When we last left The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, things didn’t look good for our hero and his allies. The leader of the paramilitaristic Pouvior des Vivants, Genet, captured both Isabelle and Laurent. The villain also places the titular character in a warehouse arena with a zombie recently injected with a super serum. The odds are stacked against Daryl, but he’s confronting the mayhem cool as a cucumber.
Spoilers of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon episode 6, “Coming Home” ahead!
France is the center for the super zombies ever since the credit scene in The Walking Dead: World Beyond series finale. Throughout this season we have received glimpses of Genet’s people recreating them via experimentation, particularly last episode during the boat escape. It’s interesting to see what they are capable of in the opening sequence of “Coming Home.”
The make-up and effects department do an impressive job with these new types of walkers. The bulging veins and convulsions turn something already creepy to another level. To make them even more dangerous and harder to kill, the Pouvior attach metal plates to their skulls. The sparks that fly during each head strike are a nice attention to detail. There is a more primal and savage manor to these zombies since they even attack their own kind. The action and spectacle is an exciting way to start the episode.
Unfortunately, everything else from The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season finale cannot maintain that momentum. There are a few character choices that, though they seem logical, don’t feel earned with regards to their journeys. For example, Quinn has a heroic turn that is out of place for someone who has been self-absorbed and arrogant. He is infatuated in winning back Isabelle, but he jumps into the savior role much too willingly to be believed. Even Laurent’s right of passage is anticlimactic because he never had a real attachment to the person. It’s more the act of killing someone that has weight rather than who he has to kill.
Similarly, Codron is built up as a cold-blooded killer out to avenge his brother’s death. When he finally receives the opportunity, he has cold feet. Codron has an explanation when he returns to Genet, but his change of heart isn’t on par for the character. Especially in his introduction in the series, he bashes a grandfather’s skull in. There’s nothing from what we’ve observed that would cause this change of heart. The only cool part is when he is caught in the lie and savors his final free moments.
If you couldn’t surmise from Azlan’s pocket watch from last week, the Nest is the historical commune Mont Saint-Michel. The multidenominational and spiritually based community provides a positive aura compared to the horrors Daryl Dixon and company had to overcome. It is an ideal place where the next messiah can be safe and grow into the leader other believe him to be. The Nest’s security, warmth, and people make it a difficult place to leave.
“Coming Home” builds Daryl’s dilemma of returning back to his people in America or staying with his new found family. Whether it’s philosophical conversations with Losang, the leader of the Nest, or his longing glances at Isabelle, or his close relationship to Laurent, they all make his choice harder.
That decision is left in the cliffhanger as Daryl Dixon treks to rendezvous with his boat. The cinematography of the French countryside is beautiful highlighting the various landscapes on his idyllic journey. Things become too surreal and a bit confusing afterwards when Daryl happens to come across a D-Day gravesite where his grandfather is buried. There are parallels between the two generations of men who travelled to a foreign land to fight in a war. It reinforces the protagonist’s reservations of becoming invested with Laurent, Isabelle, and his other new friends.
The tone takes another turn when a horde of zombies awakens as the boat signals out to him. Laurent magically appears later, and Daryl literally has his ride home on one side and Laurent on the other. Not to mention the countless zombies that have now encircled the child. It all has a dreamlike aura due to Laurent’s mystical powers and calls back to the opening to episode four in the catacombs. Is this actually happening or another misdirect. The uplifting U2 song accompanying the scene add to the uncertainty.
The closing will have the most impact with The Walking Dead fans. We knew that Melissa McBride’s Carol would be involved this season. Luckily, it’s more than her voice in the previous episode during Daryl’s radio call. She is reintroduced in a short, sweet, and fun scene that is on brand for the character and sets her on the path to finding her best friend. We already know from The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon panel at New York Comic Con, that McBride will be in season two, which will be called Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol.
The exciting opening and fun fan service ending are not enough to overcome a muddling middle filled with odd character choices and confusing surreal sequences.
Watch The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon on AMC.
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