This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.
On The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, the group begins their journey to escort a young boy believed to be the next messiah to the north where he can fulfill his destiny. They become sidetracked when their mule is devoured by walkers and team up with a group of youthful survivors to obtain a replacement. After returning to the road, they reach Paris on this week’s episode.
“Paris Sera Toujours Paris” continues the strong relationship building between Daryl Dixon and Isabelle. The nun returns to her old apartment picking up currency she can use to pay off the debt to her travel companion. It’s in these candid moments that she reveals to someone her questionable past. Though the pair grew up a world apart, they aren’t so different. Isabelle’s line of being broken until the world ended is such a powerful sentiment, especially considering how much we’ve seen Daryl grow throughout The Walking Dead.
The episode lives up to the title which translates to “Paris will always be Paris.” It’s amusing to see that while filled with a zombie horde, parts of the city still retain its vibrant character. None more so than the nightclub the group visits to find Daryl a ship back to the United States. The music is lively and the drinks are plentiful. We also see a side of the Parisian resilience when new ally Fallou discusses how the city has survived many apocalypses and they will survive this one too.
Codron is also becoming a villain that you love to hate. Romain Levi’s delivery of why he must hunt down Daryl is surprisingly moving. We receive a round two between the rivals in an intense chase and fight made even more dramatic by the weather conditions. And like a slippery fellow, Codron is able to escape again building even more heat.
Where The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon loses some steam is the reintroduction of Quinn, the man who helped Isabelle and her sister escape Paris initially. He is the owner of the nightclub and is willing to help Daryl find passage. You sense he still has feelings for Isabelle creating an awkward pseudo love triangle. The terms of the aid are clear, but our hero doesn’t want the nun to pay the cost. Escalating tensions even further is learning the connection between Quinn and Laurent. It’s one big soapy turn after the next. It’s such a short time to fully process both big revelations that it can take away from their impacts.
Speaking of Laurent, he’s quickly falling into a typical child trope. The series is trying to build him up to be this savior with many of the Paris residents in awe of his presence. He even is able to connect with a widow who has been inconsolable since her husband past. But his childish outbursts are taking away from that aura. Sure it brings the character back to Earth and make you remember he is a kid, but it’s in such an annoying manner, that if it were real life, you would ignore him as not to give any weight to his tantrums.
Despite the drawbacks, the show also does some little things well. It accentuates the unnerving feeling you would expect in the environment. We have a call back to the little girl Isabelle says bye to before leaving the city previously. In her current state, the nun can only show a little compassion preventing Daryl from disposing of the now zombified child. Later on as the group travels through the catacombs to reach the nightclub, it’s quite the site to travel through skeletal remains as the undead roam the land. Then there are the glimpses into the super zombie experiments that are equal parts disturbing and intriguing.
“Paris Sera Toujours Paris” has great developments between Daryl and both Isabelle and Codron, but risks spoiling the future with childish tantrums and soap opera turns.
New episodes of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon are released Sundays on AMC.
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