Here we are again. Another season. Another fresh start. Yet another chance to prove The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon isn’t a total disaster. If you’re anything like me, an avid The Walking Dead fan who has suffered through two less-than-satisfying seasons of Carol and Daryl’s spin-off, then you’re probably going to press the “play” button on Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 1, “Costa da Morte,” with anxiety-brimming. The good news? This first episode suggests that, when it comes to Daryl Dixon, the third time is the charm.
Hooray! Well, mostly. “Costa da Morte” isn’t without flaws, the main one being that it makes Seasons 1 and 2 of Daryl Dixon feel wholly unnecessary. For TWD fans eager to jump into the Carol/Daryl action, whatever. Who cares? Let’s just watch the greasy, crossbow-wielding rebel and the butt-kicking baddie do their thing. However, for AMC execs trying to entice viewers into investing in these spin-offs, it’s not the best look. Anyone tuning in now will miss a few plot points. Daryl’s whirlwind romance with a nun, and the potential Wildfire virus cure lying in Laurent, mainly. But, as of this writing, Daryl Dixon Season 3 is a Carol and Daryl showcase that feels utterly separate from what came before—and I’m beyond thrilled about it.
Daryl Dixon Season 3 Creates a New World But Repeats a Few Mistakes
Those who’ve been on the Daryl Dixon world tour know the series has bounced from the shores of Maine to France to England and now to Spain. It’s a lot, especially because the England pitstop and accidental boat wreck in Spain all happen in Season 3, Episode 1. If you’re asking me, the stop in England felt… rushed. It would’ve been nice to spend some more time there.
Instead, Carol and Daryl wander abandoned streets featuring London landmarks (although not one 28 Days Later reference? Did I miss something?) until a horde of walkers forces them into a building. There is plenty of tense, old-school Walking Dead action here. Plus, I always love it when TWD specifically creates scenes just to include cool practical effects. In this case, it’s Carol using a fire extinguisher as a weapon of chaos. Really, it’s a fun time until Julian (Stephen Merchant) shows up.
That’s not to say Julian is bad. In fact, he’s quite likable. However, pretty quickly, it becomes apparent that Julian will join the ranks of The Walking Dead spin-offs’ underdeveloped, killed-off supporting characters. In a case of utmost convenience, Julian owns a boat. Julian can sail. Julian will charter Carol and Daryl back to America, but Julian will perish in the crash that lands our duo on the shores of Spain because… well… why not? (Poor Julian.) As a result, a good chunk of Season 3, Episode 1, feels a little too easy and a little too convenient for our heroes. The tension only amps up again during the storm, and after, when Carol gets her head bonked hard enough that she turns into a damsel in distress.
Still, there’s a certain magic about Carol and Daryl being back together that makes the plot armor and moments of convenient writing easier to forgive than in previous seasons. Realistically, that might come down to Melissa McBride. Without Carol in Season 1, Daryl proved that grunts and one-word answers don’t make for good leading man material. Carol’s desperate search to find Daryl started Season 2 off strong, only for their reunion to fall flat without a clear way for her to fit into this new world. Come Season 3, we finally get a taste of what the spin-off should’ve been all along: Carol and Daryl together, talking, fighting, and getting involved with other people’s problems. Don’t get me wrong. Daryl is still grunting and giving one-word answers, but now Carol fills in some of the brooding silence.
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Carol and Daryl Go Full Fan Fiction Mode
Utter the word romance when it comes to Carol and Daryl, and you’ll see a fandom divide in seconds. Some fans remain adamant that the two will only ever be besties, while hopeful shippers insist the chemistry sizzles well beyond friendship. But where there is a will-they-won’t-they relationship concerned, there is always a “maybe,” which Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 1 seems content leaning into. Is showrunner David Zabel gaslighting us? Maybe. Even so, I’m thoroughly enjoying the ride.
Those who suspected Carol and Daryl would separate in Season 3’s first episode don’t have to worry. Instead, we get a healthy dose of hurt/comfort that feels ripped from the internet archives of fan fiction. Toward the episode’s final moments, Daryl cleans Carol’s bandages in a candlelit shack. There are some giggles, some banter, some gentle washcloth touches to Carol’s head, and a delightfully sweet game of I Spy. Whether it reads as close friends or two people inching toward something more is debatable. After all, Isabelle, Daryl’s former love interest, hangs in the air like a ghost.
Still, Carol pulls something more out of Daryl than those aforementioned grunts and one-word answers. “You hide some stuff. You hide what’s up here, and what’s in here,” she says, while referencing his mind and heart. Maybe it’s the combination of alcohol and injury that has her speak these frustrations out loud. Regardless, there’s something about this moment that feels more vulnerable, even though we’ve seen Carol and Daryl in similar situations before.
Really, Daryl has been comforting Carol—and vice versa—since Sophia’s disappearance in Season 2 of The Walking Dead. Perhaps the difference is that they weren’t so alone then. Here, they’re in a different country, completely isolated from their support system. They literally only have each other. That type of intimacy is precisely what I want from a Carol/Daryl spin-off. I already know they can kick-butt; I want to see them talk. I crave to see them function in total isolation. This type of vulnerability feels exciting.
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Darly Dixon’s New Plot Has Intrigue
Aside from Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride’s enduring chemistry, Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 1, left me excited for Episode 2. While London felt like a pointless pitstop, Spain feels fresh already. The foggy silhouette shot of the season’s new antagonists pulling up on horseback gives major John Carpenter vibes (and I’m a sucker for John Carpenter). When the credits rolled, I had questions and the urge to click into my next screener immediately for answers. What’s the deal with those walkers strung up in trees? How will Daryl and Carol repair their boat? And will they ever eat those canned hot dogs?
This episode wasn’t perfect, but it was miles better than what came before. Filled with tension, intimate character moments, and some good old-fashioned zombie action, Daryl Dixon has the potential to undo the damage done in its previous seasons. Honestly, if you’ve fallen off The Walking Dead spin-offs bandwagon, I suggest hopping back on for this ride, at least. It’s got a certain charm I hope continues.
Over Thoughts
- Daryl telling Carol he was pretty young when this all started. *eye roll* Yeah, Daryl, she was young, too. You guys aren’t that far apart in age. Stop feeding The Walking Dead ageist, please.
- Apparently, British walkers are very stealthy.
- How long do canned hot dogs last? Like, at this point, aren’t they more than two decades old?
- The last Englishman in England? Man, the implications of no survivors in London are bleak.
- Daryl tossed his arm around Carol on the boat… squeal!
- RIP Julian.
- Don’t think Daryl has washed his hands in years, but yes, surgery. Let’s do it! (At least he disinfected the knife.)
- Drink Carol. Drink!
- THEY’RE PLAYING I SPY! Funny how so many of their bonding moments have a childlike innocence to them, like when they made friendship bracelets.
- Don’t love that Daryl peered over the ledge of that cliff when looking for Carol. Why would she be down there, Daryl? Why?? Do you know something we don’t???
I wasn’t as impressed as you were. The 5 or so scenes I watched were lacking any emotional tether these two had in the OG show. When Carol mentioned how she felt about finally feeling like she could move on because she dealt with the death of Sofia, Daryl had a look on his face that made you think he was thinking of the nun, and that made me queasy. The idea he could compare the death of a woman he knew a few months to what Carol went through losing her daughter was insulting to me. And no one ever gets over the death of a child. Carol had mentioned in the past she couldn’t feel things, it’s not how she dealt with past trauma so this show trying to sell that the tunnel healed her is another slap in the face to the integrity of Carol Peletier.
The scene he was calling for her on the mountain Darren had no panic in his voice. He could have been calling for anyone. The scene where he has to take a drink after fixing her wound also lacked any feeling. We all assumed that is why he needed the drink but he patted her on the head.It just didn’t work.
Daryl knew the nun a few months and up until 2×1 he was still trying to do anything he could to get back to Carol. By episode 3 he was making stupid comments wondering if anyone was missing him at all. And he’s been mourning her since and treated Carol like crap until this episode where Zabel still had the subtext being about Isabelle. That in itself ruins any thing I could imply in my favor as a fan and I don’t understand how the gaslighting we all know is being fed to us can be enjoyed by anyone.
I also found the I spy and the hot dog scene were tacky. Neither had the emotional impact or amusing feels we got during the friendship bracelet and double-capper scenes.