The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023–) tries to introduce a spark of faith, of religiosity, to The Walking Dead. When Daryl (Norman Reedus), arguably the best character in TWD universe, washes up on the gloomy shores of France, all he wants is to find a way home, back to the States, back to the people he cares about, but as is always the story for Daryl, he needs to realise his worth, not just to himself but to the people he meets in France.
Daryl can never escape the traumas of his childhood. Neglected and abused by those who should’ve cared for him, it wasn’t until society collapsed, and the world became overwhelmingly vicious, that Daryl was able to find his place. His tolerance for the pain and discomfort of this new world made him resilient when others crumbled, and allowed him to keep those he cares about alive for longer. But this past abuse has taken its toll on his self-worth. When Carol, mid-way through season three of TWD, tells Beth (Emily Kinney) “he has his code”, what she’s referring to is the unflinching loyalty he has to those he cares about, even when that loyalty is misplaced or hurts him. His brother Earl is the prime example. But under his rough demeanour and unrefined manners Daryl is a righteous man. It’s why, when he meets the nun Isabelle (Clemence Poesy) in France, he agrees to help her get her nephew Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) first to Paris, then to the Nest and the Union of Hope. Isabelle is an interesting mirror of Daryl, more sophisticated, but equally damaged, not only by the apocalypse but by her life before the hungry ones. The spark between the two is palpable and ripe to teach Daryl his worth.
Another thing this iteration makes me very conscious of are the bad guys. Antagonists within TWD universe are always authoritarian dictators, each seeking to impose their uncompromising will on survivors. It’s the binary that Rick is always battling. There’s Woodbury’s Governor (David Morrissey), the Saviour’s’ Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and the Civic Republic of Philadelphia’s Major Beale.
In Daryl Dixon this same authoritarian antagonist appears first as Codron (Romain Levi), a local militia leader determined to revenge the death of his brother by killing Daryl. Then, when the group reaches Paris, it’s the leader of the nationalists Pouvoir. I understand why their leader Genet (Anne Charrier) wants Daryl dead, he resisted and won, but I struggle to see why she wants to create a Sixth Republic. Her ambition to punish the elites she blames for the plague, to me at least, feels like class struggle from another time, the world before walkers.
Also, why are Pouvoir collecting walkers from the States and shipping them to France? It’s a plot device that gets Daryl to France, and pits him against Genet, but it’s also absurd, as in illogical. An equally strange development are the jacked-up zombies, shot up with stimulants, even more aggressive, and able to move fast. What external threat reasoned their creation? Finally, there’s also Daryl’s vision of the messianic Laurent in the tunnels below Paris, surrounded by walkers that just pass him by. Collectively it all feels like something from The Asylum’s Walking Dead rip-off Z Nation, and out of place in the actual Walking Dead.
My hope is the choices for season one will all become clearer in the coming episodes. Daryl deserves some real adventures.
