The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
Credit: AMC
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon finished up its third season Sunday with a rousing finale that combined some big action set set pieces and daring escapes with a healthy dose of betrayal and double-crossing. In the end, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) survive, but end up pretty much where they started.
Before I get to the review portion of this piece, I’ll recap the events of this week’s Season 3 finale and a bit of what’s come previously this season, as Daryl and Carol galavant around Spain, fighting bandits, “los primitivos” and royal soldiers, not to mention an elaborate array of “los huecos” – what these Spaniards call the zombies / walkers.
I should note: I did not recap or review the last two episodes of Daryl Dixon and my review of Episode 4 was basically a parody. I won’t get into reasons, of which there are several, but the fact is I’ve really struggled to get into this season at times I feel like I’m just repeating myself over and over again when it comes to my critique of the show. The same problems infect each of these Walking Dead spinoffs, and at a certain point it gets a bit exhausting, both as a viewer and as a critic. So I’ll discuss a bit of these previous episodes below as well. Spoilers ahead.
‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ Season 3, Episode 7 Recap
At the beginning of the episode “Solaz Del Mar,” Carol and Daryl are on separate missions. Solaz Del Mar is the name of the village our heroes find themselves in, and translates to ‘solace of the sea’ in English. Daryl has gone with Paz (Alexandra Masangkay) to Barcelona to rescue Justina (Candela Saitta) from El Alcazar and the vile king-in-waiting, Guillermo (Gonzalo Bouza).
Carol, meanwhile, finds herself on a rescue mission of her own. The village’s increasingly sinister mayor, Fede (Óscar Jaenada) has taken Antonio (Eduardo Noriega) prisoner. Valentina (Irina Björklund) sends her two lovers with Carol to help free him, while she stays back with a still-recovering Roberto (Hugo Arbués).
In the previous episodes, a few important things happened:
- We learned that Fede had sent Justina as the “la ofrenda” offering because she threatened to expose that he’d been cheating, removing her ribbon from the pig races that determined which young woman would be sent as a bridal offering to El Alcazar each year.
- Roberto was having trouble recovering from his severe beating because Fede wouldn’t give him any of the town’s medicine – another notch in Fede’s villain belt. Carol and Antonio ended up smuggling him to safety.
- Daryl and Paz met up with a resistance group in Barcelona and attempted to waylay the caravan of El Alcazar soldiers transporting Justina to the king’s palace. It was another fun action set piece, but ultimately they were unsuccessful. We did learn a lot more about Paz’s backstory and her attempts to free her lover, Elena (Greta Fernández).
- Daryl teamed up with a colony of lepers, helping to take out a bandit group that’s based on a train. Train robbers – just not in a traditional sense. This was another fun action set piece that devolved into goofiness at times, but I really liked the final bandit he fights on the train. They both have to stop fighting to kill a bunch of walkers and after it’s over, Daryl let’s him catch his breath before he kills the poor guy. I’ve noted previously that this season reminds me of The Three Amigos, but this scene reminded me of The Princess Bride.
In any case, Daryl and Paz are able to infiltrate the El Alcázar palace in Seville by pretending to be the servants who, apparently, all wear masks. It’s very convenient! In the palace we get our first glimpse of the king and his court as they sit about watching an elaborate zombie marionette show.
The next event is even more nauseating. The young women who were given to El Alcázar in “la ofrenda” are all in different colored dresses, and men of high station are given their pick of the litter. Apparently there are not enough men for all five of the women, so only three lucky ladies will be married off – though “sold into sex slavery” is a more apt description. The ones not chosen will go on to lead a life of even greater misery, so Justina does her best to flirt with the young man trying to decide. I will note here that Justina is ridiculously gorgeous, so it’s a bit far-fetched that she wouldn’t be chosen, or even that she’s chosen third, but the show is trying to create tension here.
Daryl has been sneaking about and, after hilariously head-butting the man who discovers him, frees all the marionette zombies and draws open the curtains. The king has apparently moved from his original seat and is now sitting with the queen, their backs turned to the stage when the zombies descend upon them. It’s a bloodbath – though I’m still not sure how Daryl managed to free each of the zombies from their ropes without making any noise or getting bitten.
In the chaos, Justina and her new owner flee and Daryl sets fire to the building. Paz rushes to find Elena and Daryl goes looking for Justina. Paz discovers that Elena has a young son, which explains her insistence on returning to the palace. She’s knocked out by Guillermo (in a weird scene that I found a bit jarring and confusing) and when she comes to, he’s about to run her through. Thankfully, there are swords everywhere and Elena stabs him in the back before he can kill Paz.
Marionette walkers
Credit: AMC
Justina pulls a knife on the young man when they get back to his apartments and tells him he needs to help her get a vehicle. Neither he nor Paz and Elena seem to be that worried about the palace burning down, but he’s definitely upset about having a knife drawn on him. He grabs Justina and pushes her down, shouting at her “You manipulated me! What did you think was going to happen?”
Daryl shows up at this point and slits the guy’s throat. One minute you’ve got a hot new wife, the next you’re bleeding out on the floor. What a world.
They all escape and Paz and Elena head back to Barcelona, while Daryl and Justina take the motorcycle back to the lighthouse. Here, they’re ambushed by Fede’s men who, we learn, have taken Roberto back to Solaz Del Mar. Valentina is wounded, but manages to shoot the goon who has Justina, giving Daryl an opening to take down the other goon. He heads to the village, telling Justina to wait at the lighthouse.
Back at the village, Carol and Antonio have been captured. Some of the townsfolk tried to help them, but one betrayed them in exchange for some of Fede’s medicine, which he needed for his sick wife. Fede has a surprise for his prisoners. They’re free to go, he tells them, but he doubts they actually will leave the village.
The reason? Roberto is outside, chained to the bodies of the men Valentina sent to help Carol. This was the punishment Fede came up with for the “los primitivos” bandit earlier this season. But it’s worse for Roberto and his father and Carol. Fede has three other lines of chained up zombies waiting, and as they watch in horror, all the “los huecos” are released. Surrounded, weaponless, and unable to flee thanks to Roberto’s chains, they have to resort to fisticuffs.
Naturally, this is when Daryl shows up, rifle in hand. He takes turns shooting zombies and Fede’s outmatched riflemen, but it’s still looking grim for our heroes. Naturally, this is when Justina shows up. She walks right into the zombies, making no effort to defend herself, essentially forcing Fede’s hand. The goons turn their aim on the zombies and soon all the undead are dispatched. Justina reveals Fede’s treachery and he’s locked in “the dungeon” while his surviving henchmen ride out of town.
Our heroes return to the boat they’ve been working on all season, with the help of Valentina and Cooper (poor Cooper!) and Daryl and Carol have a nice heart-to-heart where he talks about his constant need to just go, no matter if he’s home or away. It’s probably the most character work we’ve gotten for Daryl since he kissed Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) in Season 2. And yes, I’m still bitter at the show’s decision to kill her off for no good reason instead of exploring a relationship between those two.
All seems well, but for some reason nobody at the village decided a guard should be placed on Fede’s cell and he easily fools his mother into freeing him by convincing her that they’ll execute him as soon as Justina and the yankees are gone. He shows up at the boat and does a nice little villain monologue with a gun pointed at Daryl, giving Carol just enough time to leap off the boat and on to his back. In the ensuing struggle, the gun goes off and hits something flammable aboard the ship, and up in flames it goes.
On a distant hill, a familiar figure turns at the sound of the explosion. It’s Codron (Romain Levi) all the way from France. We spotted him at the beginning of the episode also at the statue where Daryl left the Rubik’s Cube that belonged to Laurent (
Louis Puech Scigliuzzi). What he’s doing this far from France remains a mystery, but it sure is awfully convenient that he should end up in the exact same spot as Daryl and Carol.
In any case, the ship is toast and Fede is free and filled with a desire for revenge. Daryl and Carol and Justina and Roberto and Antonio are all stuck in Spain for the foreseeable future.
What Worked In The ‘Daryl Dixon’ Season 3 Finale
Before I get to my criticisms, there were a number of things I did like about this episode and this season overall. I’d say it’s quite a lot better than Season 2, though not as good as Season 1. Season 1 felt like the start of something and Season 2 felt like the writers undoing all of that to make room for Carol, who sucked all the oxygen out of the show with her constant lying and manipulation (“We need a good liar,” Daryl says in the Season 3 finale. “We’ve got one right here”). Also, however implausible Daryl getting to France was, it was a thousand times more ridiculous that Carol was able to get to France in a tiny plane and then find her missing friend after mere hours of searching.
This season, at least, doesn’t have anything quite that absurd. And as cartoonish as I find this post-apocalyptic version of Spain, at least the villains felt a bit more grounded than Season 2’s rotating list of bad guys. More grounded, though that’s not saying any of this season was particularly rooted in plausibility.
Still, I must give credit where credit is due. The production values remain incredibly high. Sure, the people in Spain look like they belong in a Western set in late 1800’s Mexico, but the costume design is absolutely phenomenal throughout. I was particularly impressed with the marionette zombies in tonight’s episode, bedecked in lavish royal attire. The costumes and makeup here is top-notch.
There’s a lot of terrific cinematography on display as well. The motorbike ride with Daryl and Justina was some of the finest camera work of any episode of any show in The Walking Dead franchise. There’s a shot of them riding across the screen as the camera zooms in and then passes over them that I found particularly striking, and then they’re driving past a massive bull statue in the mist and off through the rolling hills of Spain. It’s gorgeous.
The music is also excellent, and especially in moments like the one I just described, it really adds a lot.
Throughout the season, there have been quite a few terrific action sequences as well. The fight on the train. The assault on Solaz Del Mar by “los primitivos” and their flaming zombie catapults. The caravan attack.
Finally, Norman Reedus is just a very compelling actor and Daryl remains one of my favorite characters in The Walking Dead. I thought he was especially good in the season finale, whether he’s cracking jokes – “I couldn’t have done this without you,” he tells Paz, who says “You don’t think so?” He thinks for a second and replies, “Yeah, I prolly coulda.” – or more serious moments. When he finds the zombie king shambling through the smoking palace and kills him, the look on his face speaks volumes. And he did a great job in his heart-to-heart scene with Carol.
Some of the new characters were really likeable also, and I’m glad Justina and Paz survived. I thought Roberto and Justina were doomed given the similarity their names have with Romeo and Juliet. Fede was a much more interesting villain than most Walking Dead big bads, and I’m curious if he’ll become the top villain of Season 4.
Overall, I liked this more than Dead City also, which had a much worse second season and largely squandered its potential.
Oh, and while our heroes burned down the palace, the village is still standing and the community isn’t in tatters. That’s a first!
So what didn’t work?
What The ‘Daryl Dixon’ Season 3 Finale Got Wrong
There are so many little things throughout the season that bug me. I’ll just rattle off a few before we get to this episode specifically:
- Killing off Julian (Stephen Merchant) was so annoying. It’s so predictable that a new character who seems fun and unique and likable will die within an episode, I’m pretty sure we all knew it was coming. On that note, watch the opening credits for Season 2 of Peacemaker because the song is perfect for this character.
- As noted above, the fact that post-apocalyptic Spain is just late 19th-century Mexico is jarring. Even more jarring than the old-timey costumes in Seasons 1 and 2.
- Groups like “los primitivos” are so annoying. The battle was fun, but it felt so Mad Max-ian and just not at all The Walking Dead. Also, why’d they attack in broad daylight and drive screaming and shouting toward a fortified village? Scale the walls at night. Sneak in and open the gates. Just because they dress in fur and carry clubs and shields doesn’t mean this well-armed and obviously well-organized group wouldn’t have any tactical sense whatsoever. How’d they make it this far?
- Killing off Cooper was really weird also because he just appeared that same episode and everyone acted like they knew him and it confused me so much, I thought I’d missed something in a previous episode. And then he’s dead and everyone is all upset but it’s like . . . okay, who?
- Outside of the action, a lot of this season was just kind of boring. It’s a tough sell, introducing so many new characters in Spain after two seasons establishing new characters in France. Why should we care about any of them? Between that and the plot armor Daryl and Carol are bestowed with, there’s not much tension or suspense (though that “public execution” scene got me a bit, mostly because I thought it would be unbearably cruel to have Justina and Roberto killed that way).
- I don’t buy the romance between Carol and Antonio. I don’t see the chemistry there at all. This is nothing new for The Walking Dead, of course, which has rarely ever given us a decent romantic pairing – though they were close with Daryl and Isabelle!
There are more, but I’ll get to this episode now.
- So many things are just too convenient. It’s so easy for Daryl and Paz to get into the palace and so convenient that the help wear masks so nobody spots them. It’s so convenient that Daryl is able to easily free the zombies and have them wreak havoc for him. It’s also pretty wild that Carol is able to free Antonio, who isn’t guarded, and that Fede is also not placed under any kind of guard and is easily rescued by his mother. The entire El Alcazar sequence was too easy and too rushed. This season needed another episode to give that more breathing room.
- I laughed out loud when the ship went up in flames. Of course it did. Of course! To be fair to Fede, he probably just saved all their lives. Trying to sail across the Atlantic Ocean in that tiny sailboat when not a single person onboard knows how to sail? That’s almost as absurd as apocalypse survivors who can’t fly, flying a plane to help someone in the middle of Texas! Fede is the true hero of Season 3, in other words. He should have let them leave. God would have taken care of the rest for him.
- This was a very lazy way to A) destroy the boat – surely Fede could have done something more creative and less . . . accidental and B) strand our heroes in Spain once again.
- Guillermo was a really toothless villain. I guess it’s fitting that his wife killed him in the end, but he sure made it easy. He just felt really uninspired throughout, especially compared to Fede.
- Seriously, there aren’t more than three men in this den of debauchery looking for slave-wives? I find this absolutely preposterous. It’s also preposterous that they just sort of toss the leftover women away to be abused and mistreated rather than use them as political tools.
- The whole “la ofrenda” thing felt very mustache-twirling to me. I think they could have done away with all of that and just had Guillermo come and demand to take Justina to be his second wife. Just have Guillermo be a bully who takes women for his harem – like Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Really, the whole “king of Spain” plot was goofy and unnecessary. Guillermo could have been a powerful warlord offering “protection” to local villages (who sends “los primitivos” to attack those who won’t pay up and convince them they need protection) and occasionally kidnaps women he’s attracted to and dispense with all this royal nonsense. It just makes for a very convoluted story.
- I’m sure I’m missing something so please let me know if you have other problems (or things you enjoyed) with the episode.
Daryl Dixon Season 3 Finale Verdict
Overall, I genuinely liked this season more than the previous one and found far fewer really egregious issues, but I’m more burnt out on The Walking Dead than ever and I think it’s just strayed so far from its roots and from what made it special in the first place. That’s more true, at least geographically, with Daryl Dixon than any other spinoff. But the top-notch production values definitely help make it a somewhat more enjoyable ride and at least this season isn’t flirting with Fear The Walking Dead levels of stupidity. I called the Season 2 finale of Dead City a “crushing disappointment” and I can’t say the same here.
I’d still prefer to see Daryl back in the States and get the long-awaited reunion between him and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) but I’m not sure that’s ever going to happen. As far as The Walking Dead goes, this is far from the worst we’ve gotten, but not even close to the best. If only the scripts were as good as the camera work and the costumes and the zombie special effects. C’est la vie!
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