This is The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book Of Carol’s biggest episode yet, delivering huge developments and returning to that breakneck pace. Having left off last week with Genet (Anne Charrier) poised to create an army of the dead – with Carol (Melissa McBride) among them – season 2, episode 4 “La Paradis Pour Toi”, gets right to it, unleashing Genet’s super zombies against the Nest. Finally, Daryl Dixon is making good on these terrifying, faster variants.
Naturally, Carol manages to avoid joining their ranks, and she teams up with Codron (Romain Levi) – who’s strapped to a car in a rig straight out of Mad Max – for a high-octane chase that kicks things off. The action doesn’t let up for the first 20 minutes or so, with the attack on the Nest leading directly into another excellent fight scene of Daryl (Norman Reedus) laying waste to zombies and L’Union members. From there, “La Paradis Pour Toi” hits its emotional high note, giving us the much-anticipated reunion between Carol and Daryl, followed by a heartbreaking farewell.
Clearly, Daryl Isn’t Allowed To Ever Be Too Happy
It isn’t too surprising that Isabelle is killed off just as she and Daryl acted on their true feelings for each other. It’s pretty typical of The Walking Dead to kill a character that both we and the characters care about. When done well, it can become a moving and memorable moment. Isabelle’s death does hit that criteria, but it’s also a little infuriating that they can’t just let Daryl be happy, even for a little while.
As if there were any lingering doubts, Losang’s (Joel de la Fuente) villain status is fully confirmed after he fatally stabs Isabelle. It’s another in his growing list of cruel acts, belying how trustworthy he appeared initially. Having Carol be the one who discovers Isabelle as she’s bleeding out is a somewhat poetic turn, bringing together the most important women in Daryl’s life, if only briefly. That she also brings Daryl to Isabelle is a sad turn of events, making their reunion bittersweet as Daryl mourns a woman he loved but who Carol wasn’t even aware of.
While it’s certainly frustrating for us to have Daryl’s first real romance snuffed out so soon and so tragically — especially given how long The Walking Dead made us wait for it — Reedus handles the heart-wrenching material well. Daryl grieves by not exactly hiding his pain, but keeping focused on the task at hand. It’s clear Isabelle’s death will have a lasting effect on him, likely making him more protective of Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi). It also puts him and Carol on strange footing, as it’s obvious how much Daryl has experienced in the time they’ve been separated.
They’re Back Together & Grappling With Similar Struggles
This episode is emotionally all over the place. As sad as it is to say goodbye to Isabelle, it feels so good to have Carol and Daryl reunited. It’s a little more complicated for the characters, but it’s what we have all been waiting for. The scene itself plays out beautifully, with Carol appearing just as Daryl kills a walker, and the two tearfully embracing as they’re overcome with relief. Similarly to The Ones Who Live, it’s appreciated that Daryl Dixon didn’t make us wait all season for this moment.
Carol is still grieving the loss of her child, reliving that moment over and over, while Daryl is coming to terms with the responsibility of raising a child.
Of course, it’s immediately followed by Isabelle’s death scene, which decidedly dampens the high of their reunion. There’s also little time for Daryl to get Carol up to speed with what’s been happening in France, which has the pair feeling a little strained as they leave the Nest. In this time, though, it becomes apparent how their season arcs are related – Carol is still grieving the loss of her child, reliving that moment over and over, while Daryl is coming to terms with the responsibility of raising a child.
It’s an interesting way to have their stories dovetail, as they don’t exactly mirror each other, but they do deal with similar themes. Daryl has always shown a fondness for children, Judith especially, but his relationship with Laurent is different because Daryl has been the only father figure he’s known. There’s a fear, though, with having just lost Isabelle, that Daryl could lose Laurent too, and it has him questioning if being a parent is something he can handle. Carol rightly calls him out on this, and it’s a welcome development that Daryl ultimately chooses to be there for Laurent.
The title of this episode, “La Paradis Pour Toi”, translates to “Heaven for You”, and is also the name of the song, performed by Gillian Hills, that’s playing on the record player when Daryl and Carol stumble upon the old couple, Theo and Didi.
Daryl’s acceptance of his parental role comes in tandem with Carol finally letting go of her grief over Sophia. During their stopover with the old French couple, Theo (François-Éric Gendron) and Didi (Marie-Christine Adam), Carol is again haunted by her past trauma. But in speaking with Didi, she gains the strength to move on and stop letting the world she’s lost keep her from the one she’s found. It’s perhaps a sudden resolution, having just reintroduced this hurdle for Carol to overcome, but McBride does so well with the material it’s hard to be too critical.
Pouvoir’s Leader Gets Taken Out Much Sooner Than Expected
For the most part, “La Paradis Pour Toi” is a very strong episode with lots of emotional payoff. And then it just goes completely off the rails with another major death – Madame Genet, a character whose backstory was just revealed and who was set up to be a major antagonist. It’s certainly a shocking development and does help to alleviate Daryl Dixon season 2’s too many villains problem, but killing her off so quickly feels like a wasted opportunity.
What’s especially funny about Genet being killed off so suddenly is how quickly her entire organization switches allegiances to Losang.
Before she’s offed, Daryl Dixon continues to drive home the fascism theme with several not-so-subtle WWII references, particularly with Genet and her soldiers visiting Theo and Didi’s village. It’s a reminder that her tactics aren’t anything new, and France has seen her kind of tyranny before. However, she isn’t a threat anyone has to worry about anymore, and it’s honestly a little ridiculous to have her taken out this soon.
What’s especially funny about Genet being killed off so suddenly is how quickly her entire organization switches allegiances to Losang. The people in these groups are nothing more than sheep, following whoever is giving the orders. It’s apparent now that the plan all along was for Losang to be the season’s true villain, but this bait-and-switch is a dumb way to go about it. Throughout season 2, the villain situation has been a mess, and while condensing the threats does make sense, the way we got here is laughable.
Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Zombie Kill of the Week
I was really hoping this section would be a fun way to cap off each review by discussing a sensational zombie kill, but the show has let me down on that front. I’ve been saying all season long that The Walking Dead has become less about the walkers, and Daryl Dixon is proving that to be true. Even with super zombies who can move faster than any in the franchise, aside from the opening attack on the Nest, these new variants are still being underutilized.
For this week’s kill, I’m again stretching the rules and looking at the living, and no one’s killed off more spectacularly than Genet. It comes from Carol shooting her with the same virus she used to turn the dead into her fast zombies. When used on her, however, it triggers a gruesome sequence as pustules form on her skin, causing it to blacken as her eyes bug out before she drops dead. It may not be a zombie kill, but it’s easily the most memorable of the season so far.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 really hits its stride in this episode. Isabelle’s death is poignant, the reunion between Carol and Daryl is uplifting, and Genet’s death, while making the buildup of her character a little pointless, is grotesque and unlike anything The Walking Dead has done in some time. With only two episodes left to go, it’ll be hard to top this one.
