Carol breathes new life into The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

If the title doesn’t give it away already, The Walking Dead’s spin-off is strictly for fans of Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus). Introduced in the original series’ third episode, Daryl goes from being a volatile bad boy to a shaggy-haired, good-natured, and loyal dude over several years. I’ll admit he was in my top three favorites on TWD for a long time. Back when the early seasons cared about meaningful character evolution, his growth had a huge part in lending AMC’s post-apocalyptic drama an emotional backbone. Daryl’s friendships with folks like Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Beth Greene (Emily Kinney), and, most crucially, Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) provided an affecting arc.  

So when the original drama concluded after 11 seasons in 2022, seemingly with no intention to ever end the franchise, a Daryl Dixon series was a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want to follow his exploits, especially if they take place in a completely different country? Daryl Dixon expands the show’s lore by taking us to Europe, letting us catch up on how the French have been dealing with the end of the world. Imagining a prickly Reedus with his bike, crossbow, and leather jacket in France is a great gag in itself. Except this is not a fish-out-of-the-water comedy; it’s a serious, gory TV show that hopes to breathe new life into TWD. It’s too bad Daryl Dixon season one was quite boring despite a unique setting and scope. 

Thankfully, that promises to change with the season two arrival of his BFF/potential romantic partner, Carol. She’s a perfect counterpart to her “pookie” Daryl, with Reedus and McBride having developed a relaxed, charming affinity between their characters. They don’t share screen time just yet, but the anticipation of a warm reunion is enough. In only one episode McBride successfully breathes some much-needed fresh air into the show, turning the Daryl spin-off into The Book Of Carol (as season two is dubbed). Let’s just hope the remaining five installments live up to this. 

In the season premiere, Carol learns from a biker gang in Freeport, Maine, that Daryl was kidnapped and shipped off across the ocean. How the hell is she supposed to get to a different continent without a proper idea of Daryl’s whereabouts? Why would she want to leave when she has a home and friends back in the Commonwealth, possibly including Rick and Michonne (Danai Gurira)? The answer is easy: Daryl holds a special place in Carol’s heart. He has ever since he helped search for her missing daughter in TWD season two. They’ve never given up on each other, and Carol doesn’t plan on starting now. See, this is the emotional spine I was talking about. I can believe Carol would make the ridiculous decision to travel to another country for Daryl, even if she has no means of getting there or no clue of what unknown enemies might await. 

Luck is on her side, though, because while she screams in her car in frustration, a small plane flies low over her. She follows its trajectory to a nearby farm and inserts her way into a conversation with the lone guy living there. Ash (Manish Dayal), as it turns out, has spent years alone after his seven-year-old boy was killed. He’s remained in solitude so far, but that changes when Carol starts snooping around. This leads a horde of walkers invading Ash’s greenhouse and ruining the shrine he built for his dead kid. She may have messed up, and he’s pissed at her, but Carol finds a way to bond with Ash. She gets him to open up and trust her, as she’s survived long enough to know how to manipulate someone for her needs. 

It’s what propels her to tell Ash a pretty big lie about why she wants to go to France. Carol fibs that her daughter and husband traveled there before “the world went to hell.” She hopes to hitch a ride in Ash’s plane and find them, provided he’s willing to help. After all, wouldn’t Ash do anything to get his son back if he could? Damn, Carol. She’s taking advantage of his feelings because, as TWD viewers know, Carol’s family died years ago. Heck, this episode even flashes back to the horrible moment when she finds her kid, Sophia, as a walker in what was one of The Walking Dead’s most horrific scenes. Maybe she didn’t think Ash would fly her just to rescue some guy, especially as his son is buried here. He agrees to take her though if it will bring Carol to her daughter. How badly will Ash react when he finds out the truth? I can’t wait to see this mess.  

At least Carol succeeds because by the end of the hour, the two jet off in the middle of a storm with plans to make a pitstop in Greenland to refuel. I’m both surprised and impressed at the pace at which Carol departs for France and the confidence with which they do it. Hello, it’s the apocalypse and there’s no one to give them directions. All they have is a map and immense faith. I guess TWD: Daryl Dixon doesn’t want us to focus on the logistics, instead relying on sentimental value to keep pressing on. I’ll play along for now. 

“La Gentillesse Des Étrangers” also briefly checks in on Daryl. As a reminder, since stepping foot in France, he’s been dealing with familiar problems. As seen in season one, evil militia officers wanted him dead because he was capable and rebellious. That forced Daryl to team up with a ragtag crew to survive. He found solace with a partygoer-turned-nun, Isabelle (Clemence Poesy), who tasked Daryl with protecting her teen nephew, Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi). She believed Laurent is a messiah because he was born after her mother had turned into a walker. I’ll admit, watching a baby being pulled out of a zombie was a brutal season-one highlight—and those were few and far between.

The nature of Laurent’s birth ed a group of religious fanatics to believe that he can stop the apocalypse. Isabelle and Daryl’s mission in season one was to safely take him to a haven called the Nest in Normandy. Along the way, we learned more about Isabelle’s past, and sparks flew between her and Daryl while they made a bunch of new friends and foes. Daryl also formed a sweet connection with Laurent, reminiscent of what he shared with Judith Grimes. It stopped him in the finale from getting on a boat back to the U.S. 

Season two’s premiere picks up two weeks after that, with Daryl training Laurent to kill walkers. However, his “violent ways” don’t sit well with the Nest’s leader, Losang (Joel de la Fuente). This is a peaceful community, he reminds Daryl. Everything about the Nest is a little too good to be true, including its endless supply of resources. Daryl has seen enough shit (cannibalism, the Governor, Negan) to pick up on this. 

Hopefully, the illusion shatters for Isabelle and Laurent before Losang’s upcoming “ceremony” for Laurent, whatever that entails. I’m hoping the three of them can get out of dodge soon and meet Carol whenever she lands in France. Now that’s a reunion that will genuinely elevate The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon—The Book Of Carol (my gosh, that’s a mouthful). 

Stray observations 

• • Welcome to another TWD recap. I’ll be dropping in on Daryl Dixon season two periodically, recapping the midseason outing on October 13 and the finale on November 3. By then, I need to see Daryl and Carol hug.  
• • We don’t see Isabelle enough in this episode, but I wonder how a potential love triangle will form once Carol reenters Daryl’s life. 
• • Be honest: If you were in zombie land with no electricity, air traffic control, or proper plane guidance, would you want to fly anywhere?  
• • There’s another really lovely flashback to TWD, specifically the scene where Daryl gives Carol a rose when they’re searching for Sophia. It marked the beginning of their relationship so I’m glad this season is honing in on it. 
• • I will say that even for a dark show like this one, the setting of the Nest, the Mont Saint-Michel commune in France, is gorgeous.