While last week’s episode felt like a slow walk in terms of plot exposition and excitement, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon 2×03 is a full-on sprint. We get character backstory, major plot exposition, a relatively big character death, and we get a John Wick-level action sequence in which Daryl says the most 1980’s action movie catchphrase ever. This is an episode to remember.

We open on a flashback of Genet working in the Louvre Museum on the night that the apocalypse hit France. We see what led her to become the ruthless leader we know her as. It all unfolds on the night that the dead rose in Paris. The story flashes forward to the present where Genet and Carol are looking at the Mona Lisa painting. It’s revealed that Genet took it with her when she fled the museum. We see more examples of Genet’s leadership style. Meanwhile, Carol tries to figure out who she must become to survive under Genet’s rule.

Carol witnesses the brutal experimentation that Genet’s scientists have been performing. They murder groups of civilians and inject them with something that immediately turns them into hyper-aggressive walkers. It seems that Genet is attempting to create weaponized soldiers using walker genetic material.

Daryl is breaking back into the Nest encampment where Laurent is being prepared to be “tested” via being bitten by a walker to see if he survives. Before they arrive, Sylvie breaks out of her room and attempts to locate Laurent but accidentally falls to her death when surrounded by Losang’s guards. This leads to Sylvie being the walker that Losang uses to test Laurent. But before she has the chance to bite Laurent, we see Daryl and friends appear in the crowd and take out walker Sylvie. This leads to a long, seemingly one-shot, fight sequence that can only be compared to the first half hour of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Laurent is successfully rescued from the Nest, but only after Daryl and Isabelle are taken captive by Losang.

Back at Genet’s stronghold, she and Carol have a serious conversation where Carol reveals about 90% of the truth as to who she is and why she’s here. The one notable lie being that Daryl is her brother and she is here to kill him. This information intrigues Genet, convincing her to let Carol join a mission invading the Nest. When they arrive, Carol quickly realizes that Genet plans to try out her experiment for real and use the creations to attack the people of the Nest. Worse, Carol is forced to stand in the group of civilians who are about to be killed and reborn.

This episode was the highlight of this season so far, but it wasn’t without its flaws. The opening sequence, which was apparently filmed at the actual Louvre Museum, was beautifully shot and an achievement for this series. The use of France’s natural beaut continues to let the show stand apart from the other spinoffs. Another strong component of the episode came in the wild fight sequence with Daryl navigating through the Nest. While it was almost humorous seeing Daryl Dixon wearing all his plot armor and embracing his inner Keanu, the way the scene was shot was up to par with the numerous other films and shows that have been brave enough to attempt these long one-shot sequences.

Photo Credit: Stéphanie Branchu/AMC

The amount of plot delivered in this episode was both a blessing and a curse. It feels a bit like an avalanche of information and character development. While almost all this information was important and interesting, some of it could have been spread out into other episodes. The death of Sylvie seemed to rushed and last minute and had very little emotional payoff.

The opening sequence of Genet’s origin was beautifully shot. But it’s also sloppy and a last-minute addition. This moment should carry the same weight as when we saw Negan as a gym teacher but falls flat. Plenty will find the Daryl fight sequence silly or unnecessary. But it fits right in with the way they have been framing Daryl as a character in this series.

The episode offers intriguing plot developments, memorable character moments, and some awesome fight sequences. Packed way more of a punch than its predecessors, it pushes the story in the right direction. With the crazy cliffhanger we were left with, here’s hoping we’re now one step closer to Daryl and Carol reuniting and showing the fans what we all know they’re capable of when they fight together.