I think I’ve finally reached the point where I don’t ship Caryl anymore
and honestly, that’s a relief.
This ship brought me more pain than joy, and I’m okay with letting it go.
But here’s the thing: I’ll never mock or belittle those who still care.
Because I was one of them.
And no, it wasn’t some “delusional” fandom fantasy.
It was years of emotional manipulation, narrative ambiguity, and calculated marketing.
For fifteen years, the Caryl fandom was kept on the hook fed with half-promises, loaded glances, ambiguous writing, and just enough emotional tension to keep the hope alive.
Every time fans started to move on, the show threw in a “moment” to pull them back.
That wasn’t coincidence.
That was a strategy.
And now, watching Norman (and others) claim “Caryl was always just friendship” feels incredibly cynical.
You don’t get to profit from fans’ emotional investment for over a decade
use their attachment to keep engagement high and then suddenly rewrite history when it’s no longer convenient.
If it was just friendship, they could’ve said that clearly years ago.
But they didn’t.
Because keeping that uncertainty alive was profitable.
It kept fans watching.
It kept the hype going.
Now that the series is ending and they don’t need that audience anymore, they discard it.
Or worse they ridicule it.
It’s not the fans who misread things.
It’s the creators who blurred the lines on purpose,
who weaponized emotional storytelling to serve marketing goals.
You don’t play with people’s feelings for fifteen years
and then pretend it was all in their heads.
🩶 Caryl deserved better.
Not necessarily as a couple, but as a story that respected the emotional investment of its audience.
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I'm not even surprised that Norman said these things about Beth, he never hid the fact that he thought Daryl had feelings for Beth. What's the surprise? Not that I think it's cool, but it's nothing new.
I don't agree with the idea that Daryl chose Carol unconditionally. In reality, he didn't have a real choice. With Isabelle, his nun girlfriend, dead, what options did he have left in France? If she had survived, I believe he would have stayed with her or taken her with him. What the series seems to be showing is that Daryl's heart was with Isabelle, and he had the chance to be happy but lost it. Now, he's going to suffer because of that. The writing is lacking, but those who aren't shippers may see it from this perspective.
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"But, 'at least we have season 3'?" This has become masochism. How long is AMC going to keep treating this fandom like clowns? From what I understand, they’re going to insert some ambiguous scenes that could suggest a possible evolution between Daryl and Carol, but nothing concrete. While the nun gets a kiss, Caryl fans are left with crumbs. And now, everyone’s saying that Caryl isn’t romantic, with AMC constantly hammering the idea that they’re 'best friends.' Zabel has made it clear that he doesn’t see Caryl as a couple, and even Melissa keeps repeating the 'friends' narrative. What more do we need to understand? Caryl is dead. Anyone watching this spin-off needs to accept that it’s a story about two friends, and that they’ll eventually have romances with other people. Would it make more sense to pair them together? Of course. But since when does TWDU follow logic?"
I think this all just makes one thing clear to us, Daryl can relate to anyone except Carol, now I understand why they are emphasizing so much that they are best friends.
Recently, Zabel's full interview was released, generating mixed reactions, especially among Caryl fans. However, this interview didn’t affect me as much as it might have in the past. I think, over time, I’ve developed a kind of resilience to what they say. I've been through tough times, and I spent the last year working on accepting Caryl's relationship.
What I'm going to express here may not please everyone. A while ago, these words wouldn’t have been easy for me either, but I want to make it clear that my intention is not to hurt anyone, and I recognize that I don’t hold the truth.
For many years, we have hoped that Carol and Daryl would get involved in a romantic relationship. We were repeatedly teased with this possibility, and still are. However, this connection never materialized romantically, and it’s hard not to feel like we were used to generate profit. When I realized this, I felt like a complete fool because I dreamed about it, rooted for it, and believed in the promises that never came to fruition. Time and again, they used romantic tropes to catch our attention, but Caryl never became the power couple they could have been in The Walking Dead. It’s sad to admit, but it’s the reality, whether we like it or not.
Many suggest we should complain to AMC, but how many times have we already done that? How many times have we asked and begged for Caryl? We raised hashtags on Twitter, expressed our discontent with carzekiel and daleah, but did it help? If they were really listening to us, it would have already happened. When they don’t want it, there’s not much we can do. I know we try to keep hope alive when we see scenes with romantic undertones or when AMC posts something to spark our interest, but that’s an old TV trick. Just look at shows like "Law and Order" and "The 100," where fans went through the same thing.
Another important point is the attacks on Zabel. I’m not here to defend him, but the truth is, he had the courage to say what no one else did. Melissa and Norman may love Caryl, but have you ever thought that maybe they don’t want to see them together romantically? In interviews, Melissa and Norman say what will excite the fans, and maybe that’s even directed by AMC, but behind the scenes, it might be different. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about this for some time. I’ve gathered statements from Gimple, Angela, and now Zabel, and they all made it clear they talked with the actors. Once, Norman said he wasn’t interested, in Gimple’s words. Angela also mentioned that she talked with Norman and Melissa, and that they didn’t want to go down that path. Now, Zabel practically confirms it. Why do we ignore these signs so much?
For years, my interest in The Walking Dead was maintained by the desire to see Caryl become a couple and by my love for Melissa. I was considering watching the spin-off, not so much for Caryl, as I’ve been accepting for some time that they won’t become a couple, but for Melissa. However, I feel that nothing has changed, and I prefer not to get involved in this anymore. I wish all the success for Melissa and don’t want this series to fail. I’m being honest about this, but for me, the universe of The Walking Dead has come to an end.
Part 2: My Thoughts on The Book Of Carol Episode 1 - Panel
-Spoiler-free edition-
This continues Part 1 of my thoughts [link here], specifically focusing on the panel.
There seems to be some confusion that's also upsetting some people, so I feel like, as someone who was there, it's my responsibility to clarify things and share some new things. I'll also be including my transcript from different relevant portions of the panel that don't spoil the episode itself, and just to make it clear, this transcript is word for word with what was said and has not been paraphrased by me; the only portions I removed were the pauses and instances where a speaker stammered.
Incorporating Carol into the Story
Zabel has been in conversation with Melissa (about Carol) for as long as he's been in conversation with Norman (about Daryl), which is from before writing & filming even started for season 1, discussing what they each had to say about their characters in detail. Once they began to approching season 2, Zabel then began to have more detailed conversation with Melissa about what she wanted for Carol going into the future, which we could see had already started to be from episode 1 in a huge way, with almost every single Carol scene having intention and deep meaning behind it.
D. Ross: What was it like starting to think about how to incorporate Carol into the story? Did you talk about season 2? How was that discussion?
S.M. Gimple: I mean, Zabel drove those discussions.
D. Zabel: I think it came out in our early conversations to make sure that the first episode which you just saw really planted Carol back into the world. You know, that was a very conscious choice because we spent 6 episodes of the show focused exclusively on Daryl, and knowing that we're bringing Melissa into this show, we wanted to make sure that we started the story off in a very strong way. To sort of re-establish the character after a couple of years, we hadn't seen her. And also to make her drive to find Daryl very compelling, motivated, and active. That came out of our early, like our first conversations about how to do it.
Collaboration between Zabel, Norman, and Melissa
I said this before, but I wanna say it again that Melissa's voice was really obvious to me in the way episode 1 was done, and Norman has spoken many times about how he's worked really hard on Daryl's story in the spin-off. The below exerpt also shows that the collaboration was actually really there between Zabel, Norman, and Melissa, and that it had great influence on the direction of the show. Even Gimpel gives the credit to Zabel, Norman, and Melissa and greatly compliments their collaboration.
D. Ross: What were your discussions? Because obviously, Melissa and Scott have worked for a long time together, and obviously, Melissa and Norman forever, but this is, you know, your first time connecting David and Melissa, so what were those conversations like in terms of finding the character and getting the input and sharing new ideas?
D. Zabel: Well, yeah I'm the new guy, and so as a result, I had to be hazed. It was great because I had a whole year with Norman working on the show, and part of that was my own learning process about the characters, the character specifically of Daryl, about all the show and the aesthetic of The Walking Dead universe, and so during that time I was also having conversations with Melissa and getting ready, so there was really a lot of leadup to when we brought the character back into the show and a lot of conversations that we had after those initial ones were really Melissa and me talking about how to advance the character of Carol and how to not let the character stay stagnant, same as the kind of conversations that Norman and I had in the beginning, how to continue to move the character forward and move the story forward and expand on the universe in general, and not let the characters and the world stagnate and say in the same place, 'cause it's easy to sort of keep going through the same things over and over again. So a lot of it was talking to Melissa and understanding how she saw the character, thought the character was and the things that she felt were interesting to play moving into the future.
S.M. Gimple: And that is a huge thing with both Norman and Melissa. You know they have that executive producer credit, but that's the real deal, they provided a lot towards the narrative of their characters, towards the trajectory of their characters. This is them expressing themselves. And to watch this collaboration has been amazing.
Melissa's thoughts on coming back to the show and bringing her ideas
Throughout the entire panel, Melissa seemed incredibly happy. She constantly made jokes that made the whole room and panel laugh, and she spoke really proudly of the work she had done. She also seemed very comfortable collaborating with Zabel, Greg, and Norman and had nothing but beautiful things to say about them, and Manish (Ash).
I've attached a video below [link here] of the following transcript, which I recorded from my perspective. It's at a wider view and slightly longer than the ones previously uploaded by others, and it captures a lovely and respectful exchange between Zabel and Melissa.
D. Ross: What's it like from your perspective, Melissa? I mean you have so much ownership of this character for so long, so tell me about, like, in terms of coming to this new show and bring your ideas.
Melissa MB: Oh, well, Scott, David, and I talked about some of the things that were really important to me, as far as what I thought Carol might want to dive into. Things you know… 12 years of The Walking Dead, there was a lot unsaid. I made a rhyme. But anyway, we picked some of the core issues, and we kind of built on that.
D. Zabel: I think one of the things I'll add is building on that, things that were maybe not fully developed or resolved in the original series for the character and also and also making sure that Carol was coming because she loves and misses her friend and is worried about him, but also has a narrative of her own, that's about the things that she's dealing with herself. So, that was really important for us was that Carol needed to have a dual narrative. It wasn't all about just finding Daryl, although that's crucial,...
Melissa MB: obviously.
D. Zabel: but it was how is that somehow working through her own experience and what things that are still plaguing her.
Carol and Daryl as the core of every storyline in season 2
It's clear that they have made Carol and Daryl's story the centre of the whole season and that they will be heavily involved in all of the major storylines and resolutions. Using episode 1 as an example, it was already clear that even though Ash has a really interesting backstory, which they delved into in a very thoughtful and intentional way, it was still there to serve Carol's story and ultimately, Caryls story in later episodes. The same, I believe, can be said about the different storylines in France and how they're all ultimately going to come together to serve Carol and Daryl's story and development.
D. Zabel: Every episode is big, but the way that it resolves ultimately all these different stories and these different characters by the time you get to the end, I think that's the single thing I'd say was the greatest accomplishment of Season 2 is sort of the accumulation of story and character, how all the stories are resolved specifically through Daryl and Carol, of course.
Slight spoiler warning for what's below the line. This spoiler has already been shared and talked about for several days at this point.
Reunion episode.
Whether or not the reunion will be in episode 2 is up to personal interpretation. Below is the link* to another video I took from my perspective, where you can see everyone's expressions. I encourage everyone to come to their own conclusions on whether or not they think it's episode 2.
I personally lean towards it being true, firstly because Norman and Melissa's tone/behaviour seem genuine, while Zabel and Gimple seem to be more nervous and overcompensating with their counter comments (However, Norman and Melissa are so talented as actors that they could easily fool us 😅). Secondly, why tease/mislead the audience in that way? There's no logical reason, and they know that, ultimately, it would just leave us (the people who believe them) a little disappointed after building our excitement and expectations up.
This was everyone's reaction to Gimple saying, "You know what? Let's say it doesn't happen in episode 2. Let's just get into an argument now."
*Note: Tumblr only allows me to upload one video directly to the post, so unfortunately, the second video had to be a link. I know that the link may not work in some countries like Canada, so if that's you and you'd like to see the video, let me know, and I'll send it to you directly.
My final thoughts.
I know that there are a lot of concerns about:
How Carol and Daryl's joint story will fit into the season 2 narrative and whether or not their story will be handled with care
How will Carol be incorporated into the story, and will her character be treated justly (not overlooked/overshadowed)
Is Melissa being treated/billed fairly, and is she happy with the product that is Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol
Based on all the examples above and my thoughts in the part 1 post, I'm confident that the writers, showrunner, and, of course, the leading cast, Norman and Melissa, are handling both Carol and Daryl's joint story and their individual stories really well and with a lot of care.
Regarding Melissa's treatment and happiness, none of us knows what's happening behind the scenes, but from what I could see during the panel, everyone on that stage was treating each other as equals; no one was undermining anyone, and they were all clearly there to support each other. As always, there was also that special connection between Norman and Melissa, who were having really sweet moments just between them, smiling and whispering to each other and making each other laugh, which really warmed my heart. In terms of the audience's reaction, we all clapped, cheered, and reacted the loudest for Melissa and Norman, but especially Melissa. Everyone was so excited to see her, and I even noticed some people wanting to give her a standing ovation and were halfway standing when she came on stage but were motioned to sit back down by someone who looked like event staff or security.
And lastly, regarding the billing order, I feel that it's wonderful how some of Melissa's fans are really speaking up and standing up for her on how she should be equally billed with Norman, just like Danai/Andrew and Lauren/Jeffrey, which I wholeheartedly agree with; however, I think (and bare with me here) that we should be patient, especially for the moment. The order of billing within the credits does seem strange to me as well; however, the season is still three and a half months away (110 days) from its actual release, and these are things that could have been done in error and can still be amended for the official release. If it's not, then it's also important to acknowledge that whatever the agreement is that was made between AMC and Melissa/her agents, Melissa is a very intelligent and capable of making rational choices that are in her best interest, and as long as she's happy with it, then we should be respectful of those choices because, ultimately, we are not part of that contract and therefore can't really know why certain choices were made unless we're told by one of the parties who hold the contract.
I'm not saying we shouldn't speak up if we believe she or anyone else is being treated/compensated unfairly; however, we should still keep celebrating with her for her return as Carol to the series, her incredible performance in season 2, and all the hard work she has put in, alongside the rest of the cast and crew, to give us this new season.
~~~~~
There will probably be more parts to this as more information comes out, but for now, a huge thank you to those who read this ♡♡♡ I'd love to know your opinions if you agree or disagree with anything I've said. One of my favourite things about this community is how passionate everyone is, which allows us to have some really deep and meaningful conversations about the show and characters we love.
If anyone has any questions about the episode or panel that I haven't addressed yet or would like further information on anything I have shared, please feel free to leave me an ask, anonymous or not, and I'd be more than happy to answer and discuss it. However, I will refrain from giving away any spoilers that haven't already been released.
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I have several criticisms about TWD, especially about how AMC has treated us over the years. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone's feelings, as I myself have experienced many disappointments. I started shipping Caryl in the second season and have been a fan of Melissa since then. Many times, my hopes were crushed, and I felt undervalued by the use of the Caryl fandom for promotion without receiving adequate reward. I have left and returned to the fandom several times, and Melissa's announcement of departure was devastating for me; I think that was my catalyst to decide that I wouldn't suffer anymore. Now, with her return, I'm happy because I love her acting and will always root for her.
Currently, I don't have the same enthusiasm for Caryl as before; I think they killed that inside of me, but I still hope for a romance between them. However, it doesn't make me anxious anymore, and if it happens, I'll be happy; if not, I won't suffer because I'm mentally in another place. Maybe that's why it's easier to enjoy things without creating too many expectations.
I don't have many reasons to complain at the moment, although there are rumors about the order of Melissa and Norman's names. To me, it's a trivial argument because I don't know the reasons behind it. I heard that their names appear side by side in the opening credits. I was thrilled to see them happy together last weekend. Melissa was radiant and funny, which made me realize a positive change in her; it's been a long time since I've seen her like that, especially in the last season of TWD, where for reasons I have no idea about, she didn't seem as happy. However, now she genuinely seems happy with her work, and I'm excited to see how Carol will be explored this season. Melissa expressed her satisfaction with having a voice in Carol's story direction, which gives us reasons to celebrate.
The only thing I didn't like was the title of the season, which I consider cheesy and to make matters worse, it has three different fonts. I don't understand who was responsible for the design. However, despite this, the premise seems promising, although there are uncertainties about the future. The road is still long, and only time will tell how things will unfold.
It's so tiring to be a fan of Melissa, Caryl and TWD because there's all the fighting and frustration over nonsense, sometimes they want to defend Melissa over invisible monsters, if the woman is happy that's what matters, she doesn't need to accept anything she doesn't want and I believe that everything that is happening to her and that you are complaining about, was all with her consent.
Something that would make me feel a lot more secure about Caryl's future is a showrunner who understands their relationship as deeply as we do and can easily convey that in the show as well as in the media. All this money was presumably spent on making the show look good, but if there's one thing Caryl fans aren't, it's superficial. The story has to grip us, which means the showrunner has to deliver the romantic beats we want in ways that will allow Carol and Daryl to grow together. She (because a female showrunner can write for strong female characters like Carol and speak to the growing number of female viewers with money to spend) has to balance a strong character narrative with an external plot that feels grounded despite all the zombies. That's what made the first few seasons of TWD work so well. That's where the money should go. The writing. AMC should also take note of how excited Caryl fans were to see Melissa get that EP title. We trust her voice. A lot. We trust her instincts. A lot. We would trust her choice in a showrunner, so maybe she should have a big say, and maybe she should even get the chance to co-showrun. That’s a Caryl spinoff I’d come running for.
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