Daryl Dixon season 2 review: Carol the apocalypse chameleon

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol is a wildly entertaining tour de force. The Book of Carol, mes amis, is good. It’s really, really good. C’est si bon. 

I’ve been covering The Walking Dead franchise for over a decade. I like when the show surprises me, which is why I’ve been a fan of the spinoffs that take the show away from comic book canon so that we have no idea what to expect. The Book of Carol is refreshingly new and unexpected. It builds on the story established in the first season and gives the characters room to grow. And the introduction of Melissa McBride really makes the series feel — *chef’s kiss* — whole. 

There’s no question that The Book of Carol is Melissa McBride’s season. Before I sing Carol’s praises, I want to talk about the other performances and why they help elevate this season. 

Norman Reedus’ season 2 Daryl has hardened around the edges compared to the first season’s iteration. He was a fish out of water before, and by the time season 2 begins he’s spent enough time in France to have a sense of what’s happening around him despite the language and cultural barriers. Reedus looks and sounds gruffer in season 2 and he delivers some emotional moments that highlight how far he’s come after all these years. 

The supporting cast is also phenomenal. Louis Puech Scigliuzzi presents a much more mature Laurent. Laurent’s eyes have been opened to the harsh realities of the world around him and he’s balancing lessons learned at The Nest with all of the real-world knowledge that Daryl gives him. He’s wiser and a bit world-weary, which is probably for the best considering how limited his worldview was in the first season. Laurent and Daryl’s interactions have matured, too. Laurent looks up to Daryl and Daryl doesn’t push him away, rather he understands his role in the boy’s life and he’s stepping up in ways that wouldn’t have been possible early on in The Walking Dead. 

Marion Genet (Anne Charrier) is delightfully wicked. She’s a fascinating blend of The Governor and Alpha, and in season 2 we get to know more about her. Romain Levi’s Codron has been through a lot since we last saw him in the first season and a lot has changed for him in season 2. I love the interactions between Carol and Genet and Carol and Codron. We also get to see more of Eriq Ebouaney’s Fallou in season 2, and that’s a good thing. He brings a level headedness to the group that is sorely needed in times of chaos.

Manish Dayal is a fantastic addition to The Walking Dead Universe. I’ve been a big fan of Dayal after his brilliant work on The Resident. (If you haven’t watched that show, it is eminently binge worthy) Ash goes through a journey in The Book of Carol, and through those ups and downs he ends up finding something he thought he’d lost. Like so many arcs in the TWD Universe, Ash has to walk through fire but he comes out of that fire with renewed purpose. 

And that brings me to Carol. Carol is an apocalyptic chameleon. She blends into every situation seamlessly, working the details of her plan as she goes. This is McBride’s genius in the role, because it’s so effortless and so beautifully executed. Carol’s not as much the fish out of water that Daryl was, and this is one of the many reasons it’s so much fun to see her journey in France compared to Daryl’s. Carol makes Daryl Dixon complete and I’m eager to see how the journey continues.  

After all these years, a seismic shift has taken place in The Walking Dead Universe where the focus is no longer on surviving among the undead; now, the focus is on survival in a new world order. It’s been happening for a while now so it’s nothing new; first came Fear the Walking Dead taking the story to the West Coast and now Daryl Dixon and TWD: Dead City are introducing new locations within the familiar backdrop of the apocalypse and that in itself is fun to see. 

It just so happens that in France, the new world order is more terrifying than anything we’ve seen so far because Genet’s people are trying to turn the undead into more powerful weapons…which means we’re coming full circle. It’s fascinating. You have full-blown religious zealots fighting with people who are just trying to survive. 

Here’s my advice: if you’re a fan of The Walking Dead Universe, if you enjoy zombies and if you’re a fan of these characters, The Book of Carol is very entertaining and is worth a watch. I didn’t have any expectations going into the season; my hope was to be entertained and I was. Season 2 is definitely a bridge to season 3, which now explains why AMC announced that the show had been renewed prior to the season 2 premiere. The story continues to build and I’m happy to see that AMC is investing in it.