I lose absolutely zero sleep over the Daryl Carol stuff

But my heart did break for Zeke. He deserves better than that

 

I noticed that too. She basically ignore Zeke and runs to Daryl her BFF.

 

I thought Carol was perfectly lovely to Zeke, lol. She smiled, she chitchatted, had nothing more to say, so she moved on to the next person she wanted to greet. That's pretty good, considering all the heartache that ended their relationship.

 

I thought it was horrible! She was all, hi bye......and then jumped on Daryl!

 

He was crushed!! I hated that scene. I said it before and I'll say it again - he deserved better.

At the very least she could have reigned in her jumping on Daryl - giving such a touchy greeting in front of Ezekiel was like a slap in the face. She should at least give the relationship that they shared more respect than she did.

Carol is inching toward my "not happy with" character list LOL

 

I'm gonna have to defend Carol here. She didn't jump on Daryl! First of all when she turned away from Zeke, she first hugged Connie. With a huge smile. And that was very important. Because I don't recall Carol having any interaction with Connie in the last season, so the fact they're so affectionate with each other now is because Daryl is the obvious link. Connie knows how important Carol is to Daryl, and Carol is sure aware of Daryl taking a shine to Connie.

After she had her hug with Connie, it was actually Daryl who picked up Carol in a bear hug. It's all Daryl initiating the physical contact. She just smiles at everyone, and Daryl makes her laugh with his enthusiastic welcome.

I don't know what Carol could have done better, truly. Some could argue Daryl should be a bit more sensitive, but quite frankly, after Zeke's little speech last season telling Daryl to keep away from Carol, I don't blame him if he doesn't give a damn about Zeke's precious feelings.

 

Carol could have given Z a hug.

 

She could have. True. He really looked like he wanted one. But perhaps she didn't want to give him false hope.

I realise that in my defence of Carol (and Daryl) I've sounded like I didn't care about Ezekiel being hurt at all, and that's not actually true. I felt very sorry for him when he lost his fighters, Shiva, Benjamin, the Kingdom, and Henry, then Carol too. Though he's not amongst my favourite characters, I acknowledge that Ezekiel has many admirable qualities, and in fact I really liked his relationship with Carol. I didn't like it when he tried to push Daryl away from Carol, and I actually felt that was almost out of character for him to do that. But it's what happened, and that explains why Daryl doesn't care now. Carol just doesn't want to confuse him, that's why she keeps her distance, at least that was my interpretation.

 

I felt bad for Ezekiel, but that meeting was going to be awkward, regardless.
I agree that she didn't want to give him false hope. And that's kind, even if it came off as cold.

 

How long was Z and Carol together? The whole time jump of 5, 6 years? I find it hard to believe that Z didn't know the relationship between Carol and Daryl was strictly platonic, resulting in his needing to talk to Daryl to ask him to stay away.

 

Exactly. I was very surprised when Ezekiel delivered that talk. Where did that come from? I guess he was jealous of their intimacy, that Carol turned to Daryl for comfort, that they shared a kind of understanding of each other Zeke never quite had with Carol. He wanted to be that person for Carol. Of course, that kind of kinship and connection is not something that you can just wish into existence, neither would it have been created by getting Daryl out of the picture. Zeke came out of that talk sounding like an ass, and also not having Carol's best interest at heart, which was having her best friend close.

 

Carol did occasionally visit Daryl though over those recluse years, kept an eye on him.

 

Well, the "drama" was all created in Zeke's head. I realise that he was under a lot of stress and completely distraught by losing Henry and the Kingdom, but a relationship has to be built on complete trust in your partner, and putting their best interest first. And Carol needed Daryl, her best friend. Someone with a bit of perspective. He should have never asked Daryl what he did. I think that's when he really blew it with Carol.

 

I'm pretty much over Zeke and his Zeke speak.
I thought the scene was good as it showed Carol is really her own woman and does her own thing. We've seen her change from battered wife to kick ass killer, but this is just another example of her independence. However, I wouldn't be surprised to have an episode where Zeke is killed protecting Carol. Don't forget the Connie dynamic either. To me, there's a bit of something there; at least Connie for Daryl, but he doesn't see it. IMO

 

I love Carol. She’s a strong woman but she’s a little broken. With her lovers, she doesn’t put her heart in all the way so she tends to pull back rather than fight to maintain a relationship. When there’s a bump in the road emotionally, she’s done. That’s how she protects herself in a world where nothing is certain to the extreme.I get it.

I think Daryl is safe for her. She tested the water there long ago and came out with a strong friendship instead. Nothing’s gonna touch that but If Zeke was fully vested in what they had together (and I think he was in love with her almost from the moment he met her) it’s gotta hurt to see Carol this way. I felt bad cause I thought they were good for each other. Was what they had only about Henry? Sad they couldn’t survive his death. Where’s a good family therapist when you need one?

 

I think that's very true. She went so far with Tobin, and almost role-played with Zeke, although I believe she really cared about him. But she's so focused on not making herself vulnerable, that her self-defence mechanism also stops her from loving fully, because you can't love fully without opening up yourself completely.
She let her guard down with Henry more than she realised, and it crushed her. Then looking at Ezekiel with the same depth of pain in his heart, and him turning to her for comfort, she couldn't bare it. Too much.

This. A relationship built on knowing each other inside out and no pretences ever necessary or possible. Carol also convinced herself that Daryl is an absolute constant, an indestructible entity who will always be there for her. She won't even entertain a thought of him not being around.