What positive Carylers are not:

What they are:

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion; not one has to agree on everything and it goes both ways. We should let people have their feeling’s without needing to insert our own. There’s enough toxicity in the world as it is. If you need to bolster your own opinion by putting someone else’s down, was yours really that strong?

A new interview with Mel and Norman. It's really sweet. Norman calls Melissa/Carol the heart of the show and says she's the new vibe. 😍❤️😍

What does everyone think? Where are you placing your bets? I'm going for it being SOMETHING came back, not SOMEONE came back. They obviously want us to think it's Rick, but I don't believe it is. Nor do I think it's anyone else, despite there being other contenders like Dwight and Sherry.

Why? Because Mel & Zabel have told us that whatever it is that she says is an important part of her own story this season. We know that a big part of Carol's story in season 2 centres around her addressing and dealing with things that happened in the main show that haven't been addressed, specifically her trauma & grief. Mel also told us when talking about Carol's story that "When things get quiet, things get stirred." None of that fits with someone coming back, even if it's someone like Dwight encouraging her to go and look for Daryl because we know her going to look for him is only one part of her arc for season 2.

Instead, I think it's far more likely that she said something to do with her came back. Like her dreams and/or some of the other things we saw her deal with in season 10 related to her grief and trauma. Things that we know are going to be addressed this season and fit in with everything Mel and Zabel have told us. Things that also fit with the rest of that radio conversation when Daryl asks her more than once if she's ok and if she's sure she's ok and she tells him it's quiet (at the Commonwealth) and that it takes some getting used to - I assume meaning Daryl not being there.

She also seemed hesitant to tell him whatever it was she said. It wasn't immediate. If she said Rick came back, she would have pretty much led with that & would have told him as soon as he asked how things were there.

I am on Team Dwight as well, but I will enjoy either of the possibilities. I think most of us agree that it isn't Rick. I also have Morgan in an outside chance, but I really think Dwight is the better option in the "someone" category. And I also found this tidbit in Austin's IG from last September. He and his partner were on holiday in the South of France. This was close to the time they resumed filming with the strike waiver.

Sometimes I wonder…

I will address this one time, spoiler warning below I guess if folks haven’t been keeping up or trying to avoid them.

Discussing the new TBOC teaser and sneak peek

This was going to be more eloquent but 4.5 hours of sleep, only 1 cup of coffee, and tumblr eating my other 30 min creation of meta has left me with a scotch taped remnant. I apologize for the word vomit but I had too many thoughts about the promos, and after lengthy-late-into-the-night discussions with like-minded people (SHOCKER, yes other positive shippers) I needed to get them out.

Thank you to the wonderful people of the OG discord server (CR) for the discussion and glee last night, and all the time. Special thanks to @zehiiro for talking me off the ledge after Tumblr was a meta-cookie monster.

Teaser trailer

Teaser trailer

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any headcanons/ideas on where you think they might be going.

Until next time, guys. Caryl on.🌸❤️

A lot of people thought Carol sounded sad or upset about something when she talked to Daryl on the radio. She said something like, "it just takes getting used to." What if Richonne have returned (a likely scenario based on TOWL finale) and the kids are with their parents as they should be. Carol is alone. Ezekiel and Carol had resolved to stay friends after they split up, but maybe Ezekiel has moved into another relationship. Carol tends to get in her head a lot. Melissa mentioned in a BTS clip that Carol is holding something back. Then we hear in the teaser..."He's the only family I have left." I am just spitballing here but I think that Carol has finally come to the realization that Daryl means much more to her than she ever realized. Maybe Rick or Michonne give her just the nudge she needs to go find her soulmate.

As far as who said, "Tell me a story" I am at an impasse. I am leaning that it's Carol, but I am not sure. I agree with the idea that it definitely could be Daryl calming her if they are in the tunnel and she is dealing with claustrophobia.

At any rate, I am very excited with the teasers we got and I am looking forward to learning more in the coming months. It's nice to see the Caryl tag come alive with lots of positivity.

Caryl going forward in S2

Now that the season is over, I've had a chance to collect my thoughts on the direction I think they are looking to go for S2 and I am even more convinced everything we've seen was linked and deliberately choreographed to highlight the upcoming Caryl payoff. This includes the season as a whole as well as the finale and the Book of Carol promo. I'm going tag it but keep in mind this discussion will assume things from having watched the season finale and contain spoilers as such, so you have been warned.

It's a known fact at this point Daryl's intent on going home. The man is on a mission. He wants to get the kid to where he needs to go, then he wants a radio to contact home or a boat to get him there. Regardless of whatever anyone said to him or deceptive manipulation attempts used the man stayed steadfast in his desire. And while he may have begun to care about Laurent over the season, at each turn brought forth by various others; Isabelle (multiple times), Fallou, Azlan, Laurent, and Lasong, Daryl once again repeated himself like the looped tape recorded message he made in episode 1.

They've also made it abundantly clear through parallels, name dropping, and actual conversations/on screen appearance that for Daryl, Carol is his home. Nothing could have personified this better than the scene we got with Sylvie in the car. She asked if he had ever been in love ... words we have only ever heard him fathom to mention to anyone except Carol; his distant gaze and physical reaction all we'd need to see to know who he was thinking about. IMO there is no other option. If they had truly wanted to do any ship baiting their chance to do so was sitting in the damn backset and it would have taken nothing but a change in camera angle to do so. They didn't because it isn't ... the focus and end point is/has always been Caryl. (That is all I am going to say on this because my focus is Caryl). The tag line plastered across the season 2 promo of "To find home is to find each other" both confirms this as the plotline's intent as well as stands in direct contrast to everything everyone tried to convince Daryl of in the finale. He may listen to Isabelle and Lasong but neither were effective in changing his mind because it was never a possibility.

Daryl wants to go back to Carol.

Now I don't believe for a second Lasong has no other motives besides "nurturing the next messiah" which he proved by trying to guilt Daryl into staying at the Nest. He reminds me of the overly religious zealot in The Mist, putting on a nice act until shit hits the fan and what others want goes against their objective. These are the very same kind of tactics Isabelle has been using from the beginning - either admitting to faking the ocean drawing and then her abhorrent attempt to imply Daryl was abandoning Laurent like his grandfather did to his family. Newsflash guys, Daryl is only a "father figure" to Laurent because YOU made him so with lies and with-holding the truth before Daryl ever got there. The only way anyone in France can seem to grasp changing his mind is to resort to lying or low blows which only serves to lessen the strength of their stance, and thankfully Daryl saw through it each time. (Props to & exclusion from this crappy sect goes to Fallou because he seems to be the only one listening).

All of this would have been great by itself and I was in LOVE with TBOC promo beforehand but it got even better post finale watch. "I don't know if this is the place I'm supposed to be." The voiceover gives me the impression that after being forced by fate to stay in France and not let Laurent be the latest walker snack, Daryl still isn't buying the whole where you find yourself might be your home line. He's still worried about Carol, still possibly field the ever constant questions from Izzy about "maybe he belongs in France". (I'm really getting tired of hearing that from her ... no means no, woman). This line from Daryl in itself shows that we are continuing with the shows main constant. Daryl Dixon wants to go home. He's not staying to make a new family, he's not forgetting about the people who matter most to him. The man is stuck and literally being fucked over by fate at every turn.

I have theories about how the Laurent managed to track Daryl down to the beach and none of them are good for other characters but fall in line with what they have done in the past - we'll leave those under a pin for now. None of the characters are named fate lol.

Take away for season 1 and heading in to season 2, Daryl wants to go home and looks to continue his search on ways to get himself there. Luckily for him, home (Carol) is in the process of making that trip shorter.

The contrast between how Daryl's grandfather died on Normandy beach, fighting someone else's war, leaving his pregnant wife alone in America, and Daryl choosing to leave a war, from that very same beach, fighting to get back to Carol.

And then being forced to stay anyway... I'm in tears. This last scene really hurt.

There was absolutely no dialogue in this scene. Norman Reedus just completely aced the emotion this scene meant to convey and I agree with @zehiiro about the layers in what this is supposed to mean to the viewer. Daryl is DISTRAUGHT at the possibility of not getting home to his family and specifically Carol.

🚨🚨THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!!!🚨🚨

Promo for The Book of Carol!!!’

To find home is to find each other. She looks so fucking good and she has his bike and his crossbow!!!!

Let me get this right:

Times the fandom never dreamed to be but was given everything on a silver platter without even daring to ask:

There are lists for every side so I guess it’s all a matter of what you choose to put your time/energy behind. I truly do believe eve got great things coming in the spin-off and can’t wait to watch.

Talking points for the one of the most glorious of days for Caryl info. (Very happy I waited on my hill-to-die-on knowing this was coming eventually)

-Carol once again has a most glorious giant-ass gun, one which she uses to protect her Pookie with.

-Potential shoulder massage 2.0!? (There is a vid of that pic out there and yes he’s “helping her out” 😉

-Greg has been on set and might be directing Terminus 2.0

-Daryl looks beat up but doesn’t have a gun because Carol IS his weapon.

-I am in love with the costumers for giving her that purple leather jacket.🤤😍

You know what excites me about Raise the Dead Season 1? Melissa damn well knew she was coming back, along with the showrunner/writers, and Norman which means this was planned for.

To maintain congruence in their own show ‘s timelines + seasons, scripts would have had to be written with obvious ties to Caryl or else it would be like the hulk showing up to save the rainbow sprites. These scripts would have also had to be written/approved before season 2 was even in the works

I can’t wait to see what ways they integrate her and Caryl into the first few eps knowing she’s set to appear in s1e6. Also knowing Melissa and how talented she is at portraying as well as finding worthwhile things to commit her time to, it’s going to be a juicy story🙂

They are walking across the bridge, talking about something with no real meaning while it secretly morphs into talking about important things they’ve tried to avoid. The emerging daylight winds though the buildings behind them, bouncing off the worn wooden planks ahead making cracks seem like caverns.

Daryl sees a old, ornate lock on the ground; beat up a little but beautiful in a way with rust highlighting in just the right spots. Staring at the mass of metal he brings up how he was trying his hardest to get back to her, that he couldn’t not see her again. No matter what it took. Carol meets his gaze when he looks up, pausing a beat until the power of her voice breaks through the weighted air and replying with how there was no stopping her until she found him.

They then agree it’s them, together, through anything and everything. They put the lock on the bridge, hands brush touches off each other and then they F**KING FINALLY KISS

I’m old enough to have watched ER when it originally came out and while I was never as invested in any of the ships as I am with Caryl, I did appreciate the storytelling. After David Zabel was named the show runner for Raise the Dead, I went back to do some re-examination to see what I could possibly gather this could mean for Caryl going forward and found some things I think are interesting.

As far as we’re aware, rtd has 3 (2 confirmed) seasons; the first seeming to show Daryl trying to get home (to Carol), and season 2 following Carol’s attempts to find Daryl. If you look back on Zabel’s time writing for ER he carried Abby and Luka (coming in to an already established relationship) through the workings of figuring out themselves as well as a couple.

Luka was constantly thinking he wasn’t good enough for Abby, that she deserved better to find her happiness - plus he was always trying to find a way to make every situation come out roses for all involved, even if it was just a shit show.

Abby overcame her insecurities and self doubt to believe she was capable by herself. Also that she didn’t have to believe in the constant worst case scenario playing out/waiting for the other shoe to drop.

(Sound like any people we know?)😂😂

During the seasons Zabel was with ER, each part of the relationship grew through their inner issues (with each having a mainstay Ep centred around them) to draw them back together and get the satisfactory conclusion many had been waiting for in the relationship.

This all just goes to say; s1 Daryl wants to get back to Carol (works through his stuff), s2 Carol tries to find Daryl (works through her stuff), and S3 is all Caryl.

I’ll also say I don’t necessarily think this means we have completely separate arcs until s3. The main show left a bit to be needled out in the sm details with having to close a whole show sooner than higher ups originally expected, so this way I see how we can get the gratifying payoff of Caryl dealing with things (past/present) as individuals and as a couple.

My main point of this ramble is this: David Zabel has done it before (come in to a long-standing storyline to give existing and well-loved characters/couple the satisfying payoff), he could do it again.

Can you spot the similarities??

Now what do they all have in common…

Oh, also a reminder that “the famous actress” was set to film yesterday, today, and tomorrow, plus also on May at the seaside castle. Same dates listed for the Carol double casting call released back in February… Carry and Caryl on.