Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol episode 1.

After a successful first season, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon made a case for being the franchise’s best spinoff, but something has gone wrong with the show’s restart. Norman Reedus’ Walking Dead project officially returned for its second season, with Daryl Dixon season 2 showing Carol traveling to France alongside the war between L’Union and Pouvoir continuing. Although season 1 focused predominantly on Daryl building new relationships and trying to help Laurent get to the nest, season 2 appears to be heading in a completely different direction, with the series already making some major alterations to the story.

While Daryl’s relationship with Laurent and Isabelle still felt pivotal during “La gentillesse des étrangers”, the show pivoted the spotlight towards Carol and Ash. Despite their initial hostility and confrontations, the duo worked together to overcome a zombie attack and eventually began their journey to France. The change in pace meant season 2’s first episode provided an entirely new feel to the series, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, many of these changes hurt the show. As a result, Daryl Dixon is in danger of losing the magic that made it one of The Walking Dead‘s best spinoffs.

 

Daryl Dixon Season 1 Was Arguably The Walking Dead’s Best Spinoff Yet

Daryl Dixon Was More Consistent Than Any Other Walking Dead Spinoff

Daryl Dixon season 2’s disappointing opening episode is unfortunate given how much quality the series has shown previously. Although Dead City and The Ones Who Live both have their own unique strengths, Daryl Dixon is arguably the best Walking Dead spinoff based on the first season. Its breathtaking visuals, interesting new characters, and fascinating story help the show stand out and feel genuinely different from anything else the franchise has produced. The French setting makes Daryl Dixon instantly recognizable, and the series values its supporting cast far more than The Walking Dead‘s other projects, proving why it’s so good.

Although the stakes may not feel as high as its competition, the spinoff is gradually building a long-term story that looks destined to last at least four seasons. Additionally, giving Reedus more time in the spotlight has allowed the actor to flesh out Daryl and show different sides to the character, which no other spinoff has done quite as well. His great performance helps the whole show thrive, but the series is also more grounded compared to the rest of the franchise, adding a charm to Daryl Dixon season 1 that the new installment hasn’t quite been able to replicate.

Daryl Dixon Season 2, Episode 1 Is Filled With Plot Contrivances & Conveniences

The Season 2 Premiere Made Some Baffling Decisions

Unlike the first installment, Daryl Dixon season 2 is filled with plenty of plot contrivances and conveniences that rely on the audience suspending belief. While the zombie apocalypse setting isn’t the most realistic, the franchise became iconic because of its ability to build tension without going too over the top. Unfortunately, The Walking Dead lost this trait during its later seasons and in other spinoffs, but Daryl Dixon‘s first season overcame this. Although the show continued The Walking Dead‘s tradition of making Daryl a prisoner, it still provided a concise story that brought back high stakes and believable drama.

At first glance, Ash’s compound seemed like an interesting location, but it quickly became the home of some ridiculously convenient dilemmas.

In comparison, season 2’s tension feels a lot more artificial. At first glance, Ash’s compound seemed like an interesting location, but it quickly became the home of some ridiculously convenient dilemmas. His entire defense system relied on electricity, meaning every time the power went out, the latches were unlocked. Rather than using a padlock as backup, he never seemed to solve this problem, allowing zombies to enter his place at an opportune time for the story. Additionally, the show doesn’t offer a detailed explanation of how Ash learned to fly and build planes.

Teaching himself to fly sounds extremely unrealistic, especially in an apocalyptic setting, but the series never explored his potential history as a pilot. While these problems could be overlooked, combining them with the lighting strike of doom showed how much the spinoff relied on convenient plot points. Despite Ash staying in the compound for years, one lightning strike was enough to set the place ablaze and destroy his stash of ethanol, forcing him and Carol to fly before they were ready. When it comes to The Walking Dead, I’m willing to forgive some plot contrivances, but this was too much.

Carol’s Character Feels Off In Daryl Dixon Season 2’s First Episode

One Of The Walking Dead’s Most Experienced Survivors Was Making Some Rookie Mistakes

Despite being one of the most experienced survivors in the entire franchise, Carol made plenty of rookie mistakes during Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 1, which felt out of character. While she handled gaining intel on Daryl well, the rest of the episode was the opposite of a highlight reel for one of The Walking Dead‘s best characters. Firstly, she crashed her car after getting distracted by a plane and struggled to fight off two zombies as a result, something I wouldn’t expect from Carol this deep into the apocalypse. Secondly, her interactions with Ash felt off.

Trusting a random stranger to stay in his compound without weapons was a big risk to begin with, but snooping around carelessly was also a rookie mistake. While Carol is the nosy type of character to try and find out a stranger’s personal details, her complete lack of awareness could’ve gotten her killed. She wasn’t even able to fight out of the greenhouse without Ash’s help, showing how clumsy she was throughout the entire episode.

Finally, her random fear of planes came out of the blue, much like Maggie’s fear of heights did in Dead City. While this can be explained as a simple expansion of Carol’s character, she has overcome much bigger challenges and is one of the most mentally strong characters in the show, making this feel a little random. It’s not unreasonable for her to be afraid of planes, since she’s never had to deal with them in The Walking Dead universe, but it’s just one of many things that felt off about her character during Daryl Dixon season 2’s premiere.

Daryl Dixon Is Retconning Season 1 To Create A New Villain Group

L’Union Looks Like They Will Be Season 2’s Main Antagonists

Custom Image by Ana Nieves

Having spent the entirety of season 1 trying to get Laurent to the Nest, it seems like Daryl’s new allies will actually be season 2’s villains. Although the show could still pull off some twists, “La gentillesse des étrangers” seemed to suggest that Losang and L’Union may have a secret plan that could make them antagonists. In addition, Daryl Dixon season 2 may be redeeming Codron according to the trailer, meaning the show could be completely reversing season 1’s dynamic, which highlights some of the big changes the current installment is making to accommodate the new storyline.

While Codron helping Daryl and his allies take on L’Union does sound compelling, it feels like it could make Genet less important. Losang and his group being the show’s true villains means Daryl Dixon season 1 was almost pointless, as it only made the central characters’ lives worse. Therefore, for season 2 to pull off L’Union being the spinoff’s antagonists successfully, the remaining episodes will have to find a way for season 1’s story to still matter, otherwise, it will retcon what made Daryl Dixon so good in the first place.

Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Premiere Is An Anticlimactic Restart

The Premiere Failed To Live Up To The Excitement Of The First Season

Given the quality of season 1, Daryl Dixon‘s return fell a little below expectations and ended up feeling slightly anticlimactic. While it set up Carol’s arrival in France alongside the potential villainous twist regarding L’Union, the story didn’t progress a lot, and the action was nothing out of the ordinary. Getting to know Ash and seeing his relationship develop with Carol was intriguing, but it went on a little too long and took up the bulk of the episode. Considering the show is supposed to be about Daryl, he didn’t have a large enough role, nor did Laurent and Isabelle.

Daryl Dixon has been officially renewed for a third season, which has begun filming in Spain.

Other than Daryl confirming he plans on heading back to the US, his story didn’t take a significant step forward, and it seems like everything is simply building towards his reunion with Carol. Episode 2 may do a better job of balancing the two protagonists’ journeys, but episode 1 missed the mark and was underwhelming compared to the heights Daryl Dixon has reached in the past. The spinoff’s second season still has plenty of potential, and I can’t wait until the action gets more intense, but the show now has more pressure than ever to perform.