The ‘Daryl Dixon’ series has been smart to continually release new seasons every year since the flagship show ended. Although we usually only get six episode at a clip (season 3 does have 7), it’s still wonderful to have consistency in a universe that once had thousands of people digging online for spoilers from any episode of the show. Long gone are the days of The Spoiling Dead, but it is genuinely exciting when new episode of ‘Daryl’ start dropping. Since Carol (Melissa McBride) joined the cast full-time in season 2 aka “The Book of Carol”, Daryl has leaned on his old friend, which took away some of the magic of season 1.
Daryl had to send the alleged Messiah, Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) on a shaky flight to the Commonwealth, which was the kid’s best option . Daryl lost one of the only legitimate love interests he’s had in the universe after 15 years, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), but the character feels emotionally numb and closed off after decades of loss. Season 3 is a fresh start for the duo who end up lost in London and trapped in a building while Walkers control the streets. Warning, beyond this point, there are heavy spoilers for AMC’s “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” Season 3 premiere titled “Costa da Morte”.
Daryl lost one of the only legitimate love interests he’s had in the universe after 15 years, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), but the character feels emotionally numb and closed off after decades of loss.”
The series kicks off with Daryl and Carol wandering through Europe, making their way into London. There are some breathtaking shots along the way while the two are as familiar as an old married couple, which is probably the same on and off the set after all of their experience together. As they finally make their way into London and we see an apocalyptic riddled Big Ben, the intro kicks in The music is entrancing, while the visuals are one of the more interesting series intros to watch in the TWD-U.
Once Daryl and Carol get into the city, the realize they are in over their head as the streets are overflowing with the dead. The scene is reminiscent of Rick’s first trip into Atlanta, only Daryl and Carol should know better, They quickly end up trying to blast their way out of a herd with a few handguns and knives. The two end up holed up in a spacious but rundown apartment where they make themselves comfy and try to figure out how they’ll escape their city and make their next move towards getting back home to “Merica.
Eventually, the two are contacted by Julian, played by “The Office” Creator, Stephen Merchant. Julian seems friendly enough, although a little weird and claims he is the only survivor left in all of London? Wouldn’t that make London the true Dead City? It’s a little far-fetched that there would be zero survivors for years, but we will move on and continue to analyze the episode. We did appreciate Julain’s term for Walkers…. Squids. Julian has a whole London rhyming slang explanation for why he calls them squids that’s awkwardly great and even funnier the second time watching the episode. Carol and Daryl eventually warm up to Julian and find out he has a small boat. Both survivors tell Julian they can sail, which is total cap. Julian figures out they are lying but reluctantly decides to leave with the pair became he may not see anyone for a long time.
The boat trip is nice at first bit gets Insteon’s and Julian gets inexplicably violently ill. The trio run into a massive storm and things end up pretty much worst case scenario – shipwrecked. “The Walking Dead” universe has made a bad habit in it’s spin-offs of devaluing the life of every character that aren’t on the top of the cast list. The season 3 premiere of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” would sadly not be bucking that trend as Julian, who we were starting to like, just gets offed offscreen during the shipwreck. Dead City also has a tendency to kill every other character besides the top billed cast and we understand deaths are one of the popular parts fo the show, but when there’s no stakes for the main characters the dynamic isn’t the same.
In the shipwreck, Carol is severely hurt and gets a dangerous infection. The. two are surrounded by a whole crew of tribal mask wearing men but manage to remain undetected but get robbed and their boat destroyed. With no chance of sailing again, the pair look for help for Carol and we get to see the heart and loyalty that has made their friendship one of the most wholesome thing on TV for over a decade.
The episode ends with Daryl caring for an increasingly sicker Carol until he comes back to their crash pad to find her gone, The premiere ends with a cliffhanger although it’s likely that Carol just went to the bathroom or got disoriented and wandered a bit. The ‘weeks to come’ trailer teases the duo making it to Spain and getting caught up in a conflict with “mucho bandidos” (according to Daryl) that might sidetrack Daryl and Carol from getting home.
What do you think? Knowing that season 4 is shooting in Spain tells us that the pair probably gets stuck in Spain for some time. Why was London only one episode? Will Daryl get drawn into the drama again? Will Laurent make it to the Commonwealth unharmed? Will we see any other TWD cast members in Spain or in a flashback? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
