Twigs - The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Episode 5

Daryl reaches his penultimate challenge.

[Warning: This essay contains spoilers for all of The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon through Episode 5.]

Perhaps the best episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has now aired, and I’m wondering when if I’ll ever stop saying that every single week.

This episode of Daryl Dixon contained plenty of incredible developments that raise the stakes for the upcoming finale, while also developing the characters in very important ways. Much of this episode was a slow burn, focusing on Daryl and Laurent’s last leg of their journey to the Nest. However, the trouble they find along the way puts the mission in jeopardy, complicating their plan for a safe arrival. Meanwhile, Isabelle is doing her best to survive as Quinn tries to win her back, the two of them of very different mindsets when it comes to their general survival. While all of this is going on in the present, flashbacks throughout the episode offer glimpses into how Daryl ended up in France, all because of an arm of the Pouvoir operating out of Maine.

There’s really no need to get too detailed with recapping the episode, nor is there any point to making every paragraph about the quality. So, I’ll summarize in the first few paragraphs instead. What truly made this episode stand out from the previous ones was the direct focus on the relationship between Daryl and Laurent in Daryl’s present day storyline. Without Isabelle or Sylvie around, Daryl and Laurent are forced to work together in order to survive. Part of this involves Daryl opening up to Laurent despite wanting to make quick work of getting home. He also begins to show the boy how to survive in ways the nuns at the Abbey never did, such as how to properly gut a fish. This allows Daryl to take on a father figure role, something he has been reluctant to do after leaving Judith at Alexandria. It also made for a few good name drops, setting the groundwork for Daryl Dixon’s entry into the larger world of The Walking Dead.

However, my favorite moment between Daryl and Laurent—and perhaps the best character moment in the episode—was when Laurent cut the boat away from where it was tied to shore. Daryl realizes Laurent cut the rope holding the boat and begins to yell at him, calling him a “little shit” and asking him why he’d do something like that. His anger continues to build until a crying Laurent tells him that, once he gets to the Nest, he knows Daryl will go to America. Leaving him behind. Leaving him with no one. Daryl realizes that Laurent’s loneliness mirrors his own. Perhaps, in that moment, Daryl also thought of how abusive his own father was, feeling as though him yelling at Laurent was mirroring that behavior. So, he hugs the boy, saying he didn’t mean it. Even though he’s done his best to stay detached from the people he’s relying on to take him home, Daryl still has a level of empathy deep inside that he can’t help. Laurent now reminds him of himself—and it’s something he’ll continue to hold as he goes forward.

This episode was full of other stellar character moments that stood out beyond Daryl’s story. While I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the developments going on in Isabelle’s story, I quickly realized that Quinn’s behavior was supposed to be more metaphorical than it was actual in terms of the plot. Quinn spends much of the episode trying to convince Isabelle to return to his arms, something that slowly drives Isabelle into almost cutting herself again. This portion of the story serves as an indicator to her state of mind. Embracing her past life with Quinn would mean protecting Laurent. At the same time, doing so would cause her to lose herself. It’s an inner struggle she has to deal with, made even more complicated by Anna’s anger at Quinn for betraying their relationship. The complexities here aren’t without consequence, though, as ultimately it is Quinn’s decision to choose Isabelle over Anna that leads her to tell Genet that Quinn never had Daryl at all. What at first is a character study soon boosts into being a very important part of the central story. It’s very well done and does a good job at making the characters beyond Daryl and Laurent more fleshed-out.

Beyond all of the quality parts of the episode, though, were multiple ideas presented that seem like they could be setting up a riveting season finale with plenty of surprises—or developments that will be more fleshed-out in Season 2. The first of these ideas comes in the form of Daryl’s flashback. Here, we see him have a conversation over a radio with Carol. During the conversation, Carol seems hesitant about something, Daryl asking if everything is okay. However, there’s no indication as to what Carol may be disturbed about. Then, just before the radio cuts out, she informs Daryl that “[unknown] came back.” Daryl tries to ask her a few times about who came back to the Virginia communities. However, the radio disconnects before he can get any clear answers. In terms of the story, this further cements just how urgent it is for Daryl to get back home. He suspects something is happening in Virginia because of whoever has returned, making it important for him to ensure the people he cares about are okay. But in terms of setting up the rest of the series, I want to unpack who may have returned.

While Rick and Michonne seem like the most obvious answers, there’s a few clues that indicate this may not be the case. For one, Carol likely would have told Daryl that both of them had returned right away, especially since he became Judith and RJ’s de facto father figure in Season 11. However, it seems as if Carol only mentioned one name, meaning it likely wasn’t them. I have read a few theories surmising that the CRM—the villains in Rick and Michonne’s upcoming spinoff—followed them home and now have the Virginia communities under their thumb. That Carol talking on the radio was her catching Daryl at the right time and trying to warn him. However, I’m not sure this is going to be the case, as having that happen would negate the happy ending The Walking Dead provided for Alexandria and the Commonwealth in particular. It also feels like Carol would be more urgent about telling Daryl who came back if they were threatening the communities.

Instead, I believe the most likely candidate for who came back is Dwight. For those who forget, Dwight was Negan’s right-hand man during The Walking Dead seasons 7 and 8. However, he later betrayed Negan and helped the survivors of Alexandria in their war against him. Even so, Daryl banished him from the communities at the end of the war, saying that if he ever showed up again, he would kill him. Dwight would return to The Walking Dead franchise in Fear the Walking Dead season 5, where he’s been a main character ever since. Given some episode descriptions of Fear the Walking Dead’s final season, it appears Dwight may be returning to the ruins of Negan’s Sanctuary during the season. Because of this, it provides ample opportunity for Dwight to return to one of the Virginia communities, settling down with Sherry (or alone) following the events of Fear. Since Rick’s return would be obvious—and since Morgan, who is on his way to Alexandria, may not be as important for Daryl—it feels like Dwight would be the best candidate. I’ll be locking that in as my final answer unless we get more information before Daryl Dixon ends.

Another mystery set up during the finale happens when Genet reveals what she truly wants from Laurent. Instead of killing him as she’d originally planned, Genet wants to use an endorsement from Laurent to bring the Union of Hope under the Pouvoir’s control. While she talks to them, she says that Laurent disagreeing to help her is making her angry. Laurent then counters, saying she isn’t angry: Her heart is broken. This makes Genet pause, then slam something against the desk in true anger. Beyond trying to unite France under her rule in order to have power, it appears Genet’s intentions are motivated by something that happened in her past. Despite being a typical power-hungry villain for most of the season, Laurent’s statement managed to make her lose her composure. It seems Genet’s backstory surrounding how she became leader of the Pouvoir will be a vital element of Daryl Dixon later on.

And now, we come to the biggest development of relevance: The variant zombies. This portion is interesting, because while we have more information about where they came from, not every question has been answered. The end of the episode sees Daryl forced to fight a stronger, faster variant in an arena. It soon becomes clear through an intercut of the past and present that the Pouvoir are responsible for creating the variants that now inhabit France. Given the context of Episode 3’s Walker experiments, it seems the Pouvoir have been trying to create some way of killing zombies effectively, only to accidentally produce concoctions that result in variants. This explains the high presence of acidic zombies throughout France, as well as why the variants seen in the show have veins running with unknown substances. It also confirms two different types of zombies the Pouvoir can create: acidic zombies and faster, stronger zombies.

However, there are still plenty of questions surrounding French variants that remain. This comes in the form of The Walking Dead: World Beyond’s final post-credits scene, which sees someone reanimate as a faster, stronger zombie in Paris. This implies faster variants in particular can be produced through natural means, though this may have happened because of the attempts by the Pouvoir to cure or combat Walkers in general. It’s still unclear how these natural variants are made, though. Considering the person who reanimated in World Beyond was shot and not bit, it seems like it’s not spread from a variant made by the Pouvoir biting someone. Instead, it appears to be a naturally-occurring element of the zombie virus in France. More context will be necessary to unearth what all of this means, and how the natural variants may tie into the Pouvoir’s experiments. For now, though, it appears the variants Daryl has to deal with will be manmade, and could possibly indicate how France became a nightmare in the post-apocalypse.

Much like the episodes that preceded it, Daryl Dixon Episode 5 was a fantastic installment in the series. And, in this case, an interesting look at how the series is pushing the entire franchise forward. The show has managed to capture great character moments and interesting story setups, all meshing together to create an awesome follow-up to the original series. Everything about this episode in particular drove the story and characters forward in unexpected ways, setting up a major season finale next week. I’m unsure if AMC’s guide touting this as a 2 hour and 20 minute event (with commercials) is true or not. But if it is, then this could be one of the wildest episodes of The Walking Dead in quite some time.

Here’s to the season finale, which will no doubt impress just as much as the rest of this show has.

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