CARYL APPRECIATION WEEK - Day 2 - Favorite conversations
It’s almost midnight now, so I’ll probably be among the last ones to post day two, but here goes:
My number three might come as quite a surprise because it’s actually wordless. It’s the scene in which Daryl climbs into the RV after Sophia came out of the barn and Carol ran away from the group after pushing Daryl away so she could leave.
(gif credit to oohhshiny)
Without any words spoken, this conveys so well how Daryl, while lacking in social skills, still understands that what Carol needs right now is not platitudes that will never fill the void in her heart, nor soothe her pain in any way, but just someone to be there and ride it out with her - and that is exactly what he provides. He keeps her company and has the guts to be in the presence of her pain when nobody else does.
My number two is Carol’s “every bit as good” speech with Daryl protesting in between that he’s no better than any of the other men - and Carol insisting that that’s her point - he’s no better, but also no less, and he has done more for Sophia by continuing his search than her own father ever has.
(gif credit to empressmcbride)
This is the first time that Daryl feels truly appreciated as a person, not just a set of skills that he has to offer. She tells him that she sees as much value in him as in the other men of their group, which is an absolute first for him and has to be completely mind-blowing in view of what we learn about his past in season 4B.
My number one is the scene in Consumed in which Carol doesn’t actually say anything but only attempts to open the door leading to the room in which the mother and child turned walkers are roaming, and Daryl places a hand on hers and tells her, twice, with increasing emphasis, that she doesn’t have to do this. She doesn’t.
(gif credit to fandoms-trump-real-life)
He never follows this up with promises or announcements, either. He just leaves it at that at the time - but while she’s asleep, he stealthily leaves the room they’ve shared, making sure to be quiet enough so she won’t wake up, and proceeds to put the two walkers down which remind her so much of Sophia and herself - and could have been Sophia and herself if she had come to the shelter at the wrong time - and then so very respectfully consign them to the fire he’s built. The difference between this and the usual way in which they dispose of walkers is striking - he takes the time to find sheets to wrap the walkers in (and there have been and are cultures in which wrapping a body in a sheet was/is entirely sufficient and no casket is needed) and carefully places them into the flames instead of throwing them into the fire as usual. The quiet emphasis with which he states that she “doesn’t have to” while she regards it as her duty to these walkers, one last service that she can perform, maybe, for all she knows, putting them out of perpetual misery, so eloquently with very few words states how deep his understanding of her, her nature, her compassion and empathy, truly goes. She doesn’t ever have to explain - he just knows, he understands without words, says very little in return, yet subsequently shows such enormous respect for her feelings and wishes and needs that it’s heartbreaking to watch.
