The Walking Dead universe continues to crumble right before everyone's eyes -- and the news that Melissa McBride is stepping out of her own spinoff series with Norman Reedus might be the final straw. With McBride out of the Carol & Daryl show, is Reedus' Daryl enough to keep this fantasy project running? Or will the spinoff flounder before it even gets on the air?

The show was originally announced back in September 2020, and despite having the two most popular characters from The Walking Dead attached, it's been poorly treated by its creatives. Tales of the Walking Dead is ready to premiere this summer and Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan already have scripts for Isle of the Dead, but the Daryl and Carol spin-off doesn't even have a name. Losing McBride might make the whole show pointless.

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The Walking Dead - Carol Season 11 Episode 10

Rumors had been circulating for the past week that McBride wanted out of the show due to creative differences. What comes as a shock is that an AMC representative has confirmed to TVLine that Reedus wanted to shoot the series in Europe, which wasn't possible for McBride. Many fans predicted that the series would film in New Mexico, per a conversation between Daryl and Carol in Season 10 that hinted at the possibility of the characters going there. But now it looks like Daryl Dixon is heading to Europe -- without his best friend.

This is a recipe for disaster. Not only has the final season finished filming -- which means Daryl and Carol's endings are almost certainly written to transition them into their spinoff -- but the thought of Daryl leading his own show is utterly comical. If this was Daryl in the early seasons, it would be doable and maybe even profitable. However, Daryl isn't an interesting character anymore. An emotionally-constrained man burdened by his traumatic childhood has become a do-gooder and surrogate father who's convinced he's the hero of his own story.

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Daryl with long hair with his hand against a wall, somewhat smiling from The Walking Dead.

Daryl's character development works for the decade-long The Walking Dead, but let's say the Daryl spinoff lasts just as long (if not longer) than the original series. That's 11 more miserable seasons of a character who hit his prime back when "If Daryl dies, we riot" was still being sold on T-shirts and lunch boxes. It's not that Daryl was ever a bad character -- it's just that he's boring nowadays. It would be more enjoyable to watch Maggie and Negan bicker in their spinoff than to watch Daryl ride on his motorcycle and be the good guy for another decade.

Half of this spinoff is gone now, and it's time for the franchise to face the music and admit when to put an idea in the trash. Having the lead of The Walking Dead become a lead of another Walking Dead spinoff is odd, but it seems to be the growing trend, with Rick Grimes getting his own movies (if that's ever going to happen). And what even is the story of this spinoff if it continues? Ride with Norman Reedus but in the apocalypse? At least one thing can be gained out of Melissa McBride's exit: Caryl shippers will finally have to put their ship to rest, and the world will be all the better for it.

The Walking Dead Season 11C is expected to return in 2022. The now Daryl-focused spinoff is slated for 2023.