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Fans didn't demand too much of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - seeing Norman Reedus kick some zombie ass in a post-apocalyptic Paris was basiclaly enough for them. However, there was one event for which they kept their hopes high - the reunion of Daryl Dixon and bets buddy Carol Peletier (AKA Melissa McBride). Most fans finally got to see that reunion on October 20, when Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 4 aired on AMC, but if you were lucky enough to be at the Daryl Dixon panel at New York Comic Con 2024, you got to see it a little early. 

And you got to find out why the hell it took so long.

OK, let's back up for a sec. The NYCC panel we're talking about featured a host of special guests on stage to chat about The Walking Dead's Franc-based spinoff. Included on the panel were showrunner David Zabel, executive producer Greg Nicotero, Carol Peletier actor McBride, Daryl Dixon himself, Norman Reedus, and the most special guest of them all: eight-year-old Matteo, a Walking Dead superfan and cancer survivor, who was on stage for NYCC courtesy of the Make-A-Wish foundation. 

At the halfway point of the panel, the crew showed the panel's attendee's a sneak peak of Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 4, which ended in the reunion of Daryl and Carol, whose friendship was a fan-favorite of the original Walking Dead series. Asked what he thought of the episode, young Matteo explained that he "didn't think it would take that long" for the pair to reunite.

The audience found this pretty funny, as did showrunner Zabel, who offered Matteo a spot in the Daryl Dixon writer's room (keep that footage, kid, it may get you a job someday). When the fun died down, however, Nicotero jumped in to explain to the audience why the moment took so long to happen in the show.

"That's almost like saying,"  "'They should have found Sophia in episode 2 of season 2.'"

(Author's note: Sophia is Carol's missing daughter, who motivated much of the character's choices in the early seasons of TWD.)

"You have to earn it," Nicotero said of story moments that big, "You have to build to it. That moment of Sophia coming out of the barn is really what solidified The Walking Dead as a Powerhouse television show.

(Another author's note: Look up what happens with Sophia in the barn yourself, I'm not hear to explain TV to you.)

"What Norman said and what Melissa said," Nicotero continued, "Is if we would have just done it right away, you wouldn't have had the same emotional reaction. Is it a little manipulative of us? Yeah. But that's why you watch the show! So just get on board with us."

"I've been in The Walking Dead Universe for almost 16 years," the longtime Walking Dead vet concludes, "And I still love what we do in the stories that we tell. [...] That moment was earned, and if it would have happened too soon, you wouldn't have had the same response."

Well said, Greg. Way to stick it to that eight-year-old. 

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is streaming now on Netflix.

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