“Outpost 22” reveals what the Daryl and Carol spinoff could have been

Recently in The Walking Dead season 11 we saw Carol and Daryl take down Lance Hornsby. This moment is one example of how amazing the Daryl and Carol spinoff would have been.

Together, they showed the dapper leader of the Commonwealth some mercy and decided to let him go. But Lance wasn’t ready to give that up.

In an instant, Carol killed him with no reluctance at all. When it comes to protecting Daryl there is no need for thought, only action.

It was a fabulous showcasing of just how well they work together. Carol and Daryl don’t need to talk things out or formulate a plan.

All they need to do is simply look at each other and know. Having those rare moments in season 11 brought back the early days of The Walking Dead where the original characters were just so badass all the time that they could take on anything.

With that group everything was conquerable. In season 11 episode 21, “Outpost 22” the first scene of Daryl and Carol shows them seeing Connie held captive as a jeep pulls up with a soldier, with her in it.

They both look through the binoculars and spot her. Carol turns on the walkie and overhears the Commonwealth soldiers saying they will be sending her to Designation Two.

The way they are speaking to one another about being exiled there is not a good sign. With sympathy in their voices, it sounded like a place you don’t come back from.

Daryl immediately says they can’t go get her. They need to radio ahead.

His main and first priority is finding the kids. Going after her at the moment would cause great risk and could jeopardize them finding the kids at all.

Carol then suggests they hang back and follow the train to the others and bust them all out at once. She is always thinking a few steps ahead in order to save the most people.

They get ahead of the train, but Daryl is clearly anxious. The faster they can get Connie, the faster they can get to the kids.

Hanging back waiting on the train is taking too much time and he knows it is. We got to see a glimpse of how close the bond is between Daryl and Carol.

As the waiting persists, Daryl wants to go full Rambo on all of them and do whatever it takes to get them back. Carol is his safe harbor.

She is the only one who can calm him down and make him see things clearly. The only one who can pull him in.

We’ve seen this many times throughout the history of the series. Each time is more beautiful than the next.

To have that kind of person who knows you that well is something to hold. Carol tries to reach his level and brought up her own mistakes at the cave.

This event is something she hasn’t really talked about as she was reckless out of anger and fear. All she could see was revenge.

She knows now that taking things into your own hands too quickly and running off emotion can be disastrous. She tells Daryl if they go it alone they might be making the same mistakes again.

It reveals her growth and what she has learned from her own mistakes. She doesn’t want Daryl to make the same ones.

Daryl nods in agreement with Carol, knowing she is right, and her option is the smartest path. It also makes Daryl see her in another light and helps him understand the reason why she couldn’t hear him when she wanted revenge for Henry’s death.

Daryl see’s Judith and RJ as his children now. Being a father, he now knows exactly what Carol went through.

Carol gently grasps his hand at the end of the scene to calm him. With a small stroke of her thumb, this becomes an intimate moment between two people who love each other the most.

It was a rare instant in an emotionally high-strung episode. You never see anyone ever pulling Daryl back like this.

Nobody else can. It was a beautiful soft moment these two have rarely got to share all season.

What was the best moment of the episode?

The best moment in the episode was actually a moment not between Daryl and Carol, but between Maggie and Carol. It was something we seldom get to see, but when these two actresses have scenes together you can feel so much love and history between them.

They’ve both gone through so much connection and loss. Maggie is going through the same emotions as Daryl with Hershel being taken, and she can’t fathom anything happening to him.

She’s already lost so much, and Carol is someone who can relate immensely. Maggie breaks down in front of Carol, admitting she has herself to blame.

Carol is there for her in a way that really nobody was when she lost Henry. She tells Maggie that what happened is not on her.

She is only one person. As a parent we are always going to be responsible for our children.

Whatever happens to them falls back on you. It was in that moment Carol pulls her into an embrace knowing exactly what she was feeling.

She had gone through that pain not even very long ago.

"”You know, I barely saw Daryl when I got my new job at the Commonwealth. I barely saw anyone. Just doing our own thing. It was like the old world. Back then, we never would have spoken to each other. But after the fall we were forced to become family. That’s a good thing. It’s a gift that’s held, even in that place (the Commonwealth). They had to come at us when we were separated. What does that say to you?”-Carol explains to Maggie in season 11 episode 21 “Outpost 22”."

Maggie explains that they scare the s&*^ out of Pamela. She fears them because she knows what they can do.

Pamela knows she’s failed. She knows she messed with the wrong people.

Now that the dirty dark secrets of Pamela and Lance have been revealed they are no longer alone. The ones fighting against the Commonwealth’s power will now join in with the family and fight for a better future.

What the Daryl and Carol spinoff could have been

Later on, we got to see Daryl and Carol rescue Connie from the Commonwealth soldier. But what became clear in this episode to me was something that was lost, the Carol and Daryl spinoff.

We saw what it could have been. Even in just this episode in particular, we witnessed what it could’ve been, (and could still be); the most bad#$% show of all time.

Carol and Daryl have such a unique relationship with each other. It doesn’t really matter if you ship them or see them as friends.

They are in a class by themselves with a quality that you can’t find on television anywhere else. It is a relationship that formed organically through mutual pain and suffering from the life they had before the fall.

Abuse and hardships gave them a connection they didn’t share with anyone else. Then came the growth for each of them.

From becoming family, losing almost all of that family, to being the last two standing since season 1. With all that comes pain, but an even deeper love and an even stronger fight to hold onto it.

Sadly, Daryl will be having an adventure alone out in France in his upcoming Daryl Dixon spinoff. Though it’s sure to have its bad#$% moments, it would certainly be twice as bad#$% with Carol on board.

Melissa McBride unfortunately could not stay on board because of the filming location, but we really hope to see her again soon. We can’t wait to see what part she will still play in Daryl’s life heading forward.

As The Walking Dead wraps up fans are hoping to see much more of this formidable duo.

How much will you miss Carol and Daryl? And how do you feel about AMC’s The Walking Dead ending?

Let us know in the comments below!