[first of all sorry for my english, i’m not native]

honestly, i loved that confrontation btw caryl, all of it. i don’t know why but i feel it very different from all we’ve had till now.

that “friends don’t have the same damn conversation over and over again” of daryl... wow.. imo he said it all there. they’re not just friends and to me, it seems daryl is asking her to “settle down with him”, to be in the same page, to stop running, just to stay and i understand it (i also understand everything carol does and why), it’s hard to wake up thinking the person you love is gone (or is gonna leave) without saying goodbye, not knowing if he’ll see her ever again. it’s like loosing her over and over and over. i understand carol but if i was daryl, i would be sick too.

i don’t know why people don’t like this “fight” or think it isn’t important cause i see it’s crucial for their story and for heading canon.

what do you think? about this and the ep?

i liked the ep, it just shows us real life and how love works... i mean daryl just gave himself an opportunity to intimate with someone, who obviously was attracted to and he tried, but he realized he didn’t love her, it didn’t work. even if they’ve told us for years that he’s a men of only one woman, that if he finds someone it’s gonna be forever, etc. we all now real world doesn’t work that way and i’m talking from my own experience... i am almost 27 y i’ve only been with one person in my whole life (very rare these days i know) bc in that moment i thought it was the moment and i tried, for the first time, but 5 months later it was over, it just didn’t work... we cared about each other but we didn’t loved each other even if, at that first moment, i thought i could get to love that person and it could be the right person. not loving someone doesn’t depend on us sometimes. i believe that’s what happened to daryl.

i hope i explained myself 🙈 xoxo

The entire episode, even the flashbacks, even Daryl and Leah were building up to this fight, and I thought it was absolutely beautiful. It touched on all the deeper issues between them that needed to be aired out. After struggling for so long, Daryl has finally found himself. He understands his place in the world. He is ready to think about a future with Carol at Alexandria, but she is still lost and it’s threatening to make him feel lost again. Carol needs to prove to Daryl that she is going to stay, that he won’t lose her like he’s lost so many others. And Daryl needs to let Carol come to that decision on her own instead of trying to save her and blaming himself if he fails. 

I think Carol will always have Daryl’s heart which makes him a one woman man. He needed Leah while he was grieving and lonely, but even then, the longing for Carol, the jealousy that she has a life with someone else is very palpable in the episode. 

Though it’s jarring for me to watch, I do understand the purpose of bringing Leah in. She allows the show to tell the narrative that everyone has come to expect from Daryl about “having no game,” which wouldn’t work with Carol because he’s too close to her. She also exemplifies what a relationship between Daryl and Carol would look like if they didn’t first try to overcome their trauma, and the end result is apparently not great. When Daryl and Carol finally come together, they’ll be at peace with themselves, and they’ll both have experience so that physical intimacy is nothing short of beautiful. 

I don't think the writers are trying to "ruin" the relationship between Caryl permanently. But for now, yes. I think they did this because they want the will-they-won't-they to happen in the Caryl spinoff show. Which means they had to break it enough that they only build back their close friendship just in time for the spinoff. I think how they're doing this could hurt the relationship (in eyes of viewers) overall... but they're willing to take that gamble to delay will-they-won't-they further

I agree that the writers are intentionally trying to make it seem like there’s no hope for them (lol), but in my opinion, the question of will they or won’t they has to be answered in the last season of the main show to give us some sense of closure for their decade-long journey. 

Realizing their feelings for each other after they choose to run away together just isn’t believable. Yes, they talk about leaving while they’re still in the “friends only” stage, but in order to go through with it, they have to experience a big emotional change where they fully comprehend what they want and what they mean to each other. 

As annoying and as exhausting as it is, I still cannot find it in me to believe that the writers are aiming to ruin the relationship. It’s their goldmine, they know it, otherwise they wouldn’t promote it or focus on it like they are. And they certainly wouldn’t be doing this for a relationship that are just “buddies”. They are bringing them deeper. It’s painful but they’ll end up being stronger for it IMO.

Exactly. 

From a writers perspective, how would you fix the rift between daryl and carol?

Step One: Let them feel hurt. Let them be raw and emotional with each other.  (Covered in Find Me?)

Step Two: Give them space to consider the stakes and realize how much they mean to each other. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. (Covered in Diverged?)

Step Three: Have both of them work their asses off to make things better. Carol needs to prove to Daryl that she believes in them, their family, and their future (Starts in Diverged, will continue into season 11 probably). Daryl needs to show Carol that he knows what he wants and it’s standing right in front of him. 

Step Four:  After prolonged pain and suffering, have them officially reunite in a way that feels emotionally satisfying for them and for us. Everyone who is invested needs to feel assured that they have overcome their lowest point and will never go back. Their relationship should feel changed for the better. Stronger.