I have to laugh when the show runner doesn’t hide that there is nothing more to CE pairing than comic storyline. Not some great chemistry that the producers saw and wanted to run with (lol of course not). Even the other king of trolling BD from c0micb00k.c0m said taking the CE direction surprised him as “TWD was built on Carol and Daryl”. That there is the truth. It’s hard to hold on though, so I just hope that the end justifies the means!!!

Hi nonny :) 

At first I was surprised to see AK barely defending her decision to make CZ canon - or at least I haven’t read such interview - but yeah turns out she blatantly admits that she is following the Michonne/Zeke storyline from the comics. And that is not the only thing, they spoiled the ship becoming canon months before the premiere, and to me not wanting it to be a surprise means that it is not big of a deal. which is also why we see their relationship months after it has actually started, we didn’t get any first kiss for instance - that’s a great indicator of the “unimportance” of this ship. I’m using quotation marks here because the relationship may not be a huge deal for the audience but it is still important for the writers and the story they’re trying to tell. They need a tool to get from a point A to a point B: point B being Zeke’s death and how to make it memorable to the audience because if it were not for his bond w/ Carol (a popular original character) the audience wouldn’t care much for his death tbh - I’m not denying that he is a great guy, I honestly think he is funny, kind and super handsome - but he is not of great importance within the show. This relationship is a tool to sell a death and add some drama here and there (like this sort of love triangle we’re having)

One more proof of that is the fact that it is now canon that Carol and Daryl are soulmates (AK), that they trust each other more than anybody in their lives (Mel), and are each other’s breathing room (Mel too). None of that was said about CZ. It’s a huge deal, think about it, CZ just became canon, but who is defined as soulmates? Caryl. It shouldn’t be the case if CZ were meant to be. They’re sabotaging their own creation lol

Caryl on nonny, I know it’s hard, I too have days during which I’m completely hopeless about this show and about Caryl but most days I choose to believe. I can’t help but feel like they’re endgame. We won’t get canon this season, but maybe in s10 or 11. I can’t believe I’m about to quote AK again but “stories change and things move along” and it’s another thing I believe in. It also helps that I honestly still love the show because it means a lot to me for personal reasons and I’ll stay as long as Carol is here. 

Here’s my speculation on how canon could happen:

- Z dies at the end of s9 (wish he didn’t have to but I don’t see them break up although I could be wrong) 

- Carol is in full revenge mode throughout s10. She wants the whisperers dead. 

- Daryl still wants to go back on the road. Carol may want the same thing because she doesn’t want to lose more ppl (especially D) but revenge feels like the right thing to do regarding Zeke. Of course Daryl won’t leave without helping his boo. I have hope that after Z’s departure, things between C&D will get more and more ambiguous but C will be like “I can’t right now Pookie” and D will be ok because he understands his boo and because DRAMA 

- They all end up getting revenge, win the war blablabla at the end of s10

- They leave the communities. Start over. Carol and Daryl face their shit. They kiss. We die of happiness. 

It probably won’t happen like that lol. But I love the idea. And even if it happens differently, I want to believe that it WILL happen. Too many easter eggs, too many, looks, hugs and beautiful things were said for them to forever stay in a “will they won’t they” relationship. AMC and the writers are not that dumb, they know what works, which is why they use Caryl to promote, which is why they make CZ vs. CD polls, knowing perfectly which ship is the most popular. They suck because they lead us on and they’re taking their sweet time to make Caryl happen (and lose tons of fans in the process) but again I choose to believe they eventually will make them canon and that it has been part of their plan for a really long time. 

This answer is probably more than you asked for nonny, sorry about that lol. I hope you have a lovely day! Caryl on :) 

- of course all of this is just my opinion, I don’t want anyone to come at me in my asks, I don’t care for ship wars and I won’t answer -