Season 5 Caryl Inventory 

angst and the obligatory rehashing of emotional baggage begins this upcoming weekend, I thought that maybe this would be the perfect time to take a little CARYL inventory and remind ourselves of all the great moments we were given from the beginning of season 5. 

We might be uncertain about what’s coming next for Carol and Daryl but we are crystal clear on all the progress and evolution their relationship has undergone since their initial separation in “Indifference”. 

This kind of closeness and this level of growth would have been dubbed as pure fantasy even for the most optimistic Caryler in season 4 AND thereby regardless of the outcome this season we can at least pay homage to the tender moments we were given but didn’t expect to get in the first place. 

The connection Carol and Daryl have, has been described as a "slow burn", which in fact is a very appropriate term for their evolution from season to season, because the closeness and intimacy between them is continuously magnified as time goes on. 

We may not like the pace they have set up for them and we might be disappointed in the way certain developments were handled BUT seeing how we can’t influence the course of events or the PR aspect of TWD, all we can do is take heed in the fact that as long as they are strengthening their bond, CARYL and our hope for it continues to exist. 

Not to mention that regardless of how much CARYL the show actually gives us, we will ALWAYS WANT MORE each time. 

Season 5A was very good for Carylers and CARYL - here’s why; 

Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride were asked about CARYL prior to the season premiere, they both emphasized the “support” element of the Daryl and Carol connection. 

The message was that Carol and Daryl rely on one another emotionally and that whatever was coming would greatly benefit from that element. 

There’s a certain familiarity with those two characters and there’s a certain yin-and-yang element to them, [laughs] which flip-flops every 5 minutes. It’s a very tight bond those two have. There’s a mutual respect for each other. Carol’s a different person now. Daryl sort of leaned on Carol at times and I think Carol sort of leans on Daryl at times.” (Oct. 9, 2014 - Norman Reedus) 

There’s obviously some kind of chemistry between those two characters [Carol and Daryl] and part of that is that they have a lot in common as far as where they come from and the struggles that they’ve each experienced and tried to overcome and continue to in that post-apocalyptic world and they support one another because they understand that in one another. It’s like, let’s see how many steps forward we can get and if one goes backwards, one’s there to pull them forward again. Keep an eye out for each other in that way. So it’s a neat, sort of still-unspoken thing and it’s lovely to me, it’s very sweet.” (Oct. 5, 2014 - Melissa McBride) 

"The Grove" a lot of people speculated and even predicted a redemption death scenario for Carol because the assumption was that after everything she did, she couldn’t possibly fit in with the “good guys” of Ricks group. 

Those with a shipping agenda and personal bias were relentless with their insinuations that Carol was no longer “needed” and that there is no way that neither Rick or Daryl would welcome her back. 

Luckily for us Scott Gimple redeemed a character he himself said didn’t need redemption and Carol basically on her own rescued the group from Terminus and in turn brought down an entire cannibal tribe to its knees. 

Carol was always the hero to us but “No Sanctuary” made sure that everyone else knew it as well. 

"No Sanctuary" brought the epic CARYL reunion most of us didn’t even dare to hope for and it was hands-down one of the most emotionally riveting scenes in TWD history…

Initiated by Daryl Dixon who not just ran to Carol but literally picked her up, nuzzled her, sobbed in her shoulder and couldn’t get enough of HER! 

The “great” Rick Grimes even teared up and embraced Carol BEFORE she told him that she saved Judith. Carol was welcomed back into the fold and 

…it became very clear right away that Daryl wouldn’t be leaving her side anytime soon! 

"Strangers" showed the new CARYL dynamic but while it was obvious that Carol was struggling emotionally, what was even more obvious was that Daryl was set on making sure that this time around it was HIM "keeping an eye on" HER. 

The first walker killed to protect one of them was Daryl putting down the one advancing towards Carol, which he followed by putting himself in between her and whatever danger Father Gabriel might have posed. 

The first watch Daryl took with Carol demonstrated that their connection was so strong that Carol knew he wanted her to talk to him without him even opening his mouth to say so. 

Daryl didn’t need any explanations from her because they don’t matter to him - she was still "his Carol" and having her physically back with them was enough for him. Nothing she could tell him would change his mind about her so there was no need to push if she wasn’t ready. 

That’s when the CARYL parallels kicked in; 

Daryl: “We get to start over. All of us with each other.” 

- Norman Reedus talked about Daryl’s “romantic ways” being fraught with awkward clumsy moments and Kirkman delivered just that with the cutest “water jug throwing”

 - The end of “Strangers” demonstrated Daryl’s commitment to watching out for Carol because when she sneaks away to contemplate leaving he isn’t far behind her and gets there just in time to catch her in the act. 

- When a “cross car” is spotted Daryl takes Carol with him to pursue it even though it would have been smarter to send her back and tell the group about his whereabouts but seeing how he had just caught her trying to leave he can’t take a chance on her still being there when he returns so instead he insists that she comes along. 

"Four Walls and a Roof" doesn’t show Carol and Daryl together at all and yet features several CARYL related moments throughout the episode. Gareth crowns Carol as the “Grey Haired Queen Bitch” to go along with Daryl’s “Archer” title…

And Rick Grimes says “Carol and Daryl” so many times during that episode that I almost warmed up to him a little again. 

At the end of the episode we see a broken Daryl return to the church and when Michonne asks him about Carol this is the expression he gives her; 

"Self Help" is again free of CARYL physical presence but Maggie and Glenn talk about Carol and Daryl nonetheless. 

-“Consumed” was a CARYL utopia quite literally and we had 43 minutes of emotional Carol and Daryl “alone time” where they re-connected, proved that they are still very much in sync with one another and established once and for all that their connection was most definitely mutual and unbreakable on every level. 

We saw Daryl struggle and really TRY to reach Carol emotionally; 

We saw Carol struggle and really TRY to let Daryl reach her emotionally; 

We saw Daryl’s heart break as he was forced to watch Carol being once again taken away from him; 

We saw a tearful yet focused Daryl drive off to get reinforcements they needed to get Carol (and Beth back) 

 - “Crossed” showed Daryl be a “man” Carol told him he was as he got involved in hatching a plan to get both Carol and Beth back from the Grady Hospital. 

For the first time ever we saw Daryl go against Rick and actually back a peaceful approach to the rescue plan as opposed to a violent one that could risk unnecessary bloodshed. Carol told him that he was a “man” now and he was finally set on acting like one. 

- In “Coda” the writers set up Daryl as the one to trade for Carol while Rick traded for Beth and thereby created more reinforcement behind Daryl’s personal priorities. 

When Daryl shoots Dawn his weapon remains raised and he doesn’t stand down until Carol approaches him and pulls him back. A light shoulder squeeze from HER specifically is enough for him to let himself go. 

The returning episode 509 “What happened and What’s going on” features the heartbreaking loss of Tyreese and Daryl’s absence from the mission that was suppose to honour Beth by bringing Noah back home. 

It looks as if the 5A pattern of Daryl not leaving Carol’s side is going to continue in 5B as well and even though there will be anguish and angst to come, I am sure that the lengths the writers went to in pointing out the strength and significance of the CARYL bond, were set up for a reason that will only bring them closer. 

Scott Gimple has said that the grief and anger Daryl will have to deal with after so much loss will indeed be counteracted by moments of levity coming from Carol herself. 

Kirkman spoke about Daryl distancing himself as a result of the low emotional state he is in after Grady, which basically proves that all the talk done before the season started involving leaning on one another and supporting each other if one of them falters, is going to come full circle in 5B. 

In 5A it was Carol who contemplated leaving and pushing Daryl and the group away out of grief and now it sounds as if Daryl might be exploring that path too. 

For that very reason, the SUPPORTIVE part of their relationship will need to come into plan and restore the emotional balance they are BOTH struggling with. 

What it comes down to here is basic perspective and our own ability to look at what has been going on with both

Carol and Daryl and then see how it all relates to their relationship one another. 

1. Almost every single huge emotional moment either of them was touched by, the other one wasn’t too far behind 

2. Almost every healing process one of them went through as a result of those emotional moments also involved the other one not being too far behind. 

3. Almost every aftermath period of those emotional moments featured ANGST and PAIN but it also always brought them closer together. 

We know 5B won’t be easy even without the “shipping” complications others seem to think we have but CARYL has never had it easy or conventional, nor would we want it to. The reason CARYL is so moving and so inspirational is because it’s unlike anything else and the pursuit of that in itself has a powerful presence and lasting impact on this fandom. 

Carol and Daryl have been acknowledged as a “couple” outside the shipping communities and even in the mainstream media, because their potential was felt through chemistry and compatibility alone without bringing the physical and superficial labels into it whatsoever. 

That level of recognition is very rare for a pair who has shared very little physical contact to begin with, which begs the question that if CARYL is this huge with so little, just how HUGE could and would they be with a little more progress to go on…. 

You better believe that TPTB and AMC know very well just what kind of magic they’ve stumbled upon and I can’t see them wasting that kind of potential…but I can see them milking it and getting every single FEEL out of us they possibly can…

Daryl has not excelled with the ladies or the men before this season. He was like, ‘If you hug me, I’m gonna stick a knife in your chest.’ But we need to be true to the story and when a relationship happens, it happens. I’m open to all of it.

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