The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 3, “El Sacrificio,” delivers another compelling episode. This time, we get a deeper look into Solaz’s small-town politics. As I’ve said previously, Season 3 isn’t perfect, but it’s better—much, much better than watching Daryl wander around France and uncharacteristically befriend strangers. For the first time in a long while, I’m actually excited to see what happens in a Walking Dead spin-off.
I know my audience, and many of you want a “Caryl” update. While Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 1, felt tailor-made for fan fic, Episode 3 feels like a reminder that David Zabel wants to keep Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) platonic. That said, romance and sex abound for our supporting cast. From a sapphic romance dripping with forbidden yearning to a three-way kiss between a sassy cruise line captain and her partners, Daryl Dixon cranks the romance dial up to ten.
Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 3, Excels at Small-Town Politics
Carol and Daryl might be the stars, but a good portion of Season 3, Episode 3, involves Justina (Candela Saitta) and Roberto (Hugo Arbués)—and I’m not mad about it. If you read my Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 2 review, then you already know these two have me smitten. It’s a simple story about forbidden love, but I guess I’m a hopeless romantic, as long as there is plenty of action, gore, and barnacle-covered zombies in the background.
Sure enough, Roberto pitches to Daryl that he’ll help him fix the boat if he and Justina can accompany Daryl and Carol back to America. (Saw this coming since they first met the kid in Episode 1.) The issue: Justina discovers her Uncle Fede (Óscar Jaenada) has been covering up her selection in “La Ofrenda” and sending other girls instead for years.
So, of course, Justina decides to offer herself in place of Alba. It’s giving Katniss’s sacrifice for Prim in The Hunger Games. Maybe that’s why the twist felt a bit predictable. However, there was also a whole lot of foreshadowing in Episode 2, mainly Fede staring at that pig-ribbon way too long. Still, it’s dark, and if you’re like me, you like your Walking Dead grim and thought-provoking.
Really, this episode is all about hypocrisy.
Fede lets Guillermo Torres (Gonzalo Bouza), the next King of Spain, take away other people’s daughters for El Alcazar, but won’t let them take his niece. Remember how Grandma screamed (okay, “screamed” is a bit dramatic) at Carol in the last episode, saying, “We found a way to make this world work for us.” Well, I guarantee Grandma is about to change her tune, considering we see her crying in Episode 2’s final moments.
The small-town politics do wonders for creating mystery and intrigue in a season that would otherwise just be about Carol and Daryl fixing their boat. The extra care Daryl Dixon put into fleshing out Justina and Roberto pays off. (Julian, you deserved better.) Just like discovering Fede is an emotionally tortured leader trying to hide the cracks in his ethics makes him sympathetic. It calls into question that age-old morality debacle: Would you sacrifice one to save the many, or sacrifice the many to save one? Funny enough, it’s not that far off from what Seasons 1 and 2 tried to achieve with the Laurent storyline; it just works so much better here.
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The Action Stays Top Notch
Amidst the morality saga back at Solaz, Daryl sets out with Roberto to fix the boat. The mission sends him bouncing to the aforementioned sassy cruise line captain, Valentina (Irina Björklund), to a long-abandoned boatyard in search of parts. What transpires feels in line with that tension-building action of old school The Walking Dead, a trend that has remained a constant since Season 3’s premiere.
As Roberto wades into the ocean, Daryl Dixon hits us with fast-moving underwater camerashots ripped directly from Jaws. The result is about the same. All the slow-creeping tension and haunting music make it feel like a shark will leap out of the water any second. And while admittedly that would be pretty cool, the actual perpetrator of terror is a barnacle-infested zombie.
Daryl’s kill-shot kicks off a bigger zombie fight on the beach that has him swinging around a boat anchor. If we learn anything from this scene, it’s that the fight choreographers and special effects team are the heart and soul of the franchise. Oh, and that Roberto would’ve most likely died out in the world had Carol and Daryl not come along in Episode 1, because my dude can’t stay on his feet.
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Carol and Daryl Flip-Flop
Ironically, this season sees Daryl and Carol flip-flop roles. This time, he is the doer, she the hesitant follower. “Let’s try and stay out of everybody’s sh*t,” he says to her, which is pretty funny coming from the guy who got so involved with other people’s sh*t that he basically adopted a child in Laurent. Maybe that’s the point. Daryl finally realizes how much time he spent away from home. Judith and RJ didn’t seem like the biggest motivators to return to the States in Seasons 1 and 2, but now that Laurent is presumably there, Daryl is gung-ho to get back. *Eye roll*
On the other hand, Carol feels indebted to Justina for helping her. Throw in a little guilt about unintentionally encouraging her to sacrifice herself in place of Alba, and Carol isn’t going anywhere until this whole “:a Ofrenda” business resolves. When we consider the fact that Carol knows what it’s like to lose a daughter, it makes for a more compelling motive than Daryl had in earlier seasons. Still, I’m tired.
Carol’s maybe-kind-of flirtations with Antonio feel like the writers’ room decided she and Daryl need to go tit-for-tat. Daryl had a love affair last season, so Carol needs a love interest this one. Maybe it’s the bitter “Caryler” in me showing. Still, after two seasons of Carol and Daryl mostly separated, I want to see more of them together, deepening their relationship in whatever way makes sense for them.
It doesn’t have to be romantic, but it has to be something more than hot dogs and talking about Isabelle. Give me a taste of what we saw in Episode 1, where they played I Spy and Carol called Daryl on his emotional unavailability. Yeah, give me more of that.
Other Thoughts
- Fede drinking the wine after the king leaves—priceless!
- Carol is nosey. Not only does she look at other people’s pictures, but she takes them off the wall?!
- “Just remember, hot dogs. That’s what we are about now. Eating them f***ing hotdogs.” Nothing more poetic has ever been spoken on TV.
- More voyeurism. Man, Daryl and Carol sure are obsessed with Roberto and Justina.
- A little three-way kiss action with an older lady, no less! Um… *checks screener title*… am I still watching The Walking Dead?
- Carol. Is. Flirting. With. Antonio.
- Okay, maybe Carol is friend-zoning Antonio because she said he “sounded like Jerry,” another “friend” of hers. I don’t know. I’m trying, Carylers.
- Why is the Jaws camerawork so effective? Why am I convinced Roberto is about to be thrashed by a great white? Why do I also think that would be really cool?
- The Rubex cube scene is a nice callback to Laurent. It shows Daryl is still thinking about him in his own Daryl way, without him getting all expositioney
- “If you could switch places, you could fix it.” Carol, why do you say the worst things at the worst times?
- Honestly, I feel like Antonio is being a little too nice about Carol stealing from him.
- Yup. Justina is gone. Nice one, Carol.
- If Carol and Daryl are going to separate, this is where it happens. I’m calling it now!
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon airs new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
