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@roryelijah02
Hello everyone. This post is specifically for requests of scene analyses, character analyses or topics you'd like me to discuss in a post. If you have a request, please comment them here or feel free to use the Ask Me Anything button if you'd like to ask privately and/or anonymously.
Protective!Supportive!Gentleman!DARYL DIXON with CAROL DARYL DIXON - THE BOOK OF CAROL 2.05 "Vouloir, C'est Pouvoir"
I love your breakdown of caryl moments!
Thank you so much! I will be answering more soon everyone. I just want to wait for the rest of The Book Of Carol to air first because as someone who has seen the whole season already, there is a lot I want to talk about and I don't want to risk accidentally giving away any spoilers. Caryl on my beautiful Carylers
I just want to say I respect your dedication and it’s cool to see you posting Caryl here ❤️ love you!
Aww, thank you so much! This made my day ❤️
Carol's hair: a theory and analysis
Warning: there will be mentions of Ed's abuse towards Carol in this post
I will start this post by talking about my inspiration for bringing this topic up and writing this analysis. A few days ago, the character descriptions for The Book Of Carol got released including this one for Carol:
Within it, there are so many wonderful things. Specifically, things about her relationship with Daryl. Not only does it talk about them being bound by one soul (which is such a beautiful analogy and refers to them being soulmates) but it also mentions how he is the only person who she feels truly safe with and it's this point that reminded me of the theory I have surrounding the topic of Carol's hair throughout TWD and inspired me to share my theory in an analytical post for all of you. So, let's get this show on the road.
In season 9 episode 10, Omega, Carol's son Henry has a conversation with Daryl in which he explains that Carol started out with long hair before the apocalypse and the reason she chose to cut her hair in the first place is because her late, abusive husband, Ed, would use it to his advantage and pull at it before throwing or pushing her against a wall or hard surface. This meant that Carol grew afraid of having her hair longer in case anyone else treated her in the same manner. Henry goes on to explain that he feels the reason why she was able to fully grow it out again is because she met Ezekiel, someone who treated her right and finally made her feel safe enough to grow her hair out again, safe in the knowledge that Ezekiel would never hurt her in the way that Ed has.
However, I don't and never have believed that Carol growing her hair out was to do with Ezekiel and this character description only confirms my thoughts and suspicions to me. I have always thought that Carol growing out her hair was down to her one and only safe person, safety net and soulmate: Daryl.
Whilst it remains short, you can see Carol's hair is starting to grow slightly by the beginning of season 3, way earlier than she met Ezekiel. This fits in with Carol starting to grow her hair out because of Daryl because season 3 takes place just after the farm era - where Daryl and Carol started to become closer with him giving her the Cherokee Rose and looking endlessly for her little girl, Sophia.
Even when Carol is married to Ezekiel, she spends the majority of her free time, when she doesn't have obligations and responsibilities at the Kingdom, visiting Daryl at his camp in the woods, making sure he's okay and trying to maintain her strong bond with him.
Something interesting to note is that even after Carol breaks up with Ezekiel in season 9, episode 16, The Storm, she still keeps her hair long because despite Ezekiel not being by her side anymore, her safety net and soulmate, Daryl, still is. He is the one there keeping her from harm, giving her comfort, making sure she's safe, never turning his back on her, never hating her.
So you might be thinking - why does Carol cut her hair again right at the end of the show in the finale? Ask yourself - if Carol feeling safe enough to grow her hair about was really about Ezekeil, why would she wait until the finale of the show to cut it again? Again, I feel that there is a very simple answer to this - it was never about Ezekeil. So, Carol cut her hair again right at the end of the finale - does this mean she doesn't feel safe anymore? The answer to this is yes but why? Think back for a moment - what happens just after Carol cuts her hair again? - Daryl leaves. Obviously, we can’t be sure where abouts in that last year long time jump Daryl decided to leave or when exactly Carol cut her hair but my theory, that to me makes a lot of sense, is that Carol decided to cut her hair again when Daryl decided to leave because her safe person, her safety net, was leaving her and without him there for her, she didn’t feel safe again. That’s not to say that Carol doesn’t in fact keep all of her badass qualities but the one person whom always been there for her (and whom she has been the same for him), the person who is her rock, her confidant, her soulmate - has gone and that leaves her feeling a sense of vulnerability that, in my opinion, she will not get back until they reunite.
The character description above, particularly where it talks about Daryl being the only person to make Carol feel truly safe, only confirmed to me how much my thoughts are likely correct and I love that. I hope you enjoyed my analysis!
Daryl's Cycle Of Feelings: An Analysis
On my most recent rewatch of The Walking Dead flagship show, I've come to notice a pattern when it comes to Daryl, in particular when it comes to his feelings towards Carol. I like to call this theory Daryl's Cycle Of Feelings and I will henceforth explain what this means in my analysis down below.
In my opinion, Daryl has been fascinated and intrigued by Carol since the beginning of the show. I think his romantic feelings for her developed quite early on, at least by the end of season 2. However, due to his past experiences and insecurities, it took him a while to realise what these feelings were and what they meant, let alone be able to build the courage and confidence to be able to act on them.
During season 3, there is a period of time when Daryl and the rest of the group believe Carol to be dead. Until he finds her in season 3 episode 6, Hounded, two episodes later, Daryl is heartbroken and full of grief, shown by how he leaves a Cherokee Rose on her makeshift grave and bravely prepares himself to put her walker down. I feel like he has a lot of regrets with regards to not telling her how he feels during this period of time. Then it turns out Carol is alive and Daryl realises he hasn't lost her after all but I think from this happening, he began to learn just how short life is, especially in the zombie apocalypse. He realises he needs to tell Carol how he feels before anything else happens and it's too late, so he begins to build up the courage to do so...
But then Carol gets banished from the group by Rick in Season 4 Episode 4, Indifference, and when Daryl finds out from Rick in season 4 episode 8, Too Far Gone, he's devastated because not only does he think he's lost her forever, he also realises he's lost his chance to tell her how he feels, again. I believe Daryl was all but ready to head out to go and find her but then the Governor attacked the prison and it was too late. When he reunites with Carol at Terminus, he believes he's been given another chance and the cycle starts over again. He's reminded how short life is (especially in the apocalypse) reminds himself he needs to tell her before it's too late and builds up the courage to do so...
But then he realises that something really bad happened whilst Carol was out on the road with Tyreese, Lizzie, Mika and Judith and just as he's considering whether now is the right time to tell Carol his feelings or not, the decision is made for him when she gets hit by a car and taken by the people of Grady Hospital in Season 5 episode 6, Consumed. When Carol is rescued from Grady, Daryl's cycle begins again. He reminds himself how short life is (especially in the apocalypse), reminds himself he needs to tell her and builds up the courage to do so...
But then they arrive at Alexandria and Carol, so caught up in her grief and trauma over what happened whilst she was out on the road with Tyreese and the girls, begins a fling with Tobin and begins to separate herself from Daryl and the rest of the group. She believes that she's not worthy of them and their love anymore and doesn't want to kill anymore, so she leaves and then not long after, the Saviour war happens. When the Saviour war is over, Daryl's cycle begins again. He reminds himself how short life is (especially in the apocalypse), he reminds himself he needs to tell her how he feels and builds up the courage to do so...
But then Carol becomes close to Ezekiel and Henry and gets into a romantic relationship with Ezekeil, eventually agreeing to marry him and Daryl being Daryl who is always going to put Carol first, puts his feelings to the side and selflessly gives Carol his blessing for her to marry Ezekiel. After Henry's death and the breakdown of Carol's marriage to Ezekiel, Daryl begins to think that maybe he has another chance and his cycle of feelings begins again. He remembers how short life is (especially in the apocalypse), he reminds himself he needs to tell Carol how he feels and he builds up the courage to do so...
But then the Whisperer War begins and Carol is overcome with grief over Henry's death, wanting to protect the people she loves and wanting revenge on Alpha and justice for Henry's death. Daryl realises that even though he is now at a stage where he's more than ready to tell Carol how he feels, it's not the right time for her to hear it. When the Whisperer War ends, Daryl's cycle begins again. He's reminded how short life is (especially in the apocalypse and after he's come the closest he's ever been to losing Carol in this war), he reminds himself he needs to tell Carol how he feels and he builds up the courage to do so...
But then the war with the Commonwealth begins and Daryl worries he's going to lose Carol again, this time to the hands of Lance Hornsby. But Carol survives and Daryl couldn't be more relieved. However, Maggie tells Daryl it's now time to start leaving the community and finding what else is out there and when Carol confirms she's opting to stay behind, Daryl's cycle begins all over again. He realises how short life is (especially in the apocalypse), he reminds himself he needs to tell her how he feels and this time, he realises, that with him going away and not knowing when he'll be coming back, that it's now or never and so he builds up the courage to do so and finally, at the last moment, he tells her he loves her and of course, she reciprocates.
Hey, wondering if you'd like to do a scene analysis for Carol and Daryl's argument in Find Me (10x18)?
When carol says "is it possible she just left?" and daryl says "WHAT" and then Carol says "it's not an accusation", I'm never sure what's happening there. What is the 'accusation'? There are a lot of parallels between leah and carol. And daryl says that he should have been there for leah while carol says she doesn't need a saviour etc. I wondered whether daryl is so sensitive about the idea that leah just left bc that's something carol has done to him which hurt him? Or maybe it means something else.
And there's also when daryl says to carol "you never know when to stop" which parallels carol saying to him during his years in the woods "I don't want to lose you out here because you don't know when to stop".
And when he says "I know where I'm supposed to be" as well as him writing to Leah "I belong with you". What are your thoughts about those things?
I also spotted that after Carol leaves the argument saying that she's going to fix the door, in the closing moment, you can hear her with a hammer presumably fixing the door while Daryl is still looking out the window. To me, this symbolises how she's trying to fix things while Daryl is still looking for what he thinks he needs to find. I haven't heard anyone else talk about the symbolism of this bit, so would love to hear if you have any thoughts?
Would love to hear your general thoughts and opinions about the scene too :)
Ooo, this is such a good ask, thank you! Season 10 Episode 18, Find Me, is such a heart-wrenching episode and I'm so excited to do an analysis for this scene. It's a very difficult scene for a lot of Carol/Caryl fans especially to get through but there's a lot of interesting details to unpick within it so let's get started.
Before I get onto the analysis of the fight scene between Daryl and Carol, I want to mention how previous to this scene happening, it's Carol who finds the note that Daryl initially left for Leah "we belong together - find me" and that's the catalyst for this whole upcoming conversation. It's no coincidence that Carol was actually the person to find the note and as she's now on her way to find him in France, I find this detail very interesting.
Now, onto the analysis. For me, a lot of this scene can be understood by thinking about Daryl's hero/guilt complex, made up of pieces of trauma that he's really struggled with as early as season 3. It started with Merle, then Beth, then Glenn, then Connie and now Leah, whom he has no idea where she is or if she's even alive. This is a big reason why the conversation starts with Daryl saying "I should've been there - I could've helped her" because he feels guilty, for multiple reasons: Daryl began his relationship with Leah during the time when Carol went to marry Ezekiel. Whilst Daryl had given Carol his blessing to marry Ezekiel, it's clear to see how disappointed and sad he is whilst doing it and it was confirmed through Angela Kang's script notes that Daryl was jealous of Ezekiel during this scene but ultimately, Daryl being Daryl and how much he cares about Carol, wants to put her happiness first and if that means giving her his blessing to marry someone else, he's going to do that. Now obviously, the main reason why Daryl was out in the woods during the 6 year time jump in season 9 was to look for Rick, I believe another reason he chooses to stay out in the woods is because he can't bare to see Carol and Ezekiel together every day and this is why he refuses their offers to stay at the Kingdom during the time jump. There are some very noticeable parallels between Carol and Leah. Firstly, there are some parallels of the scenes Daryl shares with Carol during Find Me and those he shares with Leah in the flashbacks of the same episode, one of these being the most noticeable is the fishing scene. Moreover, there are quite a few similarities and parallels between Leah and Carol as people, the most noticeable being that both women have lost a child and consequently decided to isolate themselves in a cabin away from everyone else. The theory is that Daryl, seeing all of these similarities between Leah and Carol, took comfort in Leah who almost put a plaster, if you like, over the hole in Daryl's heart that Carol had left when she went to marry Ezekiel. This is just one of the reasons why Daryl feels guilty because he was never in love with her and Leah knew this because she admits it to Pope in Season 11 Episode 4, Rendition - that's because Daryl's heart was already with somebody else, she'd just temporarily covered the hole in his heart that they'd left. Daryl probably also felt guilty because he didn't give his full commitment to Leah and only decided to go to the cabin to be with her properly once Carol told him that she wouldn't be able to come and visit him at his camp anymore due to her commitments at the Kingdom. I believe this is because Daryl finally realised that he'd lost Carol for good because before, with her continuing to visit him at his camp and even offering to come and stay out in the woods with him, his heart probably still held a little bit of hope in it. The other thing that probably makes Daryl feel guilty is that when he finally did go to the cabin to be with her, she'd already gone and from what we could tell, he didn't spend much time actively looking for her, as he had other people who'd gone missing. I think, with him saying this at the beginning of the conversation, Daryl worries that something could've happened to Leah and he thinks that maybe, if he'd been there when it happened, he could've prevented it or stopped her from getting hurt.
Carol suggests that maybe Leah left of her own accord. I believe that Daryl says "what?!" here because he doesn't want to believe that Leah would've done that after telling him she would wait for him to make a decision about what he wants and where he wants to be. I also believe this is why Carol responds with "it's not an accusation" because she doesn't want Daryl to think she's accusing Leah of just fleeing and abandoning him, especially when neither of them know the full story or what actually happened.
It's moments after this that it becomes clear Carol is, however, fully aware of Daryl's hero/guilt complex and I think she fully believes this is why he's so caught up about Leah as she says "stop thinking that every time you lose someone it's your fault, because of something you've done". This is her gentle way of trying to tell him that if Leah just left or decided she didn't want to be with him any more of her own free will, then that's Leah's choice and Leah's loss - it's not on him.
However, this is where some of Daryl's feelings about everything start to come out and there are deeper meanings under the surface that come with everything he's saying. Carol begins by listing some of the people who she believes Daryl feels like he's had a part to play in or blames himself completely for their dissapearence and/or demise: Leah, Rick and Connie. I believe that Carol in no way, shape or form blames Daryl for what happened to Connie and that she instead fully blames herself. However, knowing him as well as she does, especially as she knows of his hero/guilt complex, I think she thinks there may be even a small part of him that blames himself for Connie. She's very quickly proven wrong though because Daryl turns around and tells her he thinks what happened to Connie is on her and that she never knows when to stop. As previously mentioned, I think Carol already believes she's fully to blame for Connie but I think hearing it coming from the mouth of the person who's closest to her is a bit like a kick in the teeth. Daryl telling Carol she doesn't know when to stop is a parallel to when she told him, in one of the flashbacks during Find Me, that she doesn't want to lose him outside in the woods because he doesn't know when to stop looking for Rick. Therefore, it's like Daryl is pointing out that she told him he needs to learn when to stop but she also needs to learn the same thing. It's also him starting to let out his hurt and frustration about how, no matter what he did or said to her to try and help and comfort her, she wouldn't stop hurting herself and she broke her promise that she would stop trying to hurt herself in Season 10 Episode 9, Squeeze, whilst they were in the cave.
Carol goes on to say that whilst she's sorry for what happened to Connie, she's not sorry for going after the horde and for getting justice for Henry's death. When she says that she was right, I believe she's refering to being right about Alpha and her behaviour and her predictions for how the Whisperer war would go. This upsets Daryl more because to him, her saying that she's not sorry about going after the horde could also mean she's not sorry for the consequences that brought but more importantly to him, she's also not sorry for risking her life in the process, something he desperately tried to prevent for weeks as he was trying to get the message through to her that it would crush him if anything happened to her, but that message kept falling on deaf ears. This is why Daryl turns around and says "and that's all that matters, you being right". To me, this is a callback to Season 10 Episode 8, The World Before, when Daryl tells her "you want her dead so badly, you don't even care what happens to you." Daryl is saying this to her because he's hurt that she's willing to put the people she cares about's lives but most importantly her life on the line just so she could defeat Alpha and prove she was right about the Whisperers, when he believes that she's fully aware what the impact on him would be if she got hurt or worse, died.
It's now that Carol realises that this whole conversation they're having isn't even about Leah, or Connie or anybody else. She realises it's about her. She asks Daryl to tell her what he really wants to say. She asks him to open up to her and be honest with her. Daryl responds with "you shouldn't have come". This is him using a deflection tactic - he doesn't want to say what he really wants to her. I believe this is because of a mixture of him not wanting to open up right now because of how hurt and frustrated he is and him not wanting to snap at her and saying something he'll end up regretting. I also think there's a part of him that regrets starting this conversation and he's a bit mad that they came across the cabin which became the catalyst for the conversation and that's also why he tells her she shouldn't have come.
When Carol says that she wanted to come to help, I believe her. I believe that by the time we get to 10C, especially the latter half of 10C, Carol has realised the consequences of some of her actions earlier in the season and it's clear she's thought a lot about the mistakes she's made and is now ready to start fixing them and building bridges with people. Therefore, I definitely don't think she's lying when she says this. Daryl, however, as the person who knows her the best, knows that there's more to it than just that and that's why he responds with "no, you wanted to run." It's not that he didn't believe what she said but that he knew there was another, maybe bigger reason behind her wanting to come with him. He says he believes she's running from her guilt but I believe another part of the reason why he thinks she's running and why he's upset and worried about is because she's not happy being around Team Family, but more specifically him. He knows he would do anything to make her happy but as she keeps running, that puts doubts in his mind about whether he'll ever be able to make her happy and that hurts him (more on this later).
When he says that she made it his problem, she says his only problem is feeling like he needs to save everybody - another reminder that she's fully aware of his hero/guilt complex, because if there's anybody he can't save, he will never be able to forgive himself for what happens to them. This hurts Daryl though, even more so when Carol says she doesn't need a saviour because if there's anybody he wants to protect and save at anytime, it's her. From the very early days, he's been saving her, protecting her and looking after her just as she's done him and he's enjoyed doing this because he wants to do it for her so hearing her say that she doesn't need that is really hard for him, especially because he couldn't bare to see her in any danger.
When Carol tells him she just needs a friend, Daryl responds with "friends don't have the same conversations over and over again." Again, this feeds into Daryl's frustration about the fact that he was desperately trying to be there for Carol and get through to her and guide her through her grief and all the trauma she was going through, but all his messages were falling on deaf ears. On a deeper note, I also believe part of this frustration, however small, is about how stuck he is in terms of having feelings for Carol but feeling unable to say them aloud to anyone, but especially to her. Daryl has kind of gone in a constant cycle in terms of his feelings for Carol. He thinks he's lost her, realises how short life is - especially during the apocalypse, decides that he'll tell her how he feels and then something or someone gets in the way (I can make a whole separate analysis on the 'cycle of feelings' if you'd like). Consequently, Daryl is now at a stage where he wants to admit it to her so much that it's becoming frustrating for him because he still can't tell her because she's grieving, they've had the Whisperer War to deal with and she keeps trying to run away. The notion that Daryl's messages have been falling on deaf ears is emphasised when Carol says that this type of conversation is new to her and it only frustrates Daryl more, who once again tries to tell her that this is what he's been trying to tell her and help her with all along and because she's not been listening for so long, he's now at a point where he feels like his message will never get through to her.
Carol, evidently annoyed now, tells Daryl that if he'd wanted to prevent all of this from happening, he should've just let her get back on the boat and he confirms that yes, he should've done that - that he stopped her from running and he shouldn't have. A lot of fans are confused as to why Daryl says this but I do believe there's a reason behind it and it's not because he wanted her to go back on the boat. We all saw how hard Daryl tried to get Carol to stay, he even offered her to run away to New Mexico multiple times if she would've be happier doing that. However, things got in the way of them going to New Mexico and Daryl firmly believes that Carol hasn't been the same since she got off the boat, something in which he mentions to Michonne during season 10 episode 3, Ghosts. Therefore, I believe the reason Daryl says that he should've let Carol go back on the boat is because he's come to believe that she would've been happier there. That, like he told Michonne, he believes that she'd found happiness out at sea but he begged her to stay and since then, she hasn't been the same Carol that he's always known. I believe there is a note of guilt from Daryl there because he feels like he's taken away her peace and happiness.
Now comes one of the most difficult lines to hear from Daryl in the whole scene and seeing the hurt on Carol's face as he says these things is heartbreaking but I do understand and have ideas of why he says it. "You wanna run, run. I know where I'm supposed to be. I won't stop you this time." Let's break this down into parts. So firstly, Daryl tells her she should run if she wants to. I believe that this is Daryl putting everythig he's thinking and feeling aside and is willing to let her go, if that's what will be best for her. The reason he says it in the tone he does is because he's already had to let her go once, when she went to marry Ezekiel and that aleeady caused him enough heartache. The thought of losing Carol has always crushed Daryl but as previously mentioned, especially after seeing how happy and at peace it made her to be at sea on the boat, I think he's come to realise that he needs to let her go and be happy, even if that's somewhere else and with someone other than him, even if it breaks his heart - because just like he felt when he gave her his blessing to marry Ezekeil, he is always going to put her happiness first no matter what. That's why he says that if she wants to run, he won't stop her this time because no matter what it will do to him, if it will make her happy to be elsewhere and with other people, that's all that matters to him. When he says he knows where he's supposed to be, I don't think this is about Leah, or about being with Team Family or even being at any of the communities we know about, as a lot of people think. I think that's Daryl's way of saying - "I know you're my person and I know I'm meant to be with you. Now you need to figure out where you're supposed to be and if that's not with me, if it's someplace else or with other people, then I'll let you go, because i want you to be happy." That's what I feel like is hidden underneath the words he says there but he can't say that whole thing aloud because it's crushing his heart just by saying the things he is.
The conversation ends by Carol saying "I was right - our luck's ran out, you and me." This is interesting because Carol saying "I was right" refers back to when she said it during this conversation before and it makes me question whether it was this notion that she meant all along. When she talks about their luck running out, I think she's referring to the fact that they've always been so lucky to have such a close and special bond, but now, it's crumbling apart and if she thought that they had the worst falling out they'd ever had after the cave incident in Squeeze, then she was heavily mistaken, because it has gotten worse and now, it feels like their luck has run out, it feels like their bond is broken and that they've both lost each other. Quite a few fans compared this scene to being like a break up and I can certainly see where they're coming from.
I love what you said about Carol fixing the door at the end and Daryl looking out into the open. I'd never thought about that before. However, it does make sense with how Carol tries to fix and make up for her mistakes in season 11. I think the symbolism for that part would've been more noticeable and stronger if Caryl had had a chance to talk about this argument and build bridges from it in season 11 and I think, for a time, that was the plan, but unfortunately, Melissa then dropped out of the spinoff (for a time) and the main show received its end date before anybody expected so that resulted in a lot of things they wanted to achieve in season 11 not being able to be completed.
Hopefully, in the spinoff, where the focus will be completely on Daryl and Carol, they can have deep, meaningful conversations that they need to have and begin to work through their trauma and build bridges for things that remain unresolved from the flagship show ❤️🤞
Hello! Hope you're doing well! Wondered if you could analyse the whole 'what does Carol want' thing? There's the Eugene&Carol scene where she tells him to go meet Stephanie and then he says "I sincerely hope you get what it is that you want" - and the very next thing for her is negan giving her alpha's head. And then there's the Alpha hallucination being all 'what do you wantttt'. And then daryl asking her if she got what she wants after nearly jumping off a cliff and she says "no and I won't" but then she's insane with emotion when he says "you still got me". There's probably more. What is ittt, what does she want 🙃🫠 I feel like if you put all the scenes in sequence where they touch on it then you could see her working through that question herself, but then I feel like it's left hanging there and I'm never clear on what it actually is.
Hey there. Thank you so much for your ask. I'm very excited to get into this analysis so let's get started.
All throughout season 10a and 10b, a big focus on Carol's mind is to defeat Alpha. A big motivating factor for why she wants to defeat Alpha is to get vengeance and justice for her son, Henry's, death which was caused by Alpha. However, there's also a big part of Carol that wants to defeat Alpha to avoid anything like what happened to Henry and the other people who died at the end of season 9 happening to anybody else, especially Daryl (more on that later).
During Season 10 Episode 9, Squeeze, when the group are trapped in the cave, Carol has a conversation with Daryl where she admits to him that she doesn't just want to ki*l Alpha but that she also wants to hurt her, make her regret everything and beg for forgiveness before she does so. This is what I believe Daryl is referring to when he asks Carol if she got what she wanted in Season 10 episode 16, A Certain Doom. Carol and Daryl can understand each other extremely well, better than they can anybody else, so I believe that Carol knew that conversation was what Daryl was referring to with his question. This is why Carol responds with "no and I won't" because even though this is a really happy moment for her - she's reuniting and making up with Daryl after they had what was probably the worst falling out they've had since their bond blossomed - in terms of that conversation she had with Daryl in Squeeze, she didn't get what she wanted. She ended up having to reach out to Negan for help with defeating Alpha (my thoughts on why she didn't reach out to Daryl about it later) and he ultimately ended up being the one to ki*l her. So despite trying her hardest, Carol didn't manage to hurt Alpha or make her regret everything or beg for forgiveness, she didn't even get to be the person to ki*l her. Something that is interesting to note here is that Carol released Negan from his cell and asked for his help in Season 10 episode 4, Silence The Whisperers, before she had this conversation with Daryl in Squeeze, so if what she told Daryl was truly all she wanted, she was probably already aware at that point that she wouldn't get it because it would be Negan dealing with all of that for her. That's the first thing that makes me think what she said in that conversation during Squeeze wasn't what she truly wanted but I do still believe that the contents of that conversation was what Daryl was referring to with his question.
Let's move on to the scene between Carol and Eugene. Immediately, something important to note is that whilst Carol and Eugene are friends, Eugene doesn't come anywhere near to being as close to Carol as Daryl is. In fact, to emphasise again, nobody is as close to Carol as Daryl is. Therefore, it is very, very unlikely that Carol would have confided in Eugene, or anybody other than Daryl, about what she admitted to Daryl during their conversation in Squeeze. This leads me to believe that whilst yes, Eugene is likely aware that Carol wants vengeance and justice for Henry, he doesn't know the finer details of how Carol wants to take Alpha down and therefore, this makes me think that he's at least only partly talking about Carol's revenge on Alpha when he says he realy hopes she gets what she wants. I'm lead to believe this further by a couple of other things: Firstly, the context of the scene. This scene takes place in season 10 episode 12, Walk With Us. This is just 3 episodes after the cave incident in Squeeze and it's clear that Carol is in bits over her falling out with Daryl, breaking her promise to him and hurting him. This is proven by how in the previous episode, season 10 episode 11, Morning Star, Ezekiel easily finds Carol at Daryl's old camp and when Carol asks how he found her, his response is "This is Daryl's old camp, right? I figured you needed some comfort." This proves how much Ezekiel is aware about what Daryl means to Carol and how, if there's anyone who can provide her with comfort, it's him, even if that's in an indirect manner. However, it's not just Ezekiel who's aware of this. So many characters in the show are fully aware of Carol and Daryl and what they mean to each other. Some examples are: Glenn asking Daryl what they should tell Carol when they return to the prison without him and Negan calling Carol Daryl's girlfriend. Therefore, it is extremely likely that Eugene is also fully aware of what they mean to each other. Eugene has also just witnessed Carol being punched by Yumiko. This is a traumatic thing to go through in general. However, as Eugene is very possibly aware of Carol's past experiences, he's very likely to know that she needs Daryl for comfort during their conversation, just like Ezekiel had in Morning Star. The other thing is that Eugene tells Carol he really hopes she gets what she wants just after Carol tells him to go and be with Stephanie, who she knows he has a romantic interest in based on their conversation. This feeds into how Eugene is very likely to be fully aware of what Daryl and Carol mean to each other. Therefore, I believe that Eugene feels like Carol needs Daryl in this moment and maybe she needs him more than she's letting on so when he says he hopes that she gets what she wants it's almost like he's telling her to go and be with the person who will make her happy/find her happiness just as she's advised him to do with Stephanie.
Side note: I find it very interesting that Carol encouraged Eugene to go and be with the woman he was interested in romantically during season 10 and then during the first season of Daryl Dixon, Daryl encourages a man to go and be with his girlfriend.
Back to the analysis now and the scene that ultimately solidifies my belief that the "what do you want" notion for Carol throughout season 10 isn't just about her wanting revenge on Alpha has to be the scene where Carol hallucinates Alpha in season 10 episode 14, Look At The Flowers. Whilst it's Alpha on our screens talking, showing Alpha is who Carol sees and hears voicing her thoughts, it's important to remember that Carol is hallucinating in this scene and so all the things "Alpha" is saying are actually coming from Carol's head directly, these are distinctly her thoughts. At this point in the season, Alpha is already dead so it's very interesting that "Alpha" asks her "what do you want?" Because if what she wanted was for Alpha to meet her demise, that's already happened, so there has to be something more, right? And like I previously mentioned, I don't think what she wants is about her conversation with Daryl in Squeeze because Carol had already released Negan by the time that conversation happened so knew it was unlikely she'd be able to take Alpha down in exactly the way she wanted and she definitely can't do it now as Alpha is gone. Therefore, in my mind, there's definitely something more to it about what she wants and I believe this scene gives us a detail that heavily suggests what that is. At some point during her conversation with "Alpha", Carol ends up trapped under a boat with a walker desperately trying to get to her. "Alpha" starts listing off the people that Carol has lost: Sophia, Lizzie, Mika and Henry. She even mentions Ezekiel. However, it's Daryl's name that captures Carol's attention when "Alpha" adds him to the list and suggests that Carol could soon come to lose him too. It's this moment, upon hearing Daryl's name and the thought of him being in danger and losing him that gives Carol the emotional strength she needs to push the boat off of her and kill the walker attempting to get her, dislocating her shoulder in the process. This is a very telling moment for me as once again, it emphasises how important Daryl is to Carol and how she feels like she can't lose him. Many Carylers say there's no Carol without Daryl and I fully agree with them.
So, what does Carol Peletier want? Ultimately, whilst I do believe part of it was about wanting revenge on Alphaz wanting justice for Henry and wanting to protect the people around her from Alpha and the Whisperers, I do think it does come down to being about Daryl but Carol can't admit to herself, let alone other people, that it's Daryl who she wants, who her heart lies with, who is the only person who can properlu comfort her because she's terrified of losing him. Carol's conversation with "Alpha" confirmed that because the minute that she thought he could be in danger, she said that she could never let that happen and it was this notion that gave her the strength to get out from under the boat. It's also why Carol went to Negan for help with Alpha instead of going to Daryl because she knew how dangerous Alpha was - look at what happened to Henry - and if anybody had to lose their life in order to take Alpha down, it makes sense that Carol would've preferred it to happen to a villain like Negan instead of the man she cares about the most, Daryl. I believe Carol's fear of losing Daryl stems from all the other losses she's been through, especially after what she had to do to Lizzie, which makes her feel like she isn't worthy of him. I believe that Carol feels like she has a curse on peiple, where if she gets too close to them and crosses a certain line with them, their life will be in danger because look what's happened to all the other people she's loved - Sophia, Lizzie, Mika. With Henry, I feel like Carol started maybe started to think her "curse" was no longer a thing because she'd been Henry's mom for years without anything happening, but then he dies and it starts all over again. This is why, much as Carol really wants to be with Daryl, she feels like she's not worthy of him, like she doesn't deserve him and like she'll be putting his life in danger if she tells him how she feels about him/if they cross that line. That's why all of those times that people ask, she can't admit that to them, she can't admit it to anyone.
Hopefully, if she gets to work through some of her trauma in The Book Of Carol like the synopsis and information we've been given about the show have suggested, this will leave Carol's heart more open to letting Daryl in in the way she wants 🤞
Set during Season 10 Episode 3 Ghosts. Carol is injured and heavily sleep deprived. Daryl comforts her and takes care of her.
I wrote this oneshot here! I hope you all enjoy! ❤️
Around a year ago, I made my first ever edit. Not just my first Walking Dead edit, my first edit ever. Some of you will have seen it. It was a Caryl edit to Wish You The Best by Lewis Capaldi and I posted it on all social media platforms bar this one (as I didn't have this platform back then). Now, a year on, I believe that my editing skills are 10x better so I decided to recreate and repost this edit. Unfrotunately, I was only able to post the video on TikTok due to the length of the edit. However, I have chosen to bring the link here for any of you who would like to watch the edit and give it some support.
I hope you all enjoy. This is for all of you, dear Carylers ❤️
Melissa McBride has fought for Carol before and I have no doubt she could do it again if she needed to. So proud of her ❤️
"It was important for me to speak for her."
So I was just reminded that I wasn't here around my birthday but I had an amazing cake this year and I wanted to show you all ❤️
PS: The candles were meant to say "22" but one of the candles broke 😂
After all, look how far you've come - Carol Peletier ❤️
I admired her, not for her smile, though it was beautiful. Not for her eyes, though they shone brightly.
I admired her for the battle scars and war wounds that she displayed proudly for the world to see.
I admired her for her strength and courage.
Here are my thoughts and interpretations on Carol and Daryl’s final scene from the The Walking Dead flagship show. Warning - long post ahead:
Firstly, we see Daryl and Carol looking out over a lake together. Carol says she believes it’s a beautiful day to head out but as Daryl responds with “yeah…”, it’s Carol’s direction he’s looking in rather than out at the lake at this moment. This is to signify a moment where he’s admiring her beauty, taking in every aspect of her that he can and committing it to memory, because he knows he’s leaving soon and he doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return. Daryl tells Carol he wishes she was coming with him and interestingly, instead of responding with “me too” or similar, like you would expect her to, Carol responds with “I know - but this is gonna be good for you, for me.” A lot of fans were understandably confused by her response here as Carol and Daryl are two characters who struggle so much when they are separated from each other. The only explanation I can think of - and I’ve had this theory for quite a while now - is that something happened between Carol and Daryl in that finale 1 year time jump of the flagship show to make Carol say this. I don’t say this to necessarily mean that something happened between them romantically during the time jump. Personally, I feel like it would be a disservice to fans if they’d make them canon off screen. However, I do believe that something could’ve happen during that year long time jump that could, potentially, be addressed in the upcoming The Book Of Carol. Both Carol and Daryl are very emotional in this scene but especially Carol and in an aid to comfort her, like he’s always there to do, Daryl reassures her that this won’t be the last time they see each other. In a gentle manner, Carol reminds Daryl that she’s allowed to be sad because she’s about to lose him, her best friend, her soulmate, her everything. A lot of fans dislike Caryl calling each other best friends because some people make the argument that this means that’s all they’ll ever be. A lot of the antis say that it would ruin Carol and Daryl’s friendship if they got together romantically. However, I personally feel like this would be the opposite. Being best friends, in my opinion, is a great foundation for a relationship and in my eyes, it would only make their bond stronger if they got together romantically.
Daryl and Carol go to greet Judith and RJ so that Daryl can say goodbye to them. During his conversation with Judith, Daryl asks her to keep an eye on Carol. This shows Daryl’s awareness that Carol is going to struggle without him, she’s going to be upset and without him there to be her rock, she might end up going down the deep end again, which is probably his worst fear. However, he knows how dearly loved the children are by Carol and he knows how much of a huge comfort they’ll be to her after he’s gone which is why he ensures he asks Judith to look after her. At the end of their conversation, Judith reminds Daryl that he deserves a happy ending too. Beady-eyed fans will have noticed that Judith glanced in Carol’s direction just before she said this line. This shows that Judith knows how important Daryl and Carol are to each other and what they mean to each other. She knows that Carol is where his true love and happiness lies and she wants him to be able to have that after putting other people first, like herself, for so long.
Ezekiel then takes the children away so that Daryl and Carol can have their final moments together before Daryl leaves alone. This is only a tiny detail but it’s one I absolutely love because it’s such a sweet gesture and show’s Ezekiel’s respect towards Carol and Daryl, despite everything that went on between them in previous seasons and how Ezekiel had been jealous of Daryl previously. It show’s Ezekiel’s growth and maturity and is a showing of his acceptance towards Daryl and Carol and what they mean to each other. This is one small detail that makes me believe that Ezekiel would give his blessing to Daryl and Carol if a romantic relationship between them does occur.
Daryl takes his poncho and begins to put it on. In her ever-protective manner towards him, Carol steps forward and begins to adjust it on his shoulders, making sure it’s perfect. This is a callback to fans about how Daryl and Carol are always looking after each other, even in the smallest ways. These brief few seconds also allow Daryl the time he needs to finally build up the courage to tell Carol something he’s been wanting to tell her for years and years, something that he needs her to know before he leaves - the big 3 words - “I love you”. A lot of fans have debated about whether Daryl said this in a platonic or romantic way. However, if there is any doubt in your mind at all that it was said in a romantic way, I beg that you go back through the Walking Dead flagship show and re-watch all those beautiful moments where this man has shown his love for this woman through his actions. All of those have led up to this moment now. Furthermore, the emotion and tone Daryl uses as he says it and how he looks directly into Carol’s eyes with so much love and confidence when saying it is so beautiful and powerful. Moreover, Carol is the only character that Daryl has said those 3 words too in the entirety of TWDU which in my opinion, says a lot. However, the biggest piece of evidence about Daryl saying “I love you” in a romantic way comes from The Walking Dead writer, LaToya Morgan, who Tweeted about this scene from the flagship show: Daryl didn’t need to say “I love you” to Carol because she already knows that Daryl loves her but with Daryl leaving and him not knowing when he would ever be able to come back, it was of upmost importance to him that Carol knew and that it was made abundantly clear to her just how much he meant it.
There’s a tense few moments where Daryl and us, as the audience, await Carol’s reaction. She chuckled and responded with “I love you too”. Immediately, it’s important to note here, that bar Lizzie, who was one of Carol’s children, Carol had also never said “I love you” to any other character in TWDU. This includes Ezekiel who, even when he made his feelings abundantly clear to Carol with the those 3 words, she never returned them to him explicitly. A lot of fans were confused about Carol’s tone in her response to Daryl and some disliked it and were concerned it meant that Carol didn’t mean the sentiment in the same way that Daryl did. This is absolutely not the case. Melissa McBride’s description of Carol’s feelings in this scene explain it perfectly. Carol is trying to interpret if Daryl is being serious or not with his “I love you”. It’s no secret that one of the reasons that Daryl and Carol have struggled to admit their feelings to each other prior to this point is because they feel like they’re not worthy of one another. They both suffer from self-esteem issues that have stemmed from the abuse and trauma that they experienced in their lives pre-apocalypse. However, as previously mentioned, as Daryl is about to leave for an uncertain amount of time, this gives Daryl and Carol that extra push to put their cards out on the table, be honest about their feelings and say what they want to say to each other whilst they still have chance. This is why, despite struggling to interpret how Daryl means the 3 words, Carol says it back but she says it back in a way that’s playful, for the road ahead along with a great deal of meaningfulness behind it so that there’s nothing left unsaid and so that Daryl has something to hold onto whilst he’s out there.
For The Book Of Carol, I have hopes that our favourite duo will utter those 3 words to each other again. My hopes for canon are currently higher than ever and there is so much for us to look forward to, dear Carylers.
Caryl on!
I really hope you enjoyed the post. If anybody has any more recommendations or requests for scene analyses or topics about the show you’d like me to discuss, please comment them or message me.
Photos:
1 and 2: Photos of Daryl and Carol from the finale of The Walking Dead flagship show: Season 11 Episode 24 Rest In Peace
3: A Tweet from LaToya Morgan, writer for The Walking Dead, about Daryl and his feelings in Daryl and Carol’s final scene
4: A snippet of an interview from Entertainment with Melissa McBride, where she discusses Daryl and Carol’s final scene and Carol’s feelings within this scene.
Hi!
Could you do a analysis for the scene in episode “Consumed” when they first arrive at the shelter, they choose their beds and Carol tells Daryl to go sleep and she’ll take first watch. Then Daryl tells her that the place is locked up pretty tight.
Idk I always felt some kind of expectation in Daryl’s voice when he says that lol. And later on they lay down together. What could happen if they didn’t hear the sound of walkers? What are your thoughts?
Hi anon!! Thank you so much for your question!! Consumed is in my top 5 episodes from TWD flagship show so I adore talking about it!!
Firstly, you asked me about what Daryl means when he says “the place is locked up tight”. This, as you mentioned, is in response to Carol saying that she’ll take watch. Now, I’m going to jump a little bit forward here with the timeline but it’s just to help you all understand whereabouts Carol’s headspace may be right now. After Henry dies, in season 10, we learn that Carol is struggling to sleep and in my opinion, she takes the pills she has in season 10 because she doesn’t want to sleep and I believe there are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that I think Carol believes if she sleeps, she won’t be able to protect and keep the people she loves safe. Furthermore, I strongly believe that Carol is struggling with nightmares in season 10 amidst the nice dreams she sometimes has (like the one she has about Daryl in Ghosts), but most of the dreams she has at this time are nightmares. Now, going back to Consumed, I strongly believe that this is a similar case here. Carol tells Daryl that she’ll take first watch because she doesn’t want to sleep and she knows that if she tells him that explicitly, he’ll worry about her, because that’s just who he is. He’s always going to worry about her, no matter what she says. She’s struggling a lot with insecurities and self-esteem issues at this time because of what happened at The Grove so the reason she won’t want Daryl to worry about her is because she believes, in her head, that she doesn’t deserve his worry, love and care. I believe that Carol doesn’t want to sleep because like in season 10, she’s probably worried about the fact that she can’t protect and keep the people she loves safe when she’s sleeping. Moreover, she probably has a significant amount of nightmares around this time, especially about what happened at The Grove with Lizzie and Mika and maybe even about what happened to Sophia or a combination of these things. Now, obviously, Carol doesn’t have any pills in Consumed. Instead, she’s using any distraction she can to avoid sleep and to help her stay awake. In this instance, that distraction is taking watch. I believe Daryl tells her that the place is locked up pretty tight because he wants to reassure her and comfort her that if she did want to sleep instead of taking watch that they’d both be safe, that she doesn’t really need to take watch because he’s secured the place for them both. He’s basically trying, in his way, to encourage her to sleep and I think that’s because obviously, he’s noticed that she’s struggling with something and he’s probably well aware that struggling with sleep will likely be a big part of that. I think the conversation they have again about starting over after and Daryl reminding Carol that she didn’t have to put down the mother and child Walker in the shelter proved how much he knew there was something wrong, something she needed to get off of her chest, something that was deeply consuming her thoughts and traumatising her as well as everything he already knows that she’s gone through and this conversation and action from Daryl was something in which I believe helped Carol to sleep through that night in what could have been the most peaceful night sleep she’d have gotten for a long time as the camera pans in on Carol’s peaceful, calm face as dawn breaks. Daryl’s commitment, understanding and empathy for her as well as his want to do anything he can to make things better for her or as good as they can be for her is further emphasised in the morning when Carol wakes up to find Daryl dealing with the mother and child Walker for her outside and the look on her face shows how eternally grateful she is to him and how much love she feels for him for doing such a kind and thoughtful action for her, knowing what it would mean to her.
Back to the night previously, Daryl proceeds to ask Carol about what would’ve happened if he hadn’t spotted her by the car and she responds that she still doesn’t know. It’s this moment that he lies next to her on the bed. You asked what I think would happen if Daryl and Carol hadn’t heard the sounds of Walkers. One thing I think definitely could’ve happened is Daryl encouraging Carol to open up about what happened at The Grove and for her to get that weight lifted off of her shoulders. All throughout the episode, Daryl, in his own way, had been encouraging her to talk to him about what had happened when they were separated. For example, in the way he kept reminding her that they can start over if they want to and that they should try to start over. However, he also made it clear many times that she didn’t have to talk if she didn’t want to, that he could just be there for her silently or in any which way she wanted. Ultimately, he just wanted to be there for her. I do believe that Daryl would’ve brought up the starting over suggestion again to Carol and in that moment with a little bit of calm, this could’ve brought out a deeper conversation that would’ve made her want to open up to him about The Grove. I agree with a lot of fanfiction I’ve read regarding this particular scenario where I do think that a conversation like this would result in Carol breaking down and Daryl confronting her and once again, reminding her of all the positive, wonderful things about herself and trying to squash and melt all of those horrible things her brain is telling her about herself away or at least help her think about them less. This could then result in a love declaration from Daryl and even maybe a kiss, but for me, a kiss would’ve depended on the tone and actual conversation involved in the scene.
I hope you liked my analysis anon and thank you again for your question.
Welcome to tumblr Rory!! How would you like canon to happen?
Thank you so much!!
Ooo, this is a brilliant question and it’s one I’ve thought about A LOT since joining the TWD fandom and becoming a Caryler. To be honest, I think there are many, many ways that canon could happen and it all really depends on the context and the scenario and what else is going on for Carol and Daryl in the moment. There are two ways I’ve thought about a lot that I have as headcanons that I would absolutely love to see on screen:
One of these headcanons was actually one I was reminded of with the TBOC panel at Tribeca recently when Norman said that there’s going to be a scene between Daryl and Carol in TBOC where they argue like an old married couple. The headcanon I have is that Carol and Daryl are having a disagreement. Not anything major, not something they would really fall out about but something really silly, something that they’d probably later question why they ever argued about it in the first place like maybe - what to have for dinner that night (as an example). This would then lead them to getting closer and closer to each other physically and then kissing each other. Both of them would be shocked at first but then they’d both settle into it.
The other headcanon is one I think about every single time I watch season 10 of TWD flagship show - my favourite season of the show. This headcanon is to do with Carol’s insecurities and how Daryl is her sunshine, her light at the end of the tunnel and how he always manages to make her see things positively again. So for example, Carol is having a bad day, she’s thinking she’s a failure, that nothing is going right in the day, that she’s not good enough etc and Daryl, as always, notices this. He chooses the perfect moment to bring it up with her. He’s gentle and comforting with her, getting her to look directly at him as he’s speaking so she’s fully listening and taking his words in. He reminds her that he loves her and makes it explicit to her if there’s any doubt that she believes him on that. He tells her that none of the horrible, negative things her brain is telling her about herself are true and what she means to him, listing off all the positive, wonderful things about her. She sheds a few tears, overwhelmed with the love and comfort she’s receiving from him and as he gently wipes her tears away (like he does in the “we have a future” scene) this is when he leans in to kiss her.
How it will actually go - I have no idea. I hope that it might finally happen in TBOC but if it does, I have no idea how it will happen. Ultimately, I just want it to be good, especially for those people who’ve been waiting 13/14 years for this. However, with Norman and Melissa having their say in Daryl and Carol’s arcs as executive producers, I have no doubt whatsoever that they’d do Caryl and us justice.
