Inspiration, Move Me Brightly

Actually, ‘people get upset’ because romantic potential between Carol & Daryl has long been used as a plot device, or a way to exploit and manipulate a portion of the audience, or in the case of The Book of Carol, as a complete marketing misdirection. You want a happy audience, pick a narrative direction and commit to it 100%. Carol & Daryl aren't wishy-washy characters so why should their relationship story be any different?

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE:

The stark differences in reception to Carol’s and Daryl’s arcs in The Book of Carol

When a show makes its audience work overtime to either rationalize, or completely pan its choices, there’s a fundamental disconnect between the producers, writers, and the characters they’re supposed to understand. It’s frustrating when the fans can see the potential in a character or dynamic that the creators don’t seem to fully grasp, or worse like with #TWDCaryl , choose to exploit the shit out of it for purposes that just seem illogical on all fronts.

For years, inconsistencies in both Daryl and Carol’s storylines on the flagship left us trying to bridge gaps that should have been addressed at the time. Historically, the audience has always had to make sense of the disconnect, but nothing compares to what we're seeing now.

Carol’s current arc in The Book of Carol, is actually making brilliant amends in that regard. Melissa has such a strong sense of who Carol is—her trauma, her growth, her motivations—and she’s not just acting; she’s advocating for a coherent, cohesive story. Melissa continues to prove that when you have a deep understanding of your character, strong advocacy for said character, and the ability to execute the vision, amazing things are possible.

On the flip side, watching Daryl get almost the opposite treatment makes it clear what’s missing. It’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s genuinely sad when you know the character, what he is capable of when given the right depth and development, AND what the actor can do with it. Without a clear understanding of why or when the actor has to explain what's happening by literally retconning his own character instead of showing it in the performance, we get a Daryl who, at best, feels like a hollow shell and at worst, a different person entirely.

The saving grace is supposed to be the dynamic of Carol and Daryl and the sorcery that Melissa and Norman create when they’re together. The Ole Caryl magic is undeniable, not just because of their chemistry but because they make each other better—both the characters and the actors. The creative team’s failure to capitalize on that, and even worse, cheapen it, especially when it’s so obvious and beloved by fans, is just an insult to the core audience and the biggest waste of rich opportunity.

Even if S3 pulls it together, it won’t completely undo the damage already done. We’ve seen the show pull itself together before—S9 and 10 are proof that with the right focus (and leadership), characters can make sense again in the larger story. But they need to get back to what works, and fast. The time for retelling old storylines and recycling old scenes is over.

Some of the fans are still here, waiting for that spark, but the clock is ticking, and the cost has already been too high. The narrative needs to stop feeling like a jumbled mess of mischaracterizations and creative whims and get back to the grounding force, the HEART & SOUL of the story, Carol & Daryl on the same path forward together.

Isabelle: tropes, misogyny, and the recurring problem in TWD

This is exhausting, y'all. Isabelle's treatment in The Book of Carol is an old, tired, repetitive textbook example of how female characters have been so often mishandled to push male narratives forward in The Walking Dead Universe.

The show's history of using women as emotional props for male character pain and growth is glaring (HAS BEEN for over a decade) and Isabelle's arc-with such a talented actor and Queen of the Beauxbatons Clémence Poésy-just reinforces this issue.

The rest is under the cut for references and spoilers for season 2.

“We work on the show for the fans. They are the whole reason we make the show.”

-Melissa ‘heart & soul of the show’ McBride

CAROL + ISABELLE & The Use of “LYING”

I appreciate this point and thought-provoking question so much @thegratefulsouth ! Carol has such a long history in relation to lying, deception, and moral ambiguity on the show, but then again, so have most of the characters. Personally, I think the audience is always harsher on Carol for doing the same things that other characters have done or would do. Historically, this was seen through the main show over and over, and the double standard towards Carol, I think is largely rooted in sexism, ageism, and misogyny, and her long, complex history.

Carol’s journey has been defined by increasingly difficult and morally complex decisions, which she takes on at great personal cost. Her lies, manipulations, and choices always feel deliberate and weighed heavily in the story, making her actions seem more scrutinized. Because viewers have been exposed to her growth over a long period, they often impose higher expectations on her, sometimes unfairly. It’s almost as if Carol’s perceived strength and resilience cause people to forget the emotional toll that every one of her decisions takes on her, and they judge her more harshly because of it. The audience might excuse or more easily forgive similar behaviors in Isabelle because they are encountering her struggles fresh and within a narrower context, without the same layered history to unpack.

Isabelle, as a newer character with a more perceived singular motivation (protecting Laurent), may receive more immediate empathy, and/or some critique, even as she also lies or manipulates to the point of emotional abuse. The GA may more readily accept her actions as situational, possibly because she presents as a more traditional, figure without the weight of past trauma-driven complexity that defines Carol. There’s can be a bias where characters like Isabelle can still be seen as redeemable, while someone like Carol—who has made similar but sometimes darker choices—might be viewed as “damaged” or morally ambiguous due to her longer arc.

In both cases, it’s clear that lying is tied to survival and protection, but Carol’s lies come with a depth and weight that the GA might interpret as more morally questionable, even when they shouldn’t. It’ll be interesting to see how these dynamics play out, especially when Carol comes clean with Ash, which will likely serve as yet another test of her resilience and emotional reckoning. Hopefully it will end in a deeper understanding and acceptance for Carol in all ways and success in this new beautiful friendship between kindred spirits.

This is so relatable @carylisbeautiful Thank you for sharing your feelings and understandable worries. A lot of folks are feeling just like you and that’s totally valid. I am actually feeling pretty optimistic that the show won’t take the characters in that direction or keep them in platonic land much longer, and I explain a bit why below.

I’m putting this under a cut for very vague references to spoilers for season 2.

This comment/question on the post about Daryl: relationships + trauma, is so great and really got me thinking about Zabel’s “mature relationship” comment, so much so that the response became it’s own beast! Thank you @thegratefulsouth for your kind words, and excellent q! I don’t think anyone was expecting another meta about this, but here we are!! Also, I’m long winded, lmao

Well. Helloooo! It’s been approximately 184 years since I posted any kind of meta on this site, let alone a TWD-related meta. But here we are, in the year 2024, no less. Nothing like The Book of Carol and Melissa’s return to bring some of us back. Unfortunately, it’s been a mixed bag, and current spoilers point to some really disturbing info about our beloved characters, specifically Daryl. The following is from a recent Twitter post made regarding Daryl’s character and thought it would be cool to post here, too.

CW: Daryl - relationships + trauma

There are so many feelings about the spoilers re: Daryl/Isabelle, and this post isn’t meant to invalidate any of them or defend the storytelling choices or retcon. Umm, no. Not at all. That’s a whole other post and many others have written extensively on the issues of show-running, creative consistency, and marketing of The Book of Carol. It’s not even about shipping, really. On the contrary, this post is to share some thoughts about Daryl as he is now, viewed a bit thru a trauma lens.