Walking Dead fans don't like characters' new love connections
The popular AMC series won't give fans the romance they want.
The Walking Dead is more than just a show about human survivors trying to escape the clutches of the undead. When characters aren't shooting off the heads of zombies, they're doing other things, like falling in love.
Vocal fans have taken to Twitter, however, to express disappointment in one pairing -- that of Carol (played by Melissa McBride) and Ezekiel (Khary Payton). They'd rather see Carol with one of the more beloved characters, Daryl (played by Norman Reedus).
Carol and Daryl almost seemed like they could have been an item during season 3, when Carol asked Daryl if he wanted to "screw around" shortly after she gave him a massage. Alas, nothing romantic happened.
Now, with new showrunner Angela Kang saying during The Walking Dead season 9 preview special Sunday that she plans to keep Ezekiel and Carol as an item, #Caryl" fans aren't pleased.
We're not on fire, most of us stopped watching and have resorted to fan fiction where we respect the relationship between these two that we were shown and baited with for five years. They're still using these two next to each other for promo, the disrespect to fans is stunning.
— lovesdaryl 🇪🇺 (@musicandscifi) August 6, 2018
"Most of us stopped watching and have resorted to fan fiction where we respect the relationship between these two that we were shown and baited with for five years," Twitter user musicandscifi tweeted Monday. "They're still using these two next to each other for promo, the disrespect to fans is stunning."
So C/E went canon offscreen, are spoiled in advance in a scene where Carol still ridicules her supposed love and Daryl looks like a kicked puppy. To top that @angelakang is fast to say that there will be special moments for Caryl. I would laugh if it wasn't so desperate...
— Paramecium (@GiantParamecium) August 6, 2018
"So C/E went canon offscreen, are spoiled in advance in a scene where Carol still ridicules her supposed love and Daryl looks like a kicked puppy," Twitter user GiantParamecium tweeted on Monday. "To top that Angela Kang is fast to say that there will be special moments for Caryl. I would laugh if it wasn't so desperate…"
I won’t stick around for this season let alone season 10. And not just because I didn’t get what I wanted in my ship, but the writing is lazy and I lost all emotional connection 2 the characters idk how that happened
— Stephie 🖤 (@StephanieDemps6) August 6, 2018
"I won't stick around for this season let alone season 10," Twitter user StephanieDemps6 tweeted. "And not just because I didn't get what I wanted in my ship, but the writing is lazy and I lost all emotional connection 2 the characters idk how that happened."
Romance issues aside, even more changes are underway this upcoming season. Actor Andrew Lincoln, who plays the show's main character Rick Grimes, confirmed during the Comic-Con 2018 panel in July that he'll be leaving the hit horror series during this season.
There's no specific information yet on how Lincoln's character will be written off the series.
Season 9 of The Walking Dead returns Oct. 7 on AMC.
CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories in CNET's newsstand edition.
Special Reports: CNET's in-depth features in one place.