Spoilers below for the latest episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched.
When The Walking Dead’s latest spinoff series was first announced, the idea was for it to center on both Norman Reedus’ Daryl and Melissa McBride’s Carol, though plans surprisingly changed when the actress backed out of the project ahead of production. Show creator David Zabel previously teased that her beloved character would possibly be popping up TWD:Daryl Dixon at some point during the first season, and that cameo was unveiled during Episode 105, “Deux Amours,” in a way that added a new wrinkle to the mystery behind why Daryl is so intent on making his way back to the U.S. as relatively quickly as possible.
For those who may not have watched, or may have somehow immediately forgotten what just happened, let’s take a closer look at Melissa McBride’s vocal return, and what her message to Daryl may have been about.
What Daryl Learned From Carol
With this penultimate Season 1 episode, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon finally answered a big season premiere question by showing viewers the exact events that led Norman Reedus’ survivor to calling a lifeboat his home away from home before he washed ashore in France. Basically, he was recruited into a group of total shitbirds located in Maine who were tasked with rounding up walkers of specific ages and sizes for future experiments across the pond. (That’s a whole other list of theories.) Before things went haywire, though, Daryl managed to successfully get in contact with Carol, who came across as weirdly put off by the whole conversation.
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It sounded like good ol’ Carol when she asked about him and his current location, but her tone noticeably shifted whenever he asked the same questions. She said things were “pretty quiet,” and that it “just takes some getting used to,” though viewers were left in the dark about what she was talking about. Was she possibly referring to Daryl having left, or is there another major change we don’t know about yet?
In any case, Daryl promised to get back to her in a week, which will no doubt be a broken promise in due time. But Carol’s final words are the ones that sparked the most curiosity, as their radio connection became conveniently choppy during what was seemingly the most important point in her message, as seen below:
Hey, Daryl…[transmission breaks up]...came back.
Though he wasn't able to secure a successful connection again, Daryl's takeaway from that convo was the return of someone. And while the moment wasn't played in the most dramatic fashion possible, the rising volume and tension of the music made it clear that information was vital in one way or another. Thus, the speculation began.
Theory 1: Carol Wasn't Talking About Rick Or Michonne
One of the most hopeful guesses to throw out into the universe in this instance would be Rick and Michonne, since they’re the still-living Walking Dead characters who have been gone the longest from the core narrative, outside of Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira’s brief returns in TWD’s series finale. Plus, TWD: Daryl Dixon had by that point already pricked viewers’ ears by having Laurent pray not just for Carol, but for R.J., Judith, Connie and Ezekiel, jamming echoes of Richonne right into our super-delicious brains. I mean, uh, our super-deductive brains. [covers possible bite marks with sleeve]
But if that actually was the case, and Rick and Michonne showed up on Team Family’s doorstep after years of being gone, I have to think that’s how Carol would have excitedly started that radio conversation with Daryl, as opposed to saying things were just okay. In fact, I’d go so far as to say if it ends up that Carol did say “Rick and Michonne came back,” there’s no possible explanation for why it would make sense for that specific context. So rather than thinking that this smart, crafty standout of a spinoff would make an atypically goofy choice like that, I’ll assume the franchise’s most adored coupling won’t be part of the reveal.
Theory 2: Carol Was Talking To Daryl Under Duress
I can't get away from the feeling that Carol's tone with Daryl just didn't vibe right, especially since he was so clearly overjoyed to have a loved one to talk to. The fact that he had to ask twice if she was okay has to mean something, as if it wasn't already sorta obvious by the way she said this:
You never have to worry about me, Daryl.
To me, that line reading was far more "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave" than the warm and loving Carol whose farewell to Daryl in "Rest in Peace" was on completely good terms. So why would she flip moods like that? Well, maybe someone antagonistic was watching over her and stopping her from saying the wrong thing, and she intentionally changed her tone up knowing that Daryl would be alarmed. Maybe that hypothetical antagonist is who she was referring to in saying they "came back," and that call ended on a bad note for her, with Reedus' character completely unaware. Which leads us to the following...
Theory 3: Carol Was Referring To A Character Viewers Don't Know Yet
Whether or not the above theory is true, it's still possible Carol could have been talking about a character whose identity wouldn't mean anything to viewers if it was revealed, because we might not know who they are yet. Not, it wouldn't be the smartest move for the show to address an unknown character with a cryptic anti-namedrop in the penultimate Season 1 installment, but maybe it's akin to The Walking Dead: Dead City introducing a wholly new teen character whose survival was vital to Negan, with that relationship not quick clicking for me during that first season. So while this isn't the likeliest option, a new threat outside of France could easily be an additional way this show will bridge the first and second seasons.
Theory 4: Carol Is Talking About Maggie And/Or Negan
I admittedly can't say with any degree of certainty where any of this is happening in the overall timeline, but I'll go ahead and throw out some bases-covered conjecture pointing to Negan and/or Maggie's return(s) being alluded to by Carol's broken transmission. I don't know what that would do for the storylines on either this show or Dead City's second season, but I wouldn't be surprised if the various upcoming Walking Dead TV shows and secondary seasons all connect together in the end.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon airs Sunday nights on AMC at 9:00 p.m. ET, and is available to stream with an AMC+ subscription.
