While I’ve been largely pleased with The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3 thus far, this episode marks my first instance of… unease. That’s not to say the entirety of Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 4, is bad. If you like action, you’ll get plenty of it. However, the narrative feels like it’s wavering while Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) remain trapped in a frustrating competition of emotional unavailability. (Daryl is winning.) Gone is the more adventurous, mysterious vibe of the first three episodes. Instead, Episode 4 seems intent on going full throttle action with a battle sequence that goes on as long as Daryl hasn’t showered, aka too long.
Chock full of action and a dash of Carol/Daryl angst, Episode 4 almost works. Yet, its pedal-to-the-metal tonal shift doesn’t hit quite as hard. Not to mention the main plot gets neglected for a subplot that feels like a distraction. Really, the entire episode surrounds Carol and Daryl’s disagreement about how to move forward: She wants to help Justina (Candela Saitta) and Roberto (Hugo Arbués), and he wants to focus on getting home. The resolution to that decision ultimately comes, but first Daryl Dixon brings back those scary-looking antagonists first glimpsed in Season 3, Episode 1—and, apparently, they’re unconnected to Guillermo (Gonzalo Bouza) and El Alcazar, the other antagonists.
Guilt Is a Main Character
Last episode, Carol inadvertently spurred Justina to offer herself to El Alcaraz. Now, consumed by guilt, Carol feels indebted to get her back. In contrast, Daryl has been hellbent on not getting involved with local politics since arriving in Spain. Hence, their conflict. “That sh*t you’re thinking is a mistake,” he tells Carol while they repair the boat. The same mistake I made back in France. The same mistake we’re always making.”
Those who have been watching The Walking Dead since the beginning know this side of Daryl. When he feels afraid, he leans into the idea that no one cares about him, and he—or, in this case, he and Carol—shouldn’t care about anyone else. However, beneath this selfish affront is actually a man riddled by guilt. Of course, he feels bad about Justina and Roberto, and when Carol suggests he doesn’t, he storms off. And while that same flashback of young Daryl might grate on your nerves by the end of the season, it serves as a reminder that this part of Daryl stems from trauma.
Not long after Carol and Daryl’s disagreement, the former cruise line captain, Valentina (Irina Björklund), whose upfrontness feels much needed among a cast of tight-lipped protagonists, makes an assumption about their relationship. “Your boyfriend sure doesn’t like taking advice, does he?” she says to Carol. Carol corrects her like a civilized, if slightly frazzled, human while Daryl stalks away after an awkward “Nope.” Turning back to Carol, Valentina adds, “Okay, anyway… think about it.” While she’s clearly talking about the prospect of Cooper joining Carol and Daryl to avoid another shipwreck, the contemplative pause Carol offers suggests she might be thinking about something else. Maybe even the idea of Daryl being her boyfriend.
Is that the delusional “Caryl” side of me speaking? Probably. However, it’s far from the first time I’ve suspected Carol of picturing a different type of relationship with Daryl. (Remember when she dreamed of domestic Daryl in Season 10 of The Walking Dead? I sure do.) However, guilt seems to manifest here, too. Daryl is her friend, and thinking of him as anything else could prove dangerous to their dynamic. So, enter Antonio (Eduardo Noriega). The man seems smitten with Carol already. After all, he basically tells her to take everything he owns for the boat, while Daryl is busy talking about hot dogs and pretending he doesn’t care about anything.
MORE: ‘Daryl Dixon’ Season 3, Episode 3 Review: “El Sacrificio”
Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 4, Delivers Action With Mixed Results
In the second half of the episode, Carol and Daryl return to Solaz to confront a barbarian-esque group, known as Les Primitives. The group has as much motivation for the attack as Michael Myers in Halloween. They do it because they can, or as one of the captured warriors says, “To burn it all down.” It’s not like we haven’t seen anarchy before in the franchise, but here, it feels a little hollow… and convenient. Les Primitives know about Solaz’s deal with El Alcazar, but decide to attack right after Guillermo drops off a bunch of weapons and supplies? What that actually reads as is Daryl Dixon wants to shoot fun action sequences with old-school weaponry, so the writers made it happen.
The result is decent, if not a tad chaotic. Still, the practical effects shine. Remember those zombies strung up in trees? Well, here they become fire-engulfed projectiles that excel at ramping up tension as they crash into the town. The zombies rising out of the flames are pretty darn cool, and so is watching Daryl mow down enemies, both dead and alive, in several creative ways. Fede (Óscar Jaenada) also shines as a leader who stands alongside his people. The man takes a spear to the shoulder and keeps going. The issue: Carol becomes a secondary player among the boys.
MORE: The Walking Dead Fandom Has an Ageism Problem with Carol & Daryl
Carol Should Be the Star, Too
Don’t get me wrong. Carol has a few shining moments during the attack on Solaz. Shooting the walker about to gnaw a man’s face off and helping Fede hobble to safety after his injury warrants mention. However, Daryl Dixon Season 3, Episode 4, primarily puts Carol in the background during fights. The camera literally zooms in on Daryl while Carol stands behind him, blurry and just in frame.
Perhaps more perplexing is that Carol periodically acts like she’s never seen walkers before. When they rise from the flames, she backpedals with an expression of shock, only for a cool, composed Daryl to come in guns blazing. *Eye roll* Later, she tosses one of the “fancy weapons” to Daryl and then idles by Antonio as he fires the ballista into the remaining enemies. *Eye roll again*
The Carol I know from The Walking Dead would’ve done these things herself. Instead, Daryl Dixon keeps her teetering on the edge of damsel-in-distress territory. Daryl doesn’t particularly seem to worry about her during the onslaught, meaning he knows she can handle herself, which makes the whole thing even stranger. It’s not Daryl who doubts Carol’s abilities, but the writers themselves—and Melissa McBride is just doing her job.
Perhaps Carol’s injuries from the boat wreck are to blame. If so, Daryl Dixon needs to show that. Last time I checked, this was supposed to be a Carol AND Daryl spin-off, not Daryl Dixon: The One-Man Army Show, at least now that we’re past Season 1. With the two deciding to pursue Roberto together in Episode 4’s conclusion, hopefully that will change for the better. If not, expect to hear more angry rants from me.
Other Thoughts
- Maybe it’s just me, but Daryl seems the tiniest bit jealous about whatever is brewing between Carol and Antonio.
- “Don’t say hot dogs.” Same, Carol. Same.
- Daryl feels guilty about Justina. He is saying he doesn’t, but he does.
- “Letting people have their space when they need it is a skill.” Truer words have never been spoken. God, I love Valentina!
- Really digging the idea of Carol and Valentina becoming besties. I feel like Carol needs someone like her. Someone more open to saying what’s on their mind and what they need.
- “Boyfriend!” Finally, somebody calls it as they see it. I mean, I guess Negan said it, too, but this feels more authentic.
- RIP Cooper, another half-developed victim of the TWD spin-offs.
- Respect to Fede for fighting alongside his people.
- Of course, everyone is running to help Roberto. They all know that kid can’t fight for sh*t.
- This battle has gone on for so long that it’s now nighttime. I feel like I’m watching The Walking Dead‘s version of Helm’s Deep.
- Antonio asks Carol if she has any children. Excuse me while I sob.
- “If you’re going, I’m going.” Okay, I was wrong about them separating this episode, and, in this case, I’m happy to be wrong.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon airs new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
All the talk of Carol being the one to run away from things it’s Daryl who is doing just that. I’m in it for Caryl and have no interest at all about the show which I call, background noise.
To me this episode is setting up Carol to be the blame for whatever consequences our favorite duo end up in at the end of this season. Kind of like season 10 blamed Carol for Daryl telling everyone to follow her into the cave.
As for the scene everyone is talking about. To me you just need to read the Entertainment Weekly article to see it’s not going anywhere. I don’t have the exact quote but it’s basically, They were never a couple, we never said they were a couple and they never will be a couple. Norman Reedus has all the control and he has told you you’re not getting what you want.
To me Carol is in love with for Daryl but she thinks he’s in love with Isablah (My nickname for her) so she will never tell him. And we know he is a wimp who will never admit the jealousy he has concerning her and Antonio means more than he’s willing to admit to himself. Hey but what do I know. I still think he hid in the woods to avoid seeing Carol with Kingblah for 5 YEARS 🙂
Daryl’s reaction can be taken many ways. The emphatic “No” to me was Norman mocking the fans. Add the comments from the article and he’s letting us know it’s never happening. But it’s also Daryl running away. He’s not discussing his relationship with Carol with a woman who called out his misogynistic attitude about women. And he’s certainly not admitting his feelings for Carol with her standing right there.