‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’s One-Take Fight Scene Ranks With The Franchise’s Best

The Walking Dead, and therefore The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is, at its heart, an action show. There’s plenty of talk about the end of the world, and friendship, love, hope, family, etc. But the series lives and dies on its action scenes. So shout out to this week’s episode for delivering a brutal one-take fight scene that ranks among the franchise’s best.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Season 2, Episode 3, “The Book of Carol: L’Invisible” past this point.

In the episode, Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) is trying to get the young Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) free from the Union de L’Espoir, in their base of Mont-Saint-Michel. The Union believes Laurent is the savior of the human race. And to prove it they’re going to let him get bit by a walker. Specifically, Sylvie (Laïka Blanc-Francard), who accidentally fell from the ramparts of the castle stronghold while trying to save Laurent. As the young boy is about to be bitten, enter Daryl, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), and Fallou Boukar (Eriq Ebouaney). They cause enough chaos to usher him to relative safety… Sort of.

Fallou and Isabelle try to get Laurent out of the castle, with varying results. Fallou makes it outside; Isabelle is captured. Meanwhile, Daryl stays behind to lure the Union forces in the opposite direction. Which is when this rad fight scene ensues.

In a basement area of the castle, Daryl is repeatedly attacked by men, and he has to use every tool at his disposal to take him down as the camera bobs and weaves around the confined area. It’s not strictly actually a one-take fight scene… You can see when the camera swerves past someone’s back, where they were able to cut. But that’s okay! It calls to mind the classic hallway fight scenes from Marvel’s Netflix shows (specifically Daredevil), but with the added challenge that they seem to be shooting in the catacombs of a real castle.

That’s not easy to do, and shout out to veteran director Michael Slovis — he also directed the absolute banger fourth episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, among many others — who makes the seams, er, seamless as he shoots in a dimly lit area. The action is clear, Reedus rocks it, and though it ends with Daryl getting captured, it’s absolutely thrilling to watch and perfectly paced.

It’s also a nice change from the normal gunfire/return gunfire action scenes that often dominate the shows… And in particular, when this series remembers that Daryl is essentially the Wolverine of the TWD Universe, and lets him go berserker, it’s a joy. We haven’t really seen this aspect of the show this season, and it’s a stand-out moment in an already stand-out episode. More, please.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol Season 2 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:

New episodes of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premiere on Sundays on AMC and AMC+. The episodes premiere at 3 am ET / 12 am PT on AMC+, and 9 pm ET on AMC.

Here’s the full list of episodes in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 2 with premiere dates:

Sunday, September 29, 2024: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Season 2, Episode 1 – “The Book of Carol: La gentillesse des étrangers”
Sunday, October 6, 2024: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Season 2, Episode 2 – “The Book of Carol: Moulin Rouge”
Sunday, October 13, 2024: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Season 2, Episode 3 – “The Book of Carol: L’Invisible”
Sunday, October 20, 2024: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Season 2, Episode 4 – “The Book of Carol: La Paradis Pour Toi”
Sunday, October 27, 2024: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Season 2, Episode 5 – “The Book of Carol: Vouloir, C’est Pouvoir”
Sunday, November 3, 2024: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Season 2, Episode 6 – “The Book of Carol: Au Revoir Les Enfants” *Season Finale*

Where To Watch The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

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