What’s Going on with Carol? Daryl Dixon Showrunner Explains Season 2’s Weird Detour!

Daryl & Isabelle’s Final Daryl Dixon Season 2 Moment Explained By Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 2!The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixonshowrunner David Zabel has explained Carol’s odd detour in season 2, episode 2, revealing where the idea came from and why. During Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 2, Carol (Melissa McBride) and Ash (Manish Dayal) land in Greenland on their way to France, doing so to repair the plane after a fuel line started leaking. While there, they meet survivors Eun (Minami Bages) and Hanna (Maria Erwolter), who try to kill Carol and get Ash to impregnate them. Both newcomers end up dead, with Hanna killing Eun and Ash killing her before their departure.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Zabel explained he came up with the idea for Carol and Ash’s Greenland detour in Daryl Dixon, wanting to have the plane stop somewhere to make the journey to France more realistic. This resulted in brainstorming zombies hiding in marshlands, alongside the survivors and their own endeavors. The showrunner’s only lament was not having more time spent with Eun and Hanna to better flesh out their characters and storyline. Check out what Zabel had to say below:

This one started with me. We didn’t want to just have Carol pop into France and make things too easy. And we knew that the plane really couldn’t go direct. It was gonna have to make a stop somewhere. So we started talking about Greenland and, who would be in Greenland? If we found somebody still in Greenland, would they be? What would the walkers be like? We talked a lot about the walkers, the marshy walkers, and then we talked about who would be there, and how would that make an interesting story?

We had this idea that two scientists could have survived, alone in their station. After the apocalypse, they had managed to continue to live there. We managed to spin a good story out of that. I really love that one. In a different world, we would have spent even more time in Greenland, but we only had six episodes.

What Carol & Ash’s Greenland Detour Says About Daryl Dixon Season 2

Unexpected Adventures & Threats Could Arrive In The Future

Carol and Ash’s adventure in Greenland stood out because of how disconnected it was to the rest of the story. Both Eun and Hanna wind up dead not long after meeting them, making it clear that Daryl Dixon‘s characters are going to have plenty of unexpected events happen to them throughout season 2. While the detour doesn’t seem like it will have lasting implications on the overall storyline, the life-threatening situation allowed for the traveling duo to grow more trusting of one another, and what they’ll do to protect each other.

However, this trust may only be temporary, as Carol lied about Sophia being alive in order to get Ash to take her halfway around the world. While he’s now waiting for her at his plane, meaning he won’t learn about Daryl (Norman Reedus) for quite some time, the truth coming out will likely drive a rift between them despite their harrowing Greenland adventure together. While exploration of the other country allowed for a new perspective on the apocalypse and their relationship, it also hints at how trust evaporating will lead to their friendship doing the same.

Our Take On Carol & Ash’s Adventure In Greenland

A Strange Yet Understandable Pit Stop

Although Carol and Ash’s stop in Greenland feels out of place when considering the scope of Daryl Dixon, it also made sense for them to stop somewhere as they traveled to France. The short stint was reminiscent of The Walking Dead‘s bonus episodes from season 10, although a shorter rendition with less of a long-term impact for the characters. Even though their short pit stop is unlikely to be mentioned much again, it still offered a stronger connection between the pair because of the circumstances they had to deal with.

New episodes of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 air Sundays on AMC and AMC+.

Source: THR