if the end result isn’t going to be them together in bed?

-the bracelet/the acorns and what they symbolize 

-the use of “we” (”we don’t sleep” “it was like that for us before all of this” “since when have we never been enough?” etc)

-their parallels to alpha/beta (see my other long-winded text post on that one)

-ten years worth of history between them!!! that kang understands and references (carol’s claustrophobic, look at the flowers, etc)

so anyway, i don’t have time to tie this up with a nice bow bc i really have to get to work, but this is all to say that i am very very confident about the caryl endgame. i think it’s being drawn out bc kang needs to right the wrongs done by gimple first, but that caryl is where she’s eventually headed. every spoiler has been 100% caryl positive to me. i am zen af, and i think you should be too.

i’ll add to this if i think of anything i missed, but here you go. caryl is endgame and they gon fuck

the end,

-diz   

[sienna27]

TWD - HERE BE SPOILERS!!!!

Posting below, but if you’re trying to stay unspoiled, get the hell away from this post!  Blink and scroll!  Blink and scroll! :)

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As I said over on twitter, time was definitely a flat circle tonight.  And you know what, I’m cool with that.  Because I’m sure there was a genuine debate when they were writing the script, and then afterwards with AMC, about whether this would be a huge mistake for the obvious, ‘people won’t know what the fuck is happening’ reason.  And I am one hundred percent positive people are bitching about that right now, and it will be the primary criticism to come out of tonight.  Again though, I liked it, and I think it was a ‘bold’ choice because they wanted to make 100 something unique.  And just blowing shit up, or bringing in a herd, or even killing off a ‘beloved’ character’, those things aren’t unique anymore.   Not after a hundred episodes.  So they needed a hook, this is the one they chose.  And if you pay attention, you can follow along without too much difficulty, and see probably four distinct timelines happening at once.  Hence the flat circle. 

My theory.  I think grey haired Rick is Dream Rick, imagining this future that he won’t get to have, because DEVASTATED Rick (who they flashed on quickly three or four times with that horrible look) loses one or more members of the Grimes family, and that loss is bad enough that he loses it, just like he did when Glenn and Abraham were killed and he started dreaming about that world with everyone around the table.  That future could never happen, and this one with him waking up with his wife and kids, isn’t going to happen either :(  It sucks, but one thing, I am really glad that’s not my primary ship!  Because fuck!  This season would be stressful as HELL!  Honestly, I’d probably walk away now and just find out what happens later!

And I will say, the foreshadowing does lean towards Carl being the one to go.  Not overtly enough to be a complete giveaway, but I think it’s there as a very plausible theory.   Because it’s the gas station (hearkening back to episode one, season one), and that new guy.  They cut to that in the beginning and the end.   That’s important because right now he’s nobody to us.  But that guy, is also the one who gave the quote from the Koran, that named the episode.  Mercy.  Carl was ready to just go right up and make friends and give him food and Rick is like, you can’t just do that.  You can’t trust strangers.  So the mercy theme comes up three times there, really.  Once, on the nose, with the guy’s quote.  Again with Carl wanting to show mercy to give him food, and then the last one.  I think the one Rick is going to have to live with ... not shooting that guy when he had the chance.    He showed him mercy, for Carl’s sake, and I think somehow that guy is going to lead to his death.  I don’t know.  Again, I read none of the comic books, I don’t go to reddit :) I don’t research shit online, just my own theory from stringing the threads together.  Because they plan things out and things that don’t seem random, generally aren’t random.   And I’m not looking for Carl to go, but it would be SUCH a refreshing change to the whole big picture scope if he did!  Because basically everyone’s theory is that Rick dies in the end of the show, and Carl takes over.  Which means if that really IS the end of the show, wa, waaaaa, in terms of fucking boring as shit.  Seriously.  I just wanted SOMETHING different to be on the horizon.  And if they removed Carl completely from the equation, it does throw everything to come, into a tailspin.  And Rick could go on without Carl, he would be kind of broken (might be the foreshadowing imagery in the dream of him limping like he’s had a physical loss), but Carol, Michonne, Morgan, they’ve all lost their children and they survived it.  And if Rick still had Judith and Michonne and maybe they could have a baby, he would have a reason to keep going.  So I don’t know, we’ll piece more together as the season goes..  *Shrug*

Also, to the Caryl!  I was surprised they didn’t have any other notable scenes than the one they released in the teaser because I had said yesterday I think, I think there’s more.  But I actually was GENUINELY surprised that they basically blew ALL of their big scenes in the teasers!  I feel like that was AMC marketing like, fuck give us something to push it because we’re making a billion dollars off this shit, and they were ‘uhhhhhh, this is what we have.  And they just took all of it.’  Because I don’t think there really were any surprises in terms of big scenes that hadn’t already been pre-released.  

But back to the Caryl, the attack took place about a week or so out from the finale.  I’m going by Michonne’s eye no longer being sealed shut for that estimate, so that gap is a RIPE area for Caryl fic!  Because that extra squeeze in her hug, was a new thing for them.  And I agreed with Melissa’s comment on TD (and Norman had nodded his agreement with her assessment as well), that the hug was more important FOR Daryl, than it was it was for Carol.  Because she knows him, and his ‘this is going to be fun’ and she’s like, ‘no, it’s not.’  That’s her stepping in there to keep him grounded.  She knows him from the beginning, when he always went for bluster to hide when he was scared.   That’s why she gave him the extra squeeze.  The ‘it’ll be okay,’ squeeze :)  And also, with the time jump, they could already have GONE canon officially and we could just casually see them waking up together one day like it’s no big deal because they’ve been doing that for weeks.  You never know!

Overall, I thought it was good but as always the time constraints hurt.  Also I think it hurt because it was the 100, and they wanted to let everyone get at least a sliver of a scene (because a lot of these characters will die) so they did spread it out again.  I feel like they DID hear all of the criticism though about them doing that last season (spreading the cast out) but they still did it here more as a ‘hat tip’ to everyone currently working, to let them all get their thirty seconds in the sun.  I’m not a bitch, I don’t begrudge them that ... as long as it ends here :)  So really my only genuine critique, is that I do wish they had ended literally ONE cut earlier.  In a regular episode they would have ended on the crane shot of Negan and Gabriel in the trailer.  Here, they wanted to carry the Rick Time Jump theme so they had to go back to him again.  That was fine, I get it.  But they should have ended with Devastated Rick.  It was more impactful.  I imagine they probably didn’t because they want the tone of this season to be ‘ra ra, rise up, the audience is going to have a good time!’ and ending on Rick’s face, looking like Rick’s face did in the premiere of LAST season, when NOBODY had a good time, probably would have set a different tone than they wanted to set! Heh :)  So, I get it, but I still wish they’d gone the other way.  My preference :)

And here below, mostly just random lines/scenes that I liked.  I was making notes while I was watching :)

No joke.  For a split second I thought Rick was like time traveling in from the past to shoot that guy at the gas station.  Ha, ha!  But he just came out of nowhere!  

Daryl’s Secret Squirrel Assassin game was pretty badass.  

Was Addy playing the girl walker in the nightgown at the station?  If so, excellent callback.

Judith aging up from counting her toes, to playing by herself in the street, was kind of a jump for one week’s development.

Rick’s “I told you, twice.”  Was great.

“The hilltop stands with Maggie.”  The one time I was genuinely a fan of Jesus.  I don’t hate the guy, but he’s just a Red Shirt to me.  

Gabriel.  WTF dude?!  Though I do now feel better about the preview I’d scene of him ‘in a box’ with Negan (see they fucking released EVERYTHING ahead of time) because back then it looked like he’d been straight up taken hostage.  Here, Negan’s not really in control of anything, so it could go either way.  

Anyway, i need to go to work tomorrow, so off to bed!

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[superleeleehipster]

My Thoughts (Part 2)

Sorry y’all, just trying to sort out my feels right now. Bear (is it bare?) with me.

So after a night’s rest (only about 5.5 hours tbh) the initial shock has subsided. I still don’t feel good about it but at least I can eat normally. But there’s just a few things I want to get off my chest, and I’m sure I’m only repeating a lot of common opinions when I do. I just need to let it all go.

*Side note (and Lost spoilers): I would also like to point out that this is a situation I’m unfortunately familiar with b/c I watched Lost and I wanted Jack and Kate to get together so badly. So despite them sharing a kiss first, she winds up sleeping with Sawyer/James first, and even though at the end of the series she chooses Jack, IT STILL FUCKING HURT THAT SHE SLEPT WITH SAWYER/JAMES FIRST!!...

Anyways, starting off, I’m sure you guys would agree, but I was not a fan of S8 b/c of what they did with Carol. It wasn’t just a caryl issue, it was a carol in general kind of issue. Not only did they keep her from interacting with team family during the entire season, but nearly every scene she had tried to emphasize she was with the Kingdom now. That in itself bothered the heck out of me b/c Melissa herself had said that Carol loves her family so much, so even she didn’t really get why Carol had initially left back in season 6. So not only does it make it look like Carol cares almost nothing about TF, but it was also done “forcibly”. Like the writers forced the story down our throats that she was not part of TF anymore, and it didn’t feel organic or natural in any way. That in itself was sad b/c I couldn’t help but feel like her saying “the people she was with saved her” when Sophia die look like just another lie. We didn’t even see her say goodbye when she left to be with the Kingdom. Now she’s staying with the Kingdom and is apparently going to be with a man she hardly knows.... who is this Carol? I don’t know her.

Which brings me to the 2nd issue I have. Her getting together with Zeke is just setting her up for more pain and I’m tired of Carol being in pain in general. Yes it’s gonna suck ass when Maggie and Rick kick the bucket but it seems like the writers are going to hit her on all sides now. Now don’t get me wrong, I kind of want Zeke to die even though I do like him as a character. But that’s just sad, that they’re going to cause Carol to go into yet another sad arc after being in one for god knows how long. However, this is all assuming that Zeke does get his comic book death, which tbh, I’m not sure that will happen b/c we’re already losing two big characters on the show. But who knows, amc and twd have already shown that their judgement is lacking big time.

Now I’ve said my problems with the writing in general but there’s one other thought that actually pains me to think about. You know what my first thought was waking up this morning? It was that I feel really bad for the actors, but Melissa especially. I may not like Carol as much now after S8 b/c she’s become so different, but I of course still and always will adore Melissa. She’s an amazing actress and her scenes are authentic works of art. So knowing her, knowing that she knows about carzekiel happening, I can’t help but feel sympathy and pain for her b/c she’s not dumb. She knows this is going to break a lot of people’s hearts. She is asked a Caryl question in practically every single interview she’s done over the last few years, and she’s well aware of how big of a fanbase Caryl has. So knowing her, I’m sure she’s going to feel sad for us whom she knows this will hurt, and hell, maybe she’ll even feel guilty about it b/c she hates disappointing fans (DON’T FEEL GUILTY MELISSA!). But it pains me to think that Mel is aware of what this impact will be like, both good and bad, and I don’t want her to feel sad or bad for us over shitty writing.

Also, I know not everyone will agree to this, but I feel bad for Norman too. I know some of you blame him for this mess and that’s your opinion, which is fine. Personally, I think the decision of making carzekiel sail is a decision made using the same reasoning as them deciding to kill off Carl (aka, there’s no reasoning or excuse to understand how their minds work). But I feel bad for him b/c he’s got a HUGE position to fill. Not only is amc being dickheads and not giving Lauren what she deserves, but they’re more than happy to let her go despite Andy leaving the show (again, this is a network that thought killing off Carl was a good idea). I feel bad for him b/c amc has given him a very nearly impossible task. To make TWD look like a show worth watching again. With Andy and Lauren leaving, and Danai possibly leaving after S9, and with carzekiel going canon, they’ve literally thrown Norman a few toothpicks and a rock and told him to “make a fire”. Norman definitely has the acting chops to be a good lead, but I’m still hesitant to say that Daryl is fit for being the main lead of the story. Not only that, but he’s going to try to save an already sinking vessel. 

Anyways, I’m just trying to sort out the rest of my feels. I’ll probably post something later that talks about my opinions on next season and how it might play out with the situation. I’m not sure though b/c we really don’t know much in regards to the season b/c spoilers have been few and far between. So I might be completely off with my predictions.

But like I said before, and I’ll say it again. I love Caryl, I always will. This has been my biggest ship and there’s no way in hell I’m letting it go now. I may not be willing to watch the next few seasons with Zeke being around but I’m not abandoning Caryl. I’m just going to ignore the carzekiel arc XD.

Caryl on loves.