The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – “The Book of Carol” is here. We pick up only two weeks after the events of season one with Daryl training Laurent to kill walkers. Meanwhile, Carol is in Freeport, Maine and finally discovers that Daryl is all the way in France. She’s determined to get there and, in a miracle that only The Walking Dead universe can pull off, Carol does make it to France. Here’s how Carol ends up in France to search for Daryl in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
Over in France, things are tense after everyone at the Nest discovers that Genet has a few of their people in captivity thanks to Pouvoir. This could compromise their safety and put Laurent in danger once again. Daryl agrees with Sylvie that they have to save them because, well, we know he loves to fight. He doubts that he could be happy at the Nest because there are people he left behind.
He wonders if his friends are thinking of him and then we cut to Carol back in the US. She goes to that junkyard where Daryl ended up being captured and begins to ask for information about “the guy who owned that bike” before Mick. (If you remember, she beat him up and stuffed him in that car trunk.) Predictably, the guys try to give her a hard time so she gets Daryl’s crossbow and makes hell for them until one guy finally admits the truth.
She eventually finds a car and takes off down the road, unsure of what to do next. Lucky for her, a small plane flies overhead, capturing her attention for a little too long. She hits a walker and crashes the car, causing a wound on her head. Still, Carol fights walkers and follows that plane towards a small abode with a greenhouse. This mini compound has gates and other forms of protection. But Carol sneaks onto the property and begins her classic “damsel in distress” routine to get a guy’s attention. His name is Ash, he lives there alone, and yes that’s his airplane. He is also very hot, but that’s not the point here.
Ash has cracked the code of surviving solo. He has a generator and a pretty decent food supply along with a literal airplane. He mainly uses it to get above everything for a while. Honestly, it is shocking that the CRM hasn’t noticed him nor taken him out yet. The next day, he goes for a quick flight to look for parts and Carol’s nosy ass goes into his shed and greenhouse to snoop around. She finds a world map but then his generator goes out and walkers get past the fence. She fights them and tears a portion of his whole greenhouse up in a walker battle.
Ash is understandably upset with her for invading his private place and tells her to leave. She apologizes and says she hopes they could become friends. He opens up to her about Avi, his son who died when he wandered off, just like what happened to Sophia. The greenhouse has a memorial spot for Avi. His son’s death explains why Ash doesn’t want to leave and go anywhere in his plane.
Instead of connecting with him over their deceased kids, Carol lies to him. She says that her daughter Sophia and husband Ed (who is also long dead) were in France when the outbreak happened and she wonders if she’s alive. It is emotionally manipulative and initially doesn’t work but Ash changes his mind and decides to take her. This is baffling because, like he said, there’s no weather forecast and communications, which makes this trip risky. Also, it has been well over a decade since the outbreak. Even if you have an address for a person, it is very unlikely that they will be there. Rick’s group even left Atlanta and ended up in Virginia! And now Daryl’s silly self is all the way in France and fighting folks!
Anyway, the power grid blows at night while Ash and Carol are working on the plane. His ethanol storage catches on fire and walkers descend upon them. So Carol gets in a plane with him and they fly out towards the sunrise and on their way to France. Of course, they don’t land in this episode but we do know that this plane will get her at least overseas.
And that’s exactly what we get in episode two. Carol and Ash land in a very remote area of Greenland and encounter Eun and Hanna, two survivors and research scientists. Predictably, both women are absolutely nuts. Their plan is to kill Carol and use Ash as a sperm donor so they can help repopulate Earth. Carol convinces Hanna to not kill her and Hanna saves her from Eun by killing her partner. However, Ash is not aware of Hanna’s change of heart so he kills her. The duo are able to get the plane going again and land in Paris. Carol asks Ash to stay behind and guard the plane (for up to TWO WEEKS smh) while she goes on her search. He still doesn’t know why she’s really there and goes along with it.
Carol ends up in a group among Genet’s people, which puts her one step closer to Daryl. Meanwhile, he is having a good ole time uncovering betrayals and kissing Isabelle. This show is something else, man.
In episode three, Carol finds out about the Nest thanks to a chance encounter with a bloodied Codron. Unfortunately, her new friend Remy tells Genet about the location, so now Carol has to pretend to be seeking out Daryl to kill him and team up with Genet. What is Ash doing? Who knows.
Let’s find out the rest of her journey as The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season two plays out.
(Honestly, we kinda already know that poor Ash won’t make it. The story is about Daryl and Carol and he’s merely a tool to get her from point A to point B. Hate that for him.)
Originally published September 29, 2024.
