So I'm sure this has all been said before, but...(Shae's thinky thoughts about TWD, Caryl, and Sam).
TPTB really missed a golden opportunity with Carol, Daryl, and Sam back in seasons 5 and 6.
Instead of insinuating Morgan into Carol's storyline, they could have put him in Rick's orbit where he made more sense, and had Carol go off the rails another way.
This show has become so plot-driven, so point A to get to point B, but I like to imagine how the show I originally fell in love with would have handled things.
That show would have played up the nuances, the history. Think of how much Daryl could have grown, how much more compelling Jessie could have been. If she was only going to be used as a vehicle, a better way to do that would have been through bringing Carol and Daryl's pasts back to the forefront so that they could grow even more as characters themselves.
Carol could have still had that same push/pull between her desire to keep Sam at arms' length and protect him, but imagine how much more devastating his loss would have been if both she and Daryl had been invested and utilized in his and the rest of the Andersons' story.
Their shared grief over his loss could have led to a more organic breakdown than the mess they've been trying to sell us for a while now. The truth about Lizzie and Mika could have come out, her feelings about losing all the children in her life would resurface, and Carol could have pushed Daryl and rest of Team Family away and MMB and NR would have sold the hell out of it. It'd delay what I feel like is their inevitable coming together, but it wouldn't feel quite so contrived, and our babies would have still had screen-time together and have a much more satisfying way of working out their issues.
And hell. I liked Daryl and Denise's awkward friendship of sorts. But I think it would have made more sense if it grew from her sticking her nose in and trying to help them both heal as their unofficial therapist and Tara's girlfriend.
But what do I know?
I'm just somebody that loves these characters an unhealthy amount.