The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 5 Review by Daryl Dixon

Notice! SPOILERS ahead for Daryl Dixon Season 2, Episode 5.

Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol It was a highlight of the season. Although there was the tragedy of Isabelle’s (Clémence Poésy) death, it was well balanced by the reunion of Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride), as well as lots of action at the Nest and later in a charming French village. Genet (Anne Charrier) was also killed too soon, although at least she died in spectacular fashion. Episode 4 set a high bar, but unfortunately, episode 5, “Vouloir, C’est Pouvoir,” doesn’t come close to matching it.

Daryl Dixon Season 2 returns to Paris in this episode, revisiting many of the notable locations and characters from Season 1. There’s the Demimonde nightclub, now overseen by Anna (Lukerya Ilyashenko); the rooftop community where they briefly stayed in Season 1; and Maison Mère, Pouvoir’s old haunt that now appears abandoned. The quick stops give the episode a “season 1 greatest hits” vibe, with the series clearly trying to wrap up as many of its remaining plotlines as possible before the finale.

A former enemy becomes a much-needed friend

Codron finally gets some focus

One of the plot threads kept in the background is that of Codron (Romain Levi) – a Season 1 villain turned Season 2 ally. He appeared throughout season 2, first seen being tortured by Genet and later befriending Carol. Now, after miraculously surviving the attack on the Nest, he appears in Paris seeking safety in the rooftop community. While there, Codron comes face to face with Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), who forgives him for his past mistakes.

Codron’s transformation over two seasons was one of the most interesting elements of the series. While in the first season he was basically stalking and occasionally fighting with Daryl, the second season gave his character more nuance, especially with this episode. Levi has been able to add more depth to his character with the few appearances he’s had this season, and now that it looks like he’s firmly among the good guys, I want to see him and Daryl work things out.

Still, waiting until the penultimate episode of Season 2 to examine his change of heart at the end of Season 1 feels a little late. While sweet, Codron’s scene with Laurent also feels rushed, as if the show is just trying to neatly wrap up its many residual storylines in the little time it has left.

Another enemy bites the dust

After finishing Genet’s last episode, Losang is quickly dispatched

Speaking of rushing, Losang’s (Joel de la Fuente) time as Season 2’s main threat is incredibly short. With Genet gone, it looked like Losang would have the remainder of Season 2 and possibly part of Season 3 as the big bad, similar to how Genet has remained since Season 1. But no, soon after tracking Laurent to Paris and eventually to the Demimonde, Losang is killed during a disheartening fight with Daryl. In the span of two episodes, Daryl Dixon season two went from having lots of villains to none.

This comes from Season 2 trying to do too much in too little time. The first season of Daryl Dixon it had a simpler, more streamlined narrative, and this suited the fact that it was a short six-episode season. The second season, however, attempted a larger story in the same number of episodes, becoming overly complicated as a result. Nowhere is this more evident than with the villains, as L’Union and Pouvoir serve largely the same purpose in the narrative; so much so that the two groups unite under Losang’s command as soon as Genet dies.

Killing off Losang so quickly also makes it more unfortunate that Genet was eliminated in the previous episode. Both deaths feel like the series is wiping the slate clean to start fresh next season. And that would be fine if these villains had been given enough time to become memorable parts of the story. Genet was able to at least threaten Daryl for a season and a half, but Losang’s evil turn was already sudden, and with him now dead just a few episodes later, it seems kind of pointless.

Carol’s confession goes as well as expected

She’s lied a lot this season, but her lie to Ash was easily her biggest one

Carol has been going through some things this season. She spent months searching for her best friend, struggling with her renewed grief over her daughter’s death, and now with her guilt over manipulating another grieving parent into flying her across the world to find her best friend. This all comes to a head in episode 5 when Carol finally confesses to Ash (Manish Dayal) the truth about Sophia and why she really needed his plane.

And that reveal goes about as well as anyone would expect. Ash is understandably angry, even furious, at the way Carol manipulated him, using the pain of his own son’s death to encourage him to take on a risky venture in hopes of rescuing his daughter. Carol has told a lot of lies this season, but her lie to Ash was the biggest and cruelest. However, I don’t believe the show will actually punish her for this.

She was previously criticized for Ash admitting that embarking on this wild journey was good for him, allowing him to process and move on from his own pain. With only one episode left, it’s doubtful Carol and Ash will be at odds for long. And it’s a shame that there don’t seem to be any real consequences for Carol’s big lie, but that’s in keeping with how quickly Daryl Dixon season 2 is working to tie everything together with a neat little bow.

That said, Dayal deserves serious praise for his performance when Ash discovers the truth. McBride also does a good job, really selling how this lie is eating away at Carol, but it’s Dayal who steals the show with her well-earned rage.

Daryl Dixon Season 2 Zombie Death of the Week

Finally, Daryl Dixon delivers some zombie kills that make this section worthwhile

All season I’ve been looking for some cool zombie-killing action. Undead It may not center its walkers, roamers, and other undead variants as much as it once did, but the production team can still deliver some gnarly zombies whenever they want. And finally, in its penultimate episode, Daryl Dixon season 2 has been delivered.

The whole setup of this scene feels a little contrived, but I can’t complain given the results. Of course, I’m talking about Carol and Daryl rescuing Ash from a swarm of walkers and using Genet’s super zombie serum to eliminate them. Besides the attack on Nest, these faster variants didn’t make much of an impression, but here Daryl Dixon shows the type of damage they can cause.

Shot expertly from inside the car, all we see at first is blood and guts splatter on the windows as the two zombies Daryl shoots with the serum destroy the normal walkers. The superpowered variants eventually break the windows, and Carol and Daryl have to get rid of them quickly. As soon as they exit the vehicle, the magnitude of the carnage becomes apparent, with parts of the hiker’s body strewn everywhere, some even still twitching. We may not actually get to see the variants slaughter these walkers (probably for budgetary reasons), but the consequences are more than enough to paint a bloody picture.

Where episode 4 of Daryl Dixon season 2 felt like a high point, episode 5 is a definite step down, especially since it now feels like the series is racing towards its finale. A fast pace has served the show well in the past, but with everything that’s been set up over the two seasons, it’s now a race to wrap it all up. Here’s hoping the remaining plot threads have satisfying endings in the finale, as the series also looks to set up where Daryl and Carol will go in season three.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol airs weekly, every Sunday at 9pm ET on AMC.