Carol & Daryl Spinoff What It Means For The Walking Deads Final Season

The Walking Dead is shockingly coming to it's end, but what does the potential Carol and Daryl spinoff mean for the series?

As fans reel from the news that The Walking Dead will end its run after 11 seasons, airing the final season with a total of 24 episodes through 2020 and into early 2021, the network has satiated desires for the franchise with the announcement of several new potential spin-offs.

There is already an upcoming spin-off called Walking Dead: World Beyond, as well as the untitled films starring Andrew Lincoln reprising the character of Rick Grimes; along with, of course, Fear the Walking Dead, which will return for its sixth season. But another one centered around the characters of Carol and Daryl could be in the works, too.

It won't debut until 2023, but until then, the idea of a spin-off starring these two fan favorites suggests plenty about the final season of the core show.

10 Daryl And Carol Will Survive

There's really no way around it: unless the spin-off show takes place entirely in a dream sequence, chances are high that both Daryl and Carol will survive to the end of the show. Fans who planned to riot should either of them be taken out can rest easy since there's little chance of that happening.

That said, shows like The Walking Dead have been known to throw viewers off course. Is this spin-off news fake just to wrongfully reassure fans that neither Carol nor Daryl will die? It's always a possibility.

9 There Won't Be A Resolution

If two core characters are planned to appear in a new series, it means there will be more story to tell about them. So, any possibility of a resolution or end to the apocalypse to tie the show up with a little red bow is pretty much out of the question now.

For a show about Carol and Daryl to be successful, it will need to be just as intense, engaging, and horrifying as the original. Which means things might end on a cliffhanger of sorts.

8 A Lot Of People Will Die

If Carol and Daryl are to be the only ones to appear in a new show, chances are that their entire group of friends and family will be wiped out. Otherwise, if other characters from The Walking Dead were to join them on a new show, how would it be any different from just continuing the existing show?

The news suggests that Alexandria, The Kingdom, and even The Saviors' Outposts (whatever is left of them) will be obliterated, leaving the pair to travel to a new destination.

7 They Make Up

When viewers left Carol and Daryl on the last season, there was some tension between them. Carol's breakdown and her obsession with taking down Alpha inadvertently led to a cave falling in and left Connie presumably dead.

While Daryl will always love Carol, he was angry and clearly needed some time to cool off. A series with them at the heart of it suggests that they will kiss (not literally) and make up fully by the end of the final season. Or maybe their relationship has changed forever and a spin-off will look at how that evolves.

6 They Go Their Own Ways

As noted, AMC likes to mess with fans sometimes. And the announcement of a spin-off starring these two characters makes fans assume they will be together. But just like The Walking Dead has often moved among timelines and settings from one episode to the next, is it possible that Daryl is in one place and Carol is in another?

Perhaps each episode focuses on one or the other, or divides screen time as viewers see Daryl's path, then Carol's, and they work their way towards reuniting at some point? It's worth considering that this could mean they go their separate ways by the end of the final season.

5 Connie Could Be In It

Fans are still holding out hope that Connie is still alive. And since Connie is the first person to suggest a twinge of romantic interest in Daryl since Beth, fans have long been hoping that Daryl will finally find love.

Ezekiel, Carol's ex, will almost certainly die before the season ends. But that doesn't mean the end of her love story. Meanwhile, if Connie did survive the cave and comes back, might she become Daryl's love interest now, or even into the new series?

4 There Probably Won't Be Romance

Lots of fans have been "shipping" a romantic relationship between Daryl and Carol for years. And while they understand one another better than anyone else, they seem to be content remaining platonic best friends.

And if there's a season about the two of them, chances are it isn't going to switch genres to become a romantic drama set in a world of horror. So, it's safe to assume that there will be no romantic rendezvous between the two before the series ends.

3 Beta Could Live

Usually, the big villain dies at the end of their story arc. But if the story is going to continue, it means that the core villain might not be completely gone when the series ends. That villain right now is Beta, who has taken over as the mentally unstable and vengeful leader of the Whisperers. And he is out for blood.

It's possible that Beta could take everyone out except Daryl and Carol and the spin-off picks up where the story left off as the two continue a cat and mouse game with the menacing character. Beta and Daryl's head-to-head fight scene was one of the most intense of recent seasons. So, these two are likely to come face-to-face again, if not in this final season then in the spin-off.

2 It Will Be Bittersweet

The show will be coming to an end, which is a sad occasion for die-hard fans who have been invested in the story from the very beginning. But they will also be happy knowing that they will get to see two of their favorite characters return, even if they have to wait years to discover the fate of the story.

Will there be a time jump? Will there be a cliff-hanger? Will Carol and Daryl run off together? Crossover with Rick Grimes and the movies? Whatever the events, chances are it will be bittersweet for both viewers and the characters.

1 No Time Jump In The Finale

Since those dream sequences of Old Man Rick, many have suspected that the series would end with a time jump showing an adult Judith (instead of Carl) living with her family in a post-apocalyptic world.

Now knowing that a spin-off series will take place, unless it fills in the gaps of missing time between the end of the present day in the final season and a supposed time jump, chances are the series won't end with a look into the far future.