#the amc show had things going for it but i think i'll return to my little corner of books where i already know everything that happens

[romanticize-and-decay]

not a man saying SA makes someone "toughen up"

[local-limebug]

everything i know about interview with the vampire (amc), from someone who has not watched interview with the vampire (amc) and has only consumed it via mutuals rb'ing gifsets but plans to watch it soon

this is my pre-gaming for watching this show. dipping a metaphorical toe into the fandom. i haven't read the books either.

there are 3 vampires: lestat, louis, and armand

armand's name may or may not be amadeo?

lestat and louis had a daughter named claudia

claudia was unhinged (which is fair. i would be too if i was stuck at age 15 forever)

claudia had a girlfriend named madeline

claudia and madeline died together (without even having kissed each other. true love? sapphic teenagerism? perhaps both)

claudia's death caused lestat and louis to break up after like a century of dating or something

armand killed claudia?

there was a play involved in claudia's death...? i am incredibly confused about this one

either it was a play or an execution

the love triangle seems convoluted

armand is in love with louis and lestat is also in love with louis and lestat & armand have definitely also fucked each other

louis should just get the hell out of there actually. free my boy louis !!!

the interview is being done by daniel molloy who is bi (?) and definitely into that kinky shit

daniel molloy fucked either louis or armand in his youth (during the 80s maybe?). possibly he fucked both. the human pet of the marriage

daniel's memories got messed with to... forget fucking the vampires? idk. p sure armand did it though

that seems to be the consensus for most things in this show

armand did it.

claudia died? armand did it. daniel's memory got wiped? armand did it. louis stubbed his toe? armand probably did it.

armand needs to be sent to vampire jail this guy's a menace

also lestat had a midlife crisis after louis left him for armand and became a rockstar. i hope they release his songs on spotify as marketing. i wanna hear it

BONUS: lestat's album flops? armand did it.

anyway now daniel is old and interviewing armand and louis in dubai?

armand eats suicidal ppl?

daniel causes armand and louis' marriage to fall through

that's louis' 2nd failed marriage

surprisingly not his fault either time i think

armand turns daniel into a vamp

this is signficiant because armand has never turned anyone into a vamp

armand is going to fuck that old man

that old man has kids apparently

and swore someone out on live tv

BONUS 2: daniel got turned into a vampire? armand did it.

seriously what the hell is armand's problem (said affectionately. i have a feeling he's gonna be my fav when i watch)

does lestat know daniel?

claudia may or may not return from the dead

if she does i'll blame that on armand too

is armand french or not? he lives in dubai. has a french accent (?) but also not.

lestat is french. louis and claudia are american.

surprisingly, the americans are the nicest of the bunch. rare american W

also can lestat fly? did he throw louis from like... a 4 story height? ppl on twitter were mad abt it like last year

are there any other characters in this show except the ones i've named. it's been 2 seasons. 6 characters cannot be all there is.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

https://www.ign.com/articles/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-season-1-review-norman-reedus

Do you think this makes it sound doubtful that beth will return? This is the first 6 episodes review

Okay, so I've read about 10 of these review articles over the past day or two. I get that it doesn't say we'll see Beth, but I actually think it sounds VERY promising. A lot of what me and my fellow theorists have been saying for a long time now is already being confirmed.

I'm going to combine several Asks into one post so I can gather all my thoughts in one area. I'll also insert some of the articles in case you want to read them yourself. Just keep in mind that they do have a lot of spoilers.

If you read across all the articles out there, some of them clearly are loving the Daryl spinoff, while others are much more negative and hate it. (Most of them seem to harbor negative feelings toward Norman and TWD in general, so I wouldn't take their words too seriously.) But you start to notice similarities between the articles. Most of them talk about the same things in the series, and we start to get a lot of hints toward what we'll see.

It's true that they don't mention Beth and some go out of their way to say that there are no other familiar faces from TWD. But keep in mind a couple of things about that:

1) I think that's aimed toward the Carylers. They're so sure we're going to see Carol at some point, and to me, it doesn't sound like we will. Or, if we do, it will be at such a last possible secondn to kick us into season 2, that her presence will have absolutely no effect on season 1.

2) Several of the reviewers have said that AMC swore them to secrecy when it comes to episodes 5 and 6. So, they've said some general stuff about how amazing episode 5 is gonna be, but overall, they can't say anything about what they saw in those episodes. So even if someone big showed up (Carol, Beth, Rick, Shane, lol) they wouldn't be able to say.

And I think it's SUPER significant that AMC would swear them to secrecy about those episodes. When the show literally leaked Troy's return 15 minutes after the FTWD Coda with the "mysterious" person, why would they demand that those receiving the screeners not reveal anything about the final two episodes of the Daryl Spinoff. Sounds all kinds of promising to me.

But there's plenty more. Let me just mention some things that stick out that seem to confirm we're right about smaller things (i.e. not Beth, per se). If you read across all the articles, there are actually a LOT of spoilers for the first few episodes. You can piece together a lot of the story from what's said. Yet, there's nothing about Carol, as I've already mentioned, and nothing suggesting a Daryl/Isabelle romance.

I did read one that said there are some "romance tropes" they use between the two of them, that are sure to get the Daryl shippers all fired up, but we don't actually hear about a relationship.

To me, that just means we'll see more of the same. Just as with Connie, just as with Carol, or Rosita, or just about anyone else he's had friendships with, he will be close to Isabelle and they'll connect on a deep level. Because of that, we're sure to see some Daryl/Isabelle shippers spring up, and the more angry people who ship Daryl with someone else (we all know who they are) will be on the warpath.

But I think if we were truly going to see a Daryl/Isabelle romance, it would be apparent in some way from these reviews. Even if they didn't come right out and say it, they would be frustrated that something is going to happen to inflame the shipping wars and would say so.

Another thing certain shippers were saying is that the leaked pictures of Daryl near the moose crossing sign were just down the road from the Commonwealth and were a scene where Carol caught up with him before he left the states and they had some kind of interaction.

That's proven to be false. We're now being told by the screeners that he's in Maine, very far from the Commonwealth, and Carol is nowhere in sight. To those of us to *actually* follow the details of the story and the symbolism, this has a lot more ties to Tales of the Walking Dead's Davon episode. If you haven't watched it, I would highly suggest you do. We're hoping to see some obvious ties to it in the show.

Of all the articles I read, this may be my favorite. It just gushes about how good Daryl's spinoff is, and has lots of good clues in it. But yes, the line you mention, Nonny, really stood out to me.

If you read carefully, it says Daryl will be asked about those he loves, and being Daryl, he's fairly closed-mouthed about it. But they specifically entangle that idea with him saying, or almost saying, a name that will break the internet. The Carylers, obviously, assume it will be Carol. But would him saying her name break the internet? I don't think so.

Exactly!

It doesn't make sense that Carol's name would break the internet. He already told Carol he loved her before leaving the CW, so it wouldn't be anything new. The names of any other character (Rick? Judith? Michonne?) wouldn't either because the audience knows they're out there somewhere. To break the internet as the reviewer suggests, it would have to be someone we don't know about (most of the GA doesn't think Beth is alive) or something we haven't heard Daryl say before.

So, here's what I'm guessing/hoping for. What if someone (Isabelle, I'm assuming) asks Daryl if he's ever been in love? Now, it says it's an "almost" name drop, so maybe he doesn't actually say Beth's name, but mentions a girl he once ended up alone on the road with or something.

That would be sublime. 😍

And naturally other shippers think he'll refer to Carol. But here's the thing. Let's say--you know, just for kicks--that he IS talking about romantic love and he DID refer to Carol. I still don't think that would break the internet. Sure, the Caryl shippers would go absolutely ballistic with triumph and joy, but remember that, while they're very loud and vocal, they're just a small part of the internet. Most of the GA doesn't know who they are any more than they know who we are. And I think the after TWD viewer who isn't part of the ship wars would just go, "huh. Okay. So they finally had Daryl say he was in love with someone." And then they would shrug and move on. Because most of the GA wants Daryl to find a happy ending, but they don't care overly much who it's with.

Now, obviously I DON'T think he's going to say Carol's name, in a romantic or any other capacity. My point is just that no matter how you slice it, Daryl saying Carol's name would not break the internet, so that can't be what the reviewer is talking about.

But referring to Beth would be completely different. We've never heard him talk about her before. And if he talks about feelings he had for her, well, even the average viewer remembers his and Beth's storyline (AMC has certainly kept it in the forefront of most people's minds all these years) and would have an emotional reaction to Daryl talking about her, and even more so if he says he loved her.

Now, of course this is all speculation one way or the other. We have no idea what he will actually be talking about in that scene. Again, this is just what I'm guessing/hoping for, because it's the only thing I can think of that would "break the internet" as the article says.

So, I've already addressed most of this. I'm not getting the Daryl/Isabelle romance thing at all when I read the articles. Again, just read them very carefully. It says there are set ups that feel like romance tropes, but it doesn't actually say there's a relationship, and the same thing could have been said of Connie and plenty of others.

As for the happy ending, I really think we'll see something of that by the end of the first season, but remember that the reviewers have admitted they can't talk about that. But even if we don't get a total Daryl/Beth reunion in S1, keep in mind that Judith's line about his happy ending probably spans the entire spinoff series.

And if I'm right about him mentioning Beth, (yes, still a big IF right now) well, there's no reason to do that unless they're foreshadowing her coming back into the story.

So, as always, we'll have to wait and see what the episodes bring us.

Can reviews be misleading? Yes. Definitely. And I don't even think it's always done purposely on the part of the reviewer. Sometimes yes, sometimes, no. But we have someone who has seen the show and is trying to reveal it without spoiling it. Each reviewer has their own thoughts and impressions and biases that naturally leak into their reviews. Some of them don't have English as their first language. Some of them are Caryl shippers, and that will make their reviews sound a certain way.

So, you just have to keep in mind that these reviewers are human beings with their own insights and opinions. And while that might make their review come off as misleading, it's really just that they have their own interpretation of what they're seeing, just as we do. Whose to say who's right or wrong? (Except we're totally right. 😉😁😇)

Overall, I've really enjoyed reading all these articles and harvesting clues and insights from them. I'm more excited for the Daryl spinoff than ever and still think it is leading to Beth. And we'll get episode 1 in just a few days. (Yay! 🎉)

Xoxo! 🍁🍂💓

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Bring Back Madison Post + Norman Posting Bethyl!

A couple of things to point out today. I'll start with the shorter of the two. Yesterday, Norman posted a reel from Still in his Instastories. Yay!

It will still be there for part of the day today, if you want to check it out, but then it will disappear.

The next thing lots of people were sending me yesterday was this post from @feartwd on IG. It's about how/why they brought Madison back.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fear the Walking Dead (@feartwd)

Here was my first reaction to it, which I sent to a follower on IG:

I think this is a hint. Sure, Madison had some fans who wanted her back, but not nearly as many as Beth. There was so much more “bring Beth back” after Coda than Madison ever had. I think this is them hinting that it could be true of other characters too.

And then my fellow theorists talking about it. I had not read their conversation yet when I wrote the above, but I had to chuckle because I did right after, and chimed in as you'll see below, and we all came to the EXACT same conclusions 😊:

@galadrieljones:

Hey friends. Interesting post from Fear AMC today. Am interview with Kim Dickens claiming that it was really due to the fan base and their vocal outcry to “bring back Madison” that the showrunners decided to bring her back.

Is this true? Look maybe there are like three dozen rabid Madison fans out there.

Interesting to me, because Beth had an actual real outcry that made national news, and ppl still actually do ask Emily about it, and they have been bringing Emily back to TTD as a fan favorite for years.

Is this tptb casually letting fans know that they listen and respond?

Once again, I can’t imagine the outcry was that big for Madison. I love Fear but frankly it’s just not that popular, and Madison was just not that good of a character.

@wdway:

I really don't think we can even compare the reaction between Beth and Madison death it's like day and night. The other thing is that Fear/tptb did not want Madison's being alive as a huge surprise remember last year, they announced it months in advance. The only unknown was when she was going to show up. The viewers had to wait till the very end of the season to see her. No surprise, no shock at all. In reading comments during that time there were just as many people if not more who didn't care for her character and didn't feel she needed to return as there were that were happy to see her.

@galadrieljones:

Yeah, if anything it seemed to inspire a lot of indifferent to slightly happy reactions. That said I see tons of ppl who are hopeful to see Alicia again.

@wdway:

Agreed. I'm one of those who is looking forward and hopeful of seeing Alicia again.

@galadrieljones:

Me, too!! She could be doing anything. I hope she’s gotten into some deep stuff with the CRM lol (I just want more info , but also, I liked her.)

@wdway:

I'm looking forward to watching Fear early on Thursday but I'm torn as to what I expect or hope to see. I don't expect to see any real hints of Beth because we're going to go into it with a time jump. There was be a lot of filling in information just from that happening. At the same time though they're not having a long season so they're going to have to finish the entire series in what, 12 episodes total?

@galadrieljones:

This random guy’s reply to the tweet about Madison being back made me happy because immediately I was like, “Hmm yeah would be a great idea to bring Emily back after Melissa pulled out of the spin-off” LOL

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I’m LOLing bc I hadn’t read this yet, but someone sent me this post on IG and I had the exact same thoughts as you too. Shocker, I know.

Did 60K people sign a petition to bring Madison back? Did Gimple receive—what was it? 5000 or was it more like 20000–spoons from fans, demanding she be brought back? Nope. Only Beth. I honestly think they’re forcing the Madison story a little bit because they want it to be a template for Beth. That’s fine, but they’re definitely inventing more fervor than is truly there.

@galadrieljones:

Madison’s entire thing was “No one’s gone until they’re gone.” They’re absolutely using her to normalize radical returns of “dead” characters lol. And like I’m sorry I think that tag was totally astroturfed to make it seem like there was an outcry so they could use that as an excuse. Madison has been gone for many years. There’s no way to investigate that tag (#bringmadisonback) and to see how popular it actually was!! Just imagining tptb talking about the public outcry for Beth and how they finally listened after all these years. They’re extremely excited to have Emily back on set and can’t wait to reveal what’s in store for her (and Daryl)

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Agreed! It’s been a long time in coming. Part of the reason I can’t wait for Fear is bc I’m sure Madison’s arc will be one great big template for Beth’s. Yay!

That's all. Just wanted to point out the suspiciousness of it. And could it possibly be significant that these things are being posted literally days before the final season of Fear starts? Hmmm. 🤔

[twdmusicboxmystery]

How do u think the negan/Maggie spin off will affect Beth’s return?

Okay, so I got about 20 of these. Just posting a few of them here, but let's talk about this. This may be semi-lenthy.

First off guys, this really isn't a bad thing. It's actually very exciting. We finally have a concrete explanation for why they decided to end the flagship show and transfer the story into spinoff (s). And I'll admit the reason is a little different than I thought.

The What and Why:

I've always said I thought it had to do with Kirkman ending the comics and legal issues surrounding that. Nothing bad. Just AMC needing to completely kosher for legal and business reasons as they move away from Kirkman's source material and into completely new material coming from it's own writers.

And I'm sure that still plays a part in the whole thing, though it may be more of a byproduct than a cause.

For those who don't know, the information that was released is that the decision has a lot more to do with streaming rights. AMC has an agreement with Netflix that says Netflix gets TWD episodes X amount of time after it airs for the life of the show.

Now, that was probably a super awesome agreement for AMC 10 years ago when Netflix was really the only streaming giant around. But obviously the world has changed a lot since then, especially in terms of technology. AMC has it's own streaming app now (as do most entertainment companies) and they want the streaming right to revert back to them.

Yes, it's definitely a money thing, but it's also a prudence thing as the TWDU expands.

The only way to legally and ethically accomplish this (i.e. without breaking the contract with Netflix which would probably result in legal action on Netflix's part, and rightly so) is to end the flagship series, which is part of that agreement, and move the show to new series which wouldn't be included in the Netflix contract.

Also, after the show ends, the clock starts ticking for Netflix and after a few years (not sure how many) the streaming rights to old seasons will revert to AMC anyway. So, that's why they're doing this. There's nothing illegal or immoral about it. They're just making business decisions for the future of TWDU.

So, that's what's going on. Now let's talk about the repercussions to the series.

What It Means for the Story:

First of all, this just backs up everything I've said since we first heard about the so-called "Daryl-Carol" spinoff. I've always said that was just the way they billed it, and that really, the ambiance of the show wouldn't change at all. It's the exact same show; it will just be moved to a new vehicle (spinoff series).

All the same characters (barring any that are killed in S11) will still be part of the TWDU in one of the series.

So, we don't know how it will all play out, but it could be that they'll do many small, short-run series moving forward (much like The World Beyond) for different parts of the story. A season or two for Maggie and Negan. A season or two for Carol and Daryl (which for the record is, I think, the most likely one to include Beth stuff). Of course we know this Tales of the Walking Dead is in the works, which many of have speculated might include Beth's backstory. Of course there's still FTWD, and then wherever Rick and Michonne end up.

@galadrieljones even made the observation that maybe the Rick Grimes films were originally part of this Netflix agreement, and AMC is trying to change that, which might be part of the delays around those films.

I'm wondering if maybe they want to change the format all together. Films would have been super fun, but hardly anyone is going to the movies these days. Maybe they want to change them to short form series instead. Just speculation on my part. Maybe we'll still get movies. We simply don't know.

Why Is This a Good Thing?

Think about all the stories I just listed above. That's a lot of narrative to go through. If they tried to do that with only one series, it would take a LONG time. I mean, they could spend an entire half-season, and in many cases, an entire season, on each of these. And that always means each story moving more slowly as they try to tell them all at the same time.

But by breaking them out into individual spinoffs, we can get several stories, moving faster, and told at the same time. We can feasibly have new TWD content year-round.

Does that enable our TWD addiction? Of course! But you won't hear me complaining.

As I keep saying, this show isn't going anywhere for a long time.

Maggie/Negan Spinoff

So, this is actually REALLY interesting. My peeps and I have batted a lot of ideas around about it.

First off, several of my fellow theorists, especially @frangipanilove, has talked a lot about New York and how she's thought maybe the storyline, especially as concerns the CRM, might go to New York eventually. We also had Ithaca, NY mentioned in TWB. So, we're seeing that NY has something to do with the CRM. We just don't know exactly what.

The main connection is through the apple symbolism. New York is often referred to as "The Big Apple."

And now, what do you know? One of the spinoffs is headed to New York. Isn't TD symbolism great?

The real question is why they would end up going to New York together. I have one theory on what might spur Maggie to head to New York, but I'm not sure how Negan will factor in yet.

We've long theorized that the kids (i.e. Judith, RJ, Gracie, Hershel) might be kidnapped at some point. And over the past few years, I've come to believe it will specifically be by the CRM.

So, our basic theory right now is that Hershel will be taken and Maggie is going to New York to look for him. Again, not sure why Negan would go, but I'm sure that will become clear as we near the end of S11. (And of course, that's assuming this theory pans out; we just can't think of any reason would leave Hershel and go so far away without him, especially in Negan's company. But if she's going TOWARD Hershel, that's a different thing entirely.)

Now, I think I have two distinct pieces of evidence that make this scenario with Hershel very likely.

The first is the plot of 10x17, Home Sweet Home. I'm pretty sure I said this at the time, but what happened in that episode felt like a foreshadow of a bigger arc to me. So, we had a disaster and Hershel went missing. Maggie and Daryl went and looked for him, and found him at the end of the episode.

But my contention was that, sometime in the future, Hershel would go missing in much bigger way, and Maggie would have to search for him. Only the bigger arc would span many episodes, not just one. So, I'm wondering if that's what the Maggie/Negan spinoff will be based around.

The other thing is a very minor spoiler from 11x12. It's not a plot spoiler, just a symbolism one.

At one point, Daryl hands Hershel a small crate of apples. Not only do apples represent separation and later reunion, but as I said above, apples might also represent New York.

So, here's the thing, guys. I've been thinking about this for a day or two, now. Everyone wants to know where I think these spinoffs are going. This is my best theory/guess for now, based on past symbolism we've seen.

Just understand my theories will probably evolve as we learn more.

So, here goes. We never actually saw apples around Beth, that I recall. The symbolism of the apple most definitely applies to her, but we never saw her, for example, bite into an apple while at Grady or anything.

Who DID we see bite into an apple, though?

Rick and Michonne. Back in 6x15 (I think?) there was a bedroom scene where they woke up together. There was an apple on the table and they both took a bite of it. I didn't know what it meant at the time, but for several seasons now (since we knew about Rick's death fake out, really) I've realized that foreshadowed their coming separation, followed by reunion.

If you think about it, we had a series of hints of this since S6. We had the apple, then a few episodes later, in S7, we met Jadis for the first time, who eventually would take Rick into the CRM. And of course in 7x12 we had a much more obvious foreshadow of Rick's death fake out at the carnival.

Another apple reference? When Michonne is with Virgil on the ship and finds Rick's boots, she also finds a phone with what looks like a sketch of her and Judith scratched into it. There isn't any branding on the phone (probably for legal/trademark purposes) but it looks an awful lot like an iphone. Which is also called Apple.

So, my theory at this juncture is that the Maggie/Negan/NY spinoff will lead to Rick and Michonne. The Daryl/Carol spinoff will lead to Beth.

And honestly, this is why there's so much symbolism that sometimes seems to contradict. It gets really jumbled because some of it probably points to Rick and other stuff points to Beth. All of it revolves around the CRM, so it's nearly impossible to disentangle the two.

We've also discussed that maybe the kids are taken, but taken to different places by the CRM. So, maybe Judith is taken West (think New Mexico symbolism, which we've heard heavily around Daryl and Carol; when they were out in the woods together; on Daryl's bike; talking about leaving) while Hershel is taken North to New York. So it might be a matter of the two groups splitting up to go get each kid, you know?

(And of course this is pure conjecture. We have no idea if it will play out this way. Just some ideas we've batted around. But again, based on templates we've observed in the past, especially templates from Find Me and Diverged, it makes a lot of sense.)

Heck, I’ll even point to the fact that the “Don’t Dead Open Inside” doors are on the Maggie/Negan spinoff poster. That’s always been a Rick thing. And there’s a sign for the “Lincoln” tunnel. Just saying. 

For those who are still worried about Beth showing up at all:

I get it, but consider this. If Rick is alive, but Beth isn't, why would they send Daryl and Carol somewhere else? Narratively, it doesn't make any sense. Why not have all four main characters go to the place where they'll happen to run into Rick?

There must be something specific that pulls Daryl elsewhere. Something that keeps him from going with Maggie. I wonder what THAT could be. *sarcasm*

I'll even take it a step further: he helped Maggie find Hershel in HSH, so it would make sense that he would go with her in the bigger arc. But from what we know of the two spinoffs, that doesn't see to be the case. So, why would they have put him in that episode with her?

Well, again, if he's looking for Judith, or one of the other kids, it makes sense. He'll still be searching for someone, just not Hershel.

I'll point one other thing out as well. During Home Sweet Home, when Maggie are searching for a missing child together, whose name was mentioned for the first time in 5+ seasons? That would be Beth. 👀

One last thing to address about this spinoff: I'm seeing that a lot of people are upset because we now know that these four main characters (Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Negan) will survive season 11.

I mean, I get it, but because I've never thought the spinoffs were quite what they pretended they would be, I never thought any of these characters would die before the end of S11 anyway. They all still have too much story to tell.

From a marketing perspective, they also have to create hype about the spinoffs. As someone who does fiction marketing, let me just tell you how difficult it can be to get the audience to jump series. If the stories are well told, you can be very successful, but you have to get your marketing ducks in a row and that means creating hype. So, I'm not surprised they're announcing it now.

And if we want these series to do well and the TWDU to continue, we kinda need to support that.

Daryl and Carol Spinoff

I don't have tons more to say about this right now. People are asking why we already have a title and graphic for the Maggie/Negan spinoff, but we don't have one for the Daryl/Carol spinoff.

Obviously, I don't know. But my guess would be that it's because it's not quite what they've told us it will be, and when we get the title and graphic for it, that will be obvious.

So, we keep joking that, if it's really going to be the Daryl/Carol Honeymoon Roadshow (what the Carylers want) then why don't they just title that and give us a romantic Daryl/Carol graphic for it?

Because that's NOT what it's going to be. Otherwise they would have done that already. Whatever the title ends up being might make it obvious that this is just an extension of the flagship show and not what many shippers believe it will be. So, they're holding off.

It also could be that putting out stuff about it might suggest some spoilers for how S11 will end, and they don't want to reveal too much. It was just safer to put out info about the Maggie/Negan one without giving much away.

I want to mention that I've theorized about what would make Daryl and Carol take off together for a long time. One thing I considered was him hearing Rick's voice on a radio or finding out about Rick in some way. But I also considered him going after the kids. And it's something I considered long before we know what we know now.

What made me think that? Because of the template set forth in TWB. You'd have to go back and read my analysis from S1 of that show, but Felix and Huck are clearly proxies for Carol and Daryl. And the reason they set out at the beginning of that series is because two kids (teenagers in that case, so older than Judith and Hershel, but still) who were in their charge, left, and they went after them.

I mean, it fits exactly. Because in TWB, Hope and Iris aren't Felix and Huck's children. They are just kids who were left in their charge while their father is in NEW YORK (or so they think.) That lines up perfectly with Daryl taking care of Rick and Michonne's kids, and Rick possibly being in New York. I'm just mentioning.

Another question I have is, what will be the "main" series moving forward. What I mean is, will they do multiple small series, as I talked about above, and then eventually bring them all back into one, main series? Or will the Daryl/Carol spinoff be the main series, and all the other characters will eventually rejoin it?

I kind of think the latter is most likely, and that may be the reason that 1) it was the first one announced and 2) they aren't giving us the name of it yet. It's going to be the main, flagship series moving forward. But, we can't know for sure, and we'll just have to wait and see.

Either way, I think they'll do all these little series for a while, but eventually I think TF (and maybe even Fear and TWB characters) will converge into one series which will be the bulk of the CRM war.

Okay, so I've rambled WAY too much about this for one day. Overall, I'm excited by this revelation. It's confirming things we've theorized for a while. I still firmly believe Beth is involved in the CRM storyline, and the Carol/Daryl spinoff will most likely lead to him finding her. So, this is all just leading to the ultimate CRM war and all the storylines around it that will play out.

So, I'm on board. Thoughts?

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Daryl Origins + Social Media

So, just a quick post today to point a couple of things out. I'll have my analysis of the 11B trailer up tomorrow.

The first is this, and I'm quite late in posting it:

Emily posted this about a week ago, and it's super suspicious. The line, "Maybe it's all going as planned" is reminiscent of several things in the show. The "it went the way it had to; the way it was always going to" from 5x09. Even Mika, back in S4 said, "Everything always turns out the way it's supposed to" multiple times.

And of course we at TD are all about the "plans" the writers have had for Beth since S3/S4 at least.

Of course, she did her return star emoji with it. I can't help but always side-eye the things she attaches that to.

And I also notice that she conspicuously included both a lamp and a guitar in the shot. Both heavy Beth symbols in the show.

So, like I said, I'm late in posting this. I know others have already noticed and analyzed it, but I wanted to bring it to the attention of anyone who hadn't. After all, we're only a few weeks out from 11b, and it feels like she's alluding to things from the show. 👀

The other thing I wanted to point out is this:

Norman posted this in his story a few days ago.

For those who don't know, starting tonight (Sunday) and for the next 4 weeks leading up to 11b, they're going to be airing the Origins episodes on regular AMC tv.

That's important for a few reasons. Before, they only aired the Origins episodes on AMC+. So, only subscribers could see them. Those of you who were following me when they first aired already know about them and have seen my analysis (X, X).

But now they're letting the GA, even the ones who aren't AMC+ subscribers, see them. That feels purposeful right before we head into 11b. After all, in Daryl's Origins episode (on tonight, I believe) we get the first official admission that Daryl had feelings for Beth. It's like they're trying to remind viewers about her before we get to the B part of the season.

Now, the above is just Norman promoting the airing of the Origins episode, and it's not even his edit. He reposted it from someone else. But notice a couple of things. First, it says 7.15, which I think is when the Origins episodes first aired last year. So, this is an old edit from 2021. Not a big deal, but why repost this one specifically when it has an old date on it?

I think it's because of the coloring. The first thing I noticed about this, before I even registered that he was promoting the Origins episodes, was the red and green color scheme. We've seen those colors very paired very blatantly on the show, and we believe them to be representative of death followed by resurrection. So naturally, we link them to Beth.

I'll talk about this more tomorrow in my Trailer Analysis, but I feel like they're hinting that there will be a major resurrection of some kind in 11b. Or at least, I hope that's what they're hinting at.

Anyway, I highly recommend watching the Origins episode tonight if you haven't seen it before.

Thoughts?