The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Carol Returns

As a longtime survivor of the apocalyptic world that the Walking Dead universe has come to embody, I find myself deeply moved by the resilience and determination shown by both Carol and Ash in this recent episode. Their stories are a testament to the human spirit’s ability to adapt, endure, and hope against all odds.

Recap of The Walking Dead: Season 1 – Daryl Dixon’s Journey

In the debut episode of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol” during last Sunday’s broadcast of “La Gentillesse Des Strangers,” it’s been two weeks since Daryl left France. He wonders if he belongs at The Nest, but Laurent reminds him of the words from the students of Simone Veil Maternelle School: “Home is where the people you care about are.” As they wait for Losang (Joel de la Fuente), leader of the Union, to secure another means of transport back home, Daryl instructs Laurent in self-defense against walkers. However, the Buddhist monk expresses concern over the effects of constant violence on the young boy, who he believes has a greater destiny.

The Alliance learns that Genet’s Warrior seized hostages as a ploy to discover The Nest’s location, with Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney) and Emile (Tristan Zanchi) among them – these individuals had assisted Isabelle and Sylvie (La?ka Blanc-Francard) in obtaining safe passage from Paris. Despite Daryl’s caution that Genet may order their deaths if they don’t surrender the abbey, the cautious and peace-loving Losang is reluctant to retaliate.

Sharing his feelings with Isabelle, Daryl expresses uncertainty about whether this is where he truly belongs. Despite the possibility of happiness living there with his nephew Laurent, doubts linger in Daryl’s mind. He confesses, “I can’t stop thinking about the people I left behind. I’m constantly wondering if they’re thinking about me too.

In the small town of Freeport, Maine, far from home, Carol has traced Daryl’s last known address: an auto repair shop adorned with a French flag. Disguised as a friendly stranger with a faulty motorcycle she acquired from Mick, Carol manages to retrieve Daryl’s crossbow and extract information from Jones (Gilbert Glenn Brown), Grady (Craig Gellis), and Drew (Tercelin Kirtley) about her missing companion. All they can provide is that the transient Dixon supposedly boarded a boat to France, winning himself a free European vacation, which Carol finds implausible. Jones clarifies, pointing at the French flag, that the French arrived to gather American walkers, paid them well, and departed on the only ship they’ve seen in years. Carol’s hunt for Daryl subsequently leads her to a nearby boatyard on a beach strewn with decaying, beached boats.

In a standstill with her search, Carol hears a nearby plane looping overhead and, momentarily diverted, collides into an antiquated drive-in movie theater sign. As she traces the aircraft to the boundary of a farm surrounded by an automated fence, she feigns becoming trapped like a wild animal. Addressing Ash (Manish Dayal), who extends aid in mending her wounds and departure, Carol expresses her belief that even in such situations, one can trust the benevolence of strangers. The farm occasionally experiences power cuts due to a malfunctioning generator, which powers the fence and locking devices. With her injury and it being nighttime, Ash graciously permits her to reside in his barn on his land.

In a chilling flashback, the act of Ash opening the barn doors stirs up an agonizing recollection: the time when Carol’s long-lost daughter Sophia exited the Greene farm’s barn (during season 2’s episode “Pretty Much Dead Already”). As a reanimated Sophia approaches her mother, much as she did in the past, a gunshot breaks the silence and snaps Carol back to reality. Instead of finding a horde of walkers within the barn, what greets Carol is an airplane. Despite the noise drawing the undead, Ash regularly flies the plane daily “merely to escape above everything for a brief while.” When Ash takes off as scheduled the following day, Carol stumbles upon a carefully maintained grave within a greenhouse – oblivious to the fact that a power outage has left the gates unlocked, allowing walkers to swarm in.

Carol slips past the crowd of people inside the greenhouse and exits via the roof as Ash lands from his flight. She tries to explain that her curiosity about him could have led to friendship if she had known him better. “I’ve been missing a friend like you,” she confesses.

A helpful individual prepares dinner for Carol, yet a glimpse of a beloved flower brings forth another memory: the moment Daryl handed her a Cherokee Rose at the farm, a time when she clung to the belief they would locate Sophia. As the tale unfolds, it’s said that when Native Americans were forcibly removed on the Trail of Tears, “The Cherokee mothers wept profusely due to losing their children along the way from illness, hunger, and coldness. Many went missing. To comfort these grieving mothers, the elders prayed for a sign to lift their spirits, strengthen them, and restore hope. The following day, this rose began growing where the mothers’ tears had fallen.” That Cherokee Rose bloomed for her daughter – and in turn, so did Daryl and Carol’s bond.

Carol deceives Ash by claiming her husband, Ed, took Sophia to see relatives in France before the pandemic. She hasn’t contacted Sophia since, and Ash understands that Carol wants him to travel to France to locate her daughter. In a different phrasing, Carol asks: “Suppose you found out your friend, Bri, was missing, wouldn’t you do everything possible to find her?” The following day, Carol departs the farm on her own.

In the state of Maine, Ash approaches Carol and asks her, “I’d go to great lengths to locate Avi. After all, isn’t that what any parent would do? But let’s set that aside. The real question is, would you be willing to search for him? Would you sacrifice everything to look for someone you haven’t met yet?” Carol responds, “If there was a chance of finding them alive, then… yes.” Facing an uncertain journey across the ocean without any communication, weather updates, or knowledge of what lies ahead, Carol states that it is her only choice. “I couldn’t just stand still,” she tells Ash. So, the good Samaritan will join forces with Carol as she feels compelled to act due to a sense of being stuck and the need to progress. The strategy involves traveling along the northern coast, making a brief stop in Greenland to shorten their time over open water, and swapping fuel tanks with the stored homemade ethanol cache kept in the barn.

Carol mentions she knows an address where Sophia might be staying with Ed’s aunt in Paris; that’s their starting point. Ash is optimistic her daughter might still be there, but Carol (referring to Daryl) is managing her expectations. “I need to remember there’s a chance she won’t be,” she says. “She may no longer be alive.” Ash remains hopeful and replies, “She could be. I’m glad you still have that address.” When asked about his own doubts in leaving the farm and Avi, Ash shares that he didn’t leave the house for months after Avi passed away. Later, when he did venture out, he found the plane, which helped him move forward. “If you don’t keep moving forward,” Ash says, “you’re essentially giving up.

On the opposite side of the globe, Daryl and Mathis set up a tripwire to cause an explosion that will deflate Genet’s convoy’s tires as it travels through a quaint French village. Simultaneously, at Nest, Jacinta (Nassima Benchicou) urges Losang to advance the ceremony earlier since she believes he won’t be able to sway them, especially not the Americans. Losang argues that the boy isn’t mature enough for the event yet, and as his eyes land on Laurent playing chess with Sylvie, Jacinta presses him: “Isn’t he ready? Or are you not?

In alternating locations between America and France, Carol and Ash find themselves hastily taking off during a storm. Meanwhile, on the “Guerrier” convoy, Daryl and Mathis proceed. A lightning bolt damages the electric fence, causing an ethanol-stored barn to ignite as hordes of walkers descend upon the farm. Simultaneously, the tripwire fails to detonate, resulting in Daryl firing at the truck, killing the driver, and causing Genet’s convoy to overturn, leading to a shootout between the Union and the “Pouvoir”.

She chuckles, “I should have guessed,” as Daryl reloads his gun. “It seems the angels dispatch their fiercest demons to carry out their malicious tasks.” Just then, Daryl attempts to shoot Genet, but an explosive device goes off, causing chaos and allowing her to flee. Up in the air, Carol and Ash have managed to escape the zombie-infested farm, now soaring above the tumult. “There’s no reason to be afraid up here,” Ash assures Carol, encouraging her to gaze upon the sunrise breaking through the clouds. With a renewed sense of courage and optimism, Carol smiles as the plane sets a course for France.

Each Sunday, you can catch the latest episodes of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol” on both AMC and AMC+. Don’t forget to keep up with all things Walking Dead Universe by following ComicBook/TWD and our Facebook page, ComicBook TWD.

2024-09-30 05:41

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