Here’s my wholly unasked for take on Isabelle and Daryl:
Whilst we know that in the beginning Isa’s intentions with Daryl were not as clear cut as they so seemed; she lied, twisted her words — can anyone truly say they wouldn’t make up a few white lies to save themselves and their family during an apocalypse to get the help and protection from someone who sure as hell knows what they’re doing? I mean come on, we’ve seen it happen with just about every character on the show.
As for the popular opinion whereas Daryl knows he is being lied to yet he’s accepting such behaviour because he feels needed? Absolutely not, that is the most absurd opinion I have ever heard. Daryl for sure knows, but he also knows that he too is getting something out of it; a way back home. What they had was a give and take system going on — Isabelle needs, Daryl does, Daryl gets closer to finding his way home. It’s a win win situation for both parties involved.
Now what I see is that along this month long journey, they have bonded in one way or another. They are two lost souls who have found one another in a darkened world which actually isn’t that much darker than their own worlds before the break out. I see two halves of a whole where romantic feelings have begun to gradually blossom. I see two people who just want to go home and two people who now care about one another much more than they let on. I believe that Isabelle’s upset reaction towards the end of the series was just that - sadness. It wasn’t disappointment because she was losing the person who looked after herself and Laurent, it wasn’t selfishness because he would no longer be around to help her, it wasn’t a form of manipulation to get him to stay with crocodile tears. No. It was a sadness she hadn’t expected. A sadness that comes with potentially losing someone you have grown a strong connection with and someone who started to feel something akin to home.
That being said, I think these two have a beautiful canvas to begin their love story with. Which I suppose is an unpopular opinion as most people prefer his chemistry with Connie, Carol (She’s basically his mother figure), and Beth (Dead AND was a TEENAGER??) which I respect (not Beth’s) but there’s no need to throw Isabelle under the bus solely because she’s a potential love interest. And let’s be honest, they’d be perfect for one another - he was so nearly ready to settle at the end but me made promises and he doesn’t break his promises.
