Why Daryl should end up with Connie in The Walking Dead’s final season

As a mainstay on The Walking Dead since season one, Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon has been “shipped” with various characters. This has really ramped up in the past few seasons, following Connie’s introduction and the increased focus on Daryl and Carol’s relationship.

Ever since Connie joined Daryl on the mission to rescue Henry in season nine, their dynamic has been one of the most fun to watch on the show.

Whether they end up romantically involved with one another or not, there is no denying that Daryl and Connie share a special connection that needs to be explored in season 11 of The Walking Dead.

With Connie stumbling upon Virgil in the season 10 finale after going missing following the infamous cave collapse, we don’t know what the future holds for her. That said, it’s likely she’ll be reunited with the group at some point. And when she does, her reunion with Daryl will be one to watch.

By the end of The Walking Dead’s final season, Daryl and Connie should end up together as a couple.

It’s all about communication

The biggest indicator of Daryl having a liking towards Connie is that he went out of his way to start learning American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with her. In the first episode of season 10, if you look closely, you can see that Daryl is carrying a book about learning ASL in his back pocket.

This is a subtle but important development for Daryl. Very rarely in his 10 seasons have we seen Daryl go out of his way for somebody for no benefit other than to improve their connection further.

Daryl’s efforts pay off in the long run, too, as later on in season 10, Daryl uses his (albeit limited) ASL skills to cheer Connie up with a story about him and his brother Merle while they search for Connie’s missing sister, Kelly.

Daryl learning ASL is a case of him caring about Connie and wanting to be better equipped to communicate with her, completely of his own volition. If he didn’t have real feelings for her, he likely wouldn’t be putting in as much effort as he seems to be.

Making Daryl a better person

Another key factor in why Daryl and Connie should be a couple by the end of the show is that Connie undeniably makes Daryl a better person.

Think about when Daryl set out to rescue Henry from the Whisperers in season nine. When Daryl left, he had zero intention of bringing Lydia back with him. All Daryl cared about was getting Henry back because Carol trusted Daryl to watch over him.

When Daryl tries to ditch Lydia multiple times after infiltrating the Whisperer camp, Connie refuses to let him. She insists that they all make it out together, with nobody left behind. Connie’s kind heart is on full display here, as she points out that Lydia has nobody now and that taking her with them is the right thing to do.

Connie’s pleas eventually convince Daryl to take Lydia to Alexandria, showing that Connie helps Daryl do the right thing, even when he doesn’t see it at first. That’s a sign of a good foundation for a relationship – when the two people make each other a better person than they are without the other.

Daryl clearly cares

Daryl isn’t usually one for emotions. The resident tough guy of The Walking Dead has very rarely had emotional outbursts throughout his 10 seasons on the show, outside of when he lost people he was very close to. So, if his visceral sadness to seemingly losing Connie in the cave collapse in season 10 is any indication, Daryl cares about Connie. A lot.

You can see the pain in Daryl’s eyes when he realizes that Connie didn’t make it out of the cave with the rest. He immediately starts throwing rocks aside in a desperate and futile attempt to save Connie and Magna.

Even Carol recognizes Daryl’s feelings towards Connie in the aftermath, begging him to blame her because he “cared about her, and now she’s gone because of me.” Carol can read Daryl better than anyone on the show because of how close they have been since the first season, so her recognition of his feelings for Connie only further affirms Daryl and Connie’s connection.

As with many “ships,” it is tough to predict where Daryl and Connie’s relationship will go in The Walking Dead‘s final season. Whether Daryl ends up with Connie, Carol, somebody new, or even nobody, what’s important is that fans of the various “ships” be respectful and accepting of others’ opinions. At the end of the day, we are all just Walking Dead fans who want to see a satisfying conclusion to the show we have been invested in for so many years!

Who do you think Daryl should end up with by the end of The Walking Dead? Let us know by leaving a comment below.