I haven’t exactly been the biggest supporter of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Whether it was due to the high expectations I had for the show and its landing in a post-apocalyptic France, or simply because of its lack of pace, I didn’t quite connect with the first season. Still, I enjoyed watching this fierce battle against zombies (and humans) in a different, more monumental setting, so being able to continue the series for at least a couple more years always seemed like good news to me.
Spoiler Alert. If you’re not up to date with Daryl Dixon… Get out of here!
Especially with the announcement that the return of the fiction would bring back Carol Peletier (played once again by Melissa McBride). Her presence in this retitled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol highlights one of the strengths of these franchises: they have a past. A very extensive one, with 177 episodes (plus several spin-offs of various kinds), in which there have been countless dramatic moments, painful and shocking deaths difficult to forget for viewers… and for the writers. It may seem a bit silly, but revisiting the fate of a character (Sophia, Carol’s daughter) whom we haven’t seen since the second season of the show is exciting, chilling, and reminds you that these characters are already part of your life.
Carol hasn’t overcome the death of her daughter
Evidently, this is not just an effective device to please the fans. Having a flashback of the heartbreaking demise of the girl played by Madison Lintz makes it clear to the entire audience that more than a decade later, Carol has not overcome her loss. The character was left disturbed, and only the friendship with Daryl (Norman Reedus) managed to mask, for a while, the pain she feels.
It is expected that throughout these next episodes we will see Carol finally confront the death of her daughter. But in the meantime, and betraying her memory, she has made another survivor believe she is alive to get her way and head to France with a very convenient final scene that reminds me that the writers, much to my regret, continue to be a bit tricky.
I don’t mind the truth, but at this point, we expect a zombie threat to be more than just a miraculously opened door at the last minute. And while that happens, Daryl continues his journey through France with a background storyline that I’m not entirely convinced by. It didn’t work for me in the first season, and this start makes me suspect that I might spend the next few episodes wishing Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride leave the neighboring country for good and start letting us enjoy a terrifying Spain.
How Sophia Peletier died in The Walking Dead
By the way, going back to Sophia’s death. The flashback shown in today’s episode was specifically recorded for this occasion, something that surprised the actress when she read it. “I thought, ‘Are we really going to do that? Are we going to have a full flashback and recreate everything?'”. But it has been done, we understand as an attempt by the writers to play with the audience’s attention and memory.
Sophia left us in the middle of the second season of the original show after disappearing, with Rick, Carol, and several survivors trying to find her without success, despite moments that made us hopeful. However, and by surprise, she appeared right at the end of a group of walkers that Hershel Greene had locked in his barn, unleashing tears from those present, including Rick, who was the one who put her down. It was clearer than ever that this was not going to be a happy story.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol returns next week on AMC+ in Spain, and we hope that sooner rather than later it will bring us some joy when the two protagonists reunite after a long time. But, of course, this is The Walking Dead… We always have to prepare for the worst.
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