One of the themes of #TheWalkingDead season 10 was:
What does Carol want?
It was a reoccurring topic throughout the entire season & I am going to examine this & try to answer what she wanted. #twd #TWDFamily

In the season finale Daryl asks Carol if she got what she wanted? & Carol answered not only “no” but that she won’t get what she wants, “not really.”
This had some Walking Dead fans scratching their heads & wondering just what it is Carol wants that she didn’t get.

In the premiere Carol denies she is looking for Alpha & when Daryl asks if she wants to look for Whisperers she says, “No.” He’s the first one to ask her what she wants to do & next thing you know they’re flying away on his bike. She is blissful as the wind whips through her hair

At this point Carol does mention that she wonders if there is more to life than running from one fight to the next.

When they plan to get on the bike and run away to New Mexico she says she would genuinely like that. Carol doesn’t want to fight anymore.

Despite not wanting to fight, when Carol sees Alpha she is filled with rage for the woman who murdered her son & launches a few different plans to stop & kill her. She becomes consumed with revenge towards Alpha & it seems what Carol wants most is for Alpha to die.

This leads to a season of Carol going after Alpha with reckless abandon, & without regard for her own life -an obsession to kill Alpha & her horde.

Even though Daryl means more to her than anyone she can’t heed his warnings due to the fact she is blinded by a need to finish off Alpha, and still consumed with grief over Henry. This ends up pushing him away.

When Carol opens up to Eugene she vents her frustration at wanting to destroy Alpha so badly but having nothing to show for it. It seems at this point that Carol’s greatest desire is to see Alpha dead, but the cost has been heavy - hurting others & maybe losing Daryl.

To make it worse, Carol does not feel better or fulfilled when she gets what she thinks she wants: Alpha’s head.

She runs away like she has tried many times in the past, and is haunted by her decisions.

Carol is so bothered that she is tortured by her own psyche which manifests as Alpha asking her, “What do you want?”

When Carol answers that she wants to be alone, her Alpha psyche answers, “yeah, that’s not it.”

Carol is terrified of losing more people & especially of losing Daryl. It’s not that she wants to run, it’s that she is afraid that if she stays people will die. It’s not that she wants to kill, but she wants to protect her loved ones & most of all she doesn’t want to lose Daryl.

So, if Carol wasn’t satisfied with Alpha’s death & the destruction of the horde & She doesn’t want to run away or be alone then what is it that she wants?

I think the key to what Carol wants is presented in Ghosts. There are three elements to this dream:

1. She is married to Daryl
2. Henry is alive
3. Life is normal/pre-apocalypse

I think this is what Carol truly desires: an ordinary life with her son & the man she loves most.

& that truth is underlined by Eugene in the same episode saying that sleep deprivation will lead to your deepest secrets coming out.

Carol suffering sleep deprivation was a major plot point of this episode.

And so when Daryl asks if she gets what she wants she says that she won’t, but Daryl reminds her - much to her surprise - that she still has him, & running away together to New Mexico is still on the table...

So where does this leave Carol?

Her son & the chance of a non apocalypse life is gone but she still has Daryl & I think they do have a chance at a future life together.

It’s never too late

The Daryl & Carol spin-off may be Carol’s happy ending in a show that isn’t known for that.

I have to echo Eugene & say that I sincerely hope Carol can get what she wants!