The Walking Dead Season 10 Finale Maps Out New Direction for Daryl and Carol

The Walking Dead maps out a road trip to New Mexico in its Season 10 finale, “A Certain Doom,” which sets up a new direction for Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride). After silencing the Whisperers once and for all by finishing off Beta (Ryan Hurst) and destroying Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) walker horde, Daryl and Carol reconcile in the aftermath of the Whisperer War. The best friends aren’t taking off together just yet, but showrunner Angela Kang continues to plant seeds for the sequel spinoff that will see Daryl and Carol hitting the open road after the end of The Walking Dead.

When Daryl asks Carol if she got what she wanted, meaning some sort of peace after losing son Henry (Matt Lintz) and her marriage to King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), Carol admits, “No. And I won’t. Not really.”

“You still got me,” Daryl says, taking her in a hug. “New Mexico is still out there.” After a moment, Carol responds, “Maybe someday. We still have things to do here.”

Daryl and Carol daydreamed about taking a ride to the Land of Enchantment in the Season 10 premiere, “Lines We Cross,” penned by Kang. The longtime Walking Dead writer-producer will carry on as showrunner on the as-yet-untitled spinoff she created with Scott Gimple, the chief content officer of the Walking Dead Universe.

Tired of “just surviving one fight to the next,” Daryl says there’s “gotta be people out there like us.” Waving away Carol’s suggestion that they take to the sea and be pirates, Daryl lands on New Mexico. “No more fighting,” he says. “Just get on the bike and go. See who’s left.”

What was once a daydream has become a destination. After the eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead concludes in late 2022, Daryl and Carol will move on and discover a new frontier.

“There’s many layers of approvals and things, but [it’s meant to be] a little lighter. Not in a way that feels frivolous, but I think like all of us are looking to have fun in that world,” Kang told The Los Angeles Times. “It’s a road show — I hope I can say that — and so I think it will feel distinct. It’s definitely something that Norman and Melissa and I and Scott have all talked about, what we crave tonally.”

The Walking Dead still has 30 episodes left to air through late 2022. The untitled Daryl/Carol spinoff will premiere on AMC sometime in 2023. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.