Twigs - The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Episode 2

The Walking Dead returns to glory.

[Warning: This essay contains spoilers for all of The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon through Episode 2.]

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Episode 2 is the best the zombie franchise has been in years.

Despite having some notably good episodes in recent years like Rick Grimes’ swan song in Season 9, Michonne’s last episode in Season 10, and Negan’s backstory during the show’s bonus episodes, none of these were able to fully stack up to the show’s glory days. While they were all amazing episodes, they were unfortunately bogged down by the many lackluster episodes in between. Despite some highs throughout its years of lows, The Walking Dead truly peaked in terms of both viewership and quality in Seasons 3-6. The exploration of the characters as they fought for survival and their subsequent attempt to keep the permanent home they found in Alexandria made for compelling television. And it’s something the series hasn’t been able to recapture, likely because the premise had already run its course.

Which is why it’s so refreshing to see Daryl Dixon not only take the franchise in a new direction, but to do so with the same style and tact as the early seasons of the show. Episode 2 focuses on Daryl, Isabelle, Laurent, and Sylvie on the road to Paris, when they end up trapped by a group of children living in a former preschool. The kids were once taken care of by the adults in the preschool, whose own homes had been destroyed in the wake of the apocalypse. However, many of the adults were either older, or succumbed to Walkers in the decade since the apocalypse began. Only one teacher remains, and is close to death. At the same time, Daryl and his group need a horse after they were forced to let go of their mule, lest they be surrounded and torn apart by Walkers. Even though he knows medicine won’t save the children’s last remaining teacher, Daryl still makes a deal with them: He will steal supplies from a nearby antagonistic force, including medicine, in exchange for a horse and carriage.

A lot happened in this episode, which is one of the biggest strengths of this second entry in the series. Despite being 61 minutes long, Episode 2 makes use of every moment of screen time, using it to either develop its characters or further explain major plot elements. There are, of course, plenty of smaller details that define the episode. This includes more development for Isabelle and Sylvie’s friendship, Laurent trying his best to make friends while mourning the tragic loss of his favorite mule, and ultimately how Isabelle’s mission to take Laurent to Paris may not be what the boy himself wants. Characters are explored in many dynamic ways throughout the episode, including the newcomers within the group of children. Newcomers who, by the end of the episode, are established to be guests. Making it seem like Daryl and his group will be meeting a new group every episode to help and learn from.

And Daryl does in fact learn plenty from the children’s group. It’s clear that Daryl is incredibly homesick, and that he doesn’t want to put his trust in strangers because of whatever happened to him on the mysterious boat that got him to France. Which is why, when given the opportunity to lock the children’s leader in a shed while he goes to retrieve the supplies on his own, he does. Yet, by the end of the episode, Daryl is surrounded by Walkers with not enough weaponry at his disposal to fight them all off. Luckily, one of the children who had been sent on a previous mission located and rescued their leader, giving her the chance to find Daryl and lend him a hand. This, of course, doesn’t come without consequence. By the end of the episode, the teacher has died. And so, Daryl confesses that the medicine never would have worked, and he just wanted a horse from them.

The episode focuses on Daryl regaining a level of humility, as well as a level of trust, when it comes to other people. Whatever happened to him on that boat shattered his ability to trust strangers. While he’d never really trusted those beyond his group in the original show—often resorting to a black and white mentality that kept him alive—there was still some part of him that was open to anyone that could help him. For example, the Commonwealth and their offers of a better life for Judith and RJ in Season 11. Here, though, Daryl seems much more guarded than usual, making me wonder just what transpired on the boat between him and the Cause. While this in particular isn’t brought up during the episode, it’s still something I’m curious about, and something that felt like it was laced throughout many of Daryl’s decisions and his dialogue.

Daryl also seems to be getting closer to Laurent, although the show didn’t focus too much on their friendship this episode. However, Daryl’s experiences with trusting the preschool survivors make him more inclined to cheer Laurent up after he grows angry that he can’t stay with his new friends. Daryl starts to see Laurent as similar to him when he was younger: An outsider without a strong father figure to guide him. In a sense, Daryl finally opening up to Laurent at the end of the episode feels like him trying to break the cycle his own father wrought against him and Merle. Make it so Laurent doesn’t grow up without a father figure of his own. It’s a very sweet moment that feels like a defining character shift for Daryl, as well as a shift of general importance for the entire series going forward.

Though Daryl will have to contend with more than just strangers on the road going forward. While he only appears briefly, Codron is seen in a sorry state limping around Isabelle’s former home after their battle. It’s here that he finds the tape recorder containing proof of who Daryl is and where he’s from, alongside the map to Paris. While it was a very blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment from the first episode, Codron is in league with the Cause, the same people who captured Daryl on the boat. He is working for the woman from the end of the first episode, Genet, who is currently trying to find out if Daryl survived going overboard. And now that Codron has Daryl’s recording in his possession, he has proof the American who tried to kill him is the person Genet is looking for. It remains to be seen how all of this will play out, but there’s no doubt Genet will send Codron to Paris. How he’ll exact his revenge is unclear, but it appears his conflict with Daryl may not end happily for him.

But the real highlight of the episode—and what I wanted to save for last—is the flashback sequences involving Isabelle and her sister, Lily. First off, the initial opening scene is the best portrayal of the world falling apart The Walking Dead franchise has ever done. Without a single word of spoke dialogue, Isabelle is established as a pick-pocketer and party-goer who makes her living in under-the-table ways. Then, as she’s trying to get back home, the world slowly begins to unravel. We don’t need a verbal explanation of what’s going on because we already know. As Walkers begin to appear throughout France, all Isabelle can do is try her best to survive. It’s not until she’s picked up by someone she knows from the nightclub (I believe Quinn?) that anyone speaks a single word in the entire opening. It’s a riveting, horrifying way to start the episode, and it sets the tone for the rest of Isabelle’s flashbacks quite well.

Every flashback reveals a small bit of new information as it goes. Isabelle and Quinn (I think) pick up Lily, who is revealed to be sick from a seven-month pregnancy she never told Isabelle about. Because Quinn suggests leaving Lily behind, Isabelle steals his car and drives her to the Abbey that Isabelle eventually joins to become a nun. However, it’s soon revealed that a chance encounter with Walkers on the road led to Lily getting bit. As Lily is giving birth, she succumbs to the bite and dies. She then turns into a Walker before the baby is even born, gnashing her teeth while tied down. The baby is eventually cut out of Lily’s stomach. Since the baby survives, the congregation see it as a miracle. As Isabelle wanders around the Abbey with the baby, which she must now take care of, she sees a statue of a “Saint Laurent.” Establishing that Laurent is her nephew, and that he was born from a Walker.

This opens up a whole slew of questions pertaining to Laurent and how his birth status impacts the rest of the series moving forward. It seems Isabelle’s belief that Laurent is some kind of Messiah figure stems from the fact that he was born from her Walker sister. While this could be construed as a miracle because of how rare a circumstance this is, it feels like Isabelle is projecting the grief of her sister’s death onto Laurent. Turning him into a Messiah figure in her mind so Lily’s death can mean something beyond happenstance. Though, since Laurent was cut out of the stomach of a Walker, it’s also possible he has some form of immunity no one else on Earth does. Laurent has yet to encounter a Walker face-to-face yet, which means we don’t know if there will be some kind of reaction from them or not. Maybe because the virus is already inside him, he is somehow undetectable to the Walkers, or considered one of their own. Then again, with everyone in The Walking Dead universe already infected, coming back from the dead whether bitten or not, it’s possible Laurent’s birth has no special meaning beyond its odd circumstances. We’ll just have to wait and see as the show progresses.

So far, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has been a surprisingly great follow-up to the original show. With Daryl as a familiar face and a new setting being complemented by an engaging story, this show is taking the franchise to incredible new places. After a few years of lackluster stories coming from this franchise, I am so glad that it’s finally found its footing again. Especially with a new series as exciting as this. As I’ve said in every other review I’ve made complaining about The Walking Dead’s quality as of late, I still love this franchise. Which is why I want to highlight just how good Daryl’s new show has been, and how much it sets the stage for a positive future for the franchise going forward. This may only be one show, but if the things being done here are applied to future seasons of Dead City and The Ones Who Live, this zombie franchise has a chance of fully coming back to life.

Next Sunday can’t come fast enough.

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