Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol

Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any better, along comes THE WALKING DEAD – DARYL DIXON: THE BOOK OF CAROL and what a ride it is! Kicking off in the US before continuing on French shores, Daryl almost dies of shock (pleasant shock, that is!) when seemingly out of nowhere, his bosom buddy Carol suddenly appears in the midst of tragedy… Get that popcorn ready, because you will be glued to the screen non-stop!

We knew it would only be a matter of time before Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) would be reunited. The cast-iron bond they share – forged by so much they have been through back in their native homeland – would make it almost a sacrilege if Carol hadn’t bounced back onto the scene and voila, here she is! In Episode 1, there’s a brief scene in which young Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), the supposed new Messiah, fights D-day zombies together with Daryl on the beach of Normandy – which is precisely where and how Episode 6 of Season 1 (THE WALKING DEAD: DARYL DIXON) ended. Basically, this brief sequence serves as a recap lest viewers forgot the cliff-hanger. However, we’re then back in Maine, USA, where Carol has decided to track down her best mate Daryl and it’s not long before she finds the very auto repair shop where she retrieves his lost crossbow and, forced to use violence, is informed that Daryl had journeyed to France. Somewhat astonished by this revelation though at the same time not really, as she knows only too well how unpredictable Daryl can be, she stands on a beach which is scattered with decayed shipwrecks, gazing into the ocean. It’s a powerful image which signifies things to come…

There’s a brief excursion to France and the Nest (Mont Saint-Michel), where Daryl attempts to instruct Laurent in the art of combat and has an argument of sorts with Losang (Joel de la Fuente) about aggression and violence versus pacifism, something that Losang, self-proclaimed leader of the Union of Hope community, holds dear to his heart. But Daryl and Losang don’t have much time to argue because we’re back in the US again, where Carol, who has liberated a car from the auto repair shop, drives off, only to crash the car several miles further down the road. Walking through dense forest and shrubbery in the hope of finding someone… anyone… who might be able to help her, she stumbles across Ash Patel (Manish Dayal), a young man who lives like a recluse but, after ensuring she poses no danger, invites her in and offers to help repair her car the next day. The following morning, she observes Ash taking off in his small private plane though he will be back later that day. Intrigued by his behaviour and the fact that he refuses to give up his lifestyle, which resembles that of a hermit, she decides to snoop about his place and spots a greenhouse in his backyard. Entering, she discovers photographs and a makeshift shrine decorated with toys, which suggest that Ash once had a little son who must have died. Just as she is about to sneak back into the house, Walkers attack and in the ensuing battle, the greenhouse ends up pretty much demolished. When Ash returns, he is furious with Carol as she had no business snooping around in the greenhouse to begin with. He asks her to leave the next morning but, decent soul that he is, invites her to stay for one last dinner, over which he reveals how his little son died (well, you can guess…) and Ash has felt guilt ever since because he failed to protect his son. This is the moment when Carol senses her big chance by revealing to him that she, too, lost her daughter Sophia, although she is presumed to be “somewhere in France”. It’s a lie of course because her daughter has been dead for years, but by pretending to look for her, she also grabs the chance to convince Ash he needs to get out in the world and leave his torment behind and before you know it, she’s bamboozled him into flying her across the Atlantic to France!

This first episode is pretty much all about Carol and her new-found ally Ash, as it really sets the tone for the ‘adventures’ (if that’s the word to use) that lie ahead of them. Meanwhile back in France, it’s business as usual with Daryl fighting on all fronts though things quickly turn even more dangerous when at the Nest, Lauren is kidnapped – with Daryl, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney) and Emile (Tristan Zanchi) hatching a plan to come to the boy’s rescue. However, when Emile finds out that Lauren is in fact still at the Nest, she begins to wonder why Losang and some of his disciples pretend he has been kidnapped. The truth is that they want Daryl and Isabelle nowhere near for the special ceremony they have planned for Lauren… involving the boy being bitten by an Amper to prove that he is immune against such a bite and therefore he really must be the new Messiah! Hare-brained as it sounds, Losang is serious about his theory and while the ceremony is thwarted at the last minute by you know who, there is a high price to pay for Laurent’s rescue….

While Ash and Carol land their plane in Greenland (before continuing the journey) and have an unpleasant and deeply disturbing encounter with two young environmentalists, Eun and Hanna (Minami and Maria Erwolter respectively), the screenwriters had the inspiring idea of telling the backstory of Marion Genet (Ann Charrier), female leader of the Pouvoirs and as the flashback sequence demonstrates, she wasn’t always the ruthless leader she is now, no. In fact, she used to work as a humble cleaner at the Louvre together with fellow cleaner Sabine (Tatiana Gousseff) and just as the two, together with other co-workers, were about to stage a strike for better pay and work conditions, France changed when suddenly, it became overrun by Amper zombies, killing many in the process. During the ensuing mayhem, Marion’s husband got devoured before her very eyes. Back in the present day, the mayhem continues during which key characters lose their lives. To give away how Daryl and Carol are reunited would spoil things, but rest assured, it’s all tense and gripping, with twists and turns galore while raw emotions are laid bare, especially from Carol – someone who tends to bottle up her feelings (a bit like Daryl).

Not wishing to give the climax away (and what a cracker it is) it looks like Daryl and Carol’s journey might continue in Old Blighty, if the cliff-hanger is anything to go by. There’s even a joke when Fallou, who initially had planned to accompany the two on their journey, decides to stay behind after having fallen in love with archer Akila (Soraya Hachoumi) and with her remarking, “Don’t go to England. I’ve been there and the food is terrible!”

As always, the acting is top-notch, as is the camera work, the editing and the storyline!
This 2-disc Blu-ray edition offers Bonus material including trailers, Pre-premiere look at Season 2, Show me more – Episode Insiders, Comic-Con 2024 panel, Subtitles.