The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Recap: "Deux Amours"

"Vers elle s'en va tout mon espoir. J'ai deux amours. Mon pays et Paris. (Towards her goes all my hope. I have two loves: my country and Paris)." Josephine Baker's "J'ai Deux Amours" ("I Have Two Loves") plays as Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) drift down the river on a boat steered by Azlan (Hassam Ghancy). Their destination is The Nest: "A special place," Azlan assures Daryl. "A home for the soul." Daryl washed ashore in France as l'âme perdue, a lost soul, far from his home in America.

Azlan asks if Daryl is Christian. Daryl answers honestly: no, and he was kicked out of Sunday school. "In the Bible, Abram becomes a pilgrim after the Lord tells him, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house, to the land that I will show you,'" Azlan responds, quoting Genesis 12:1. To that, Daryl quips: "I'm guessing Abram didn't end up in France." Azlan asks another question, causing Daryl's mind to drift: "How did you end up here, so far from home?" 

THEN. America. Maine. Daryl walks his bike down a road and grips his knife when a camouflage-clad man named Jones (Gilbert Glenn Brown) stops his truck behind him. Daryl is as curt as he is cautious. Need help, friend? "Nah, I'm good." Where you headed? "Headed home." On a bike with no fuel, huh? "You got some to spare?" Well, depends. You any good with that thing?

Jones escorts Daryl to an auto repair shop. Inside is a motley crew of blue collar types — who don't seem the type to speak the language coming over the shop's radio. French. The haggard Juno (John Ales) ribs a younger guy, TJ (Martin Martinez), over a picture of his girl back home. Jones rounds up the men and lays down the ground rules: no fighting, no stealing, no sexual deviancy of any kind. "No children will be accepted, nor elderly or shorties," Jones explains. "Five foot, four inches is the cut-off." Juno asks what they want 'em for, but a French doctor (François Delaive) — the same man from the French cargo ship at La Havre — tells him it's "not your concern." All they need to know, according to Jones, is their pay is one pint of ethanol per head. Juno protests: they were told a quart. The French doctor guarantees "a quart for the fresh ones." TJ figures their chances are better in numbers, but nobody wants to take the green-looking kid up on his offer.

Daryl hunts walkers in the woods, bounding them with ropes two at a time. At the auto shop, Juno's gang leads muzzled walkers linked by chains toward the "party room": a flashing strobe light inside a trailer. The French doctor supervises as Juno hands over his trophies — five in all, including a fresh one that can't be more than a few months turned. Daryl leads his six-walker haul back to the shop and collects his gas canister, with more to come tomorrow. TJ laments coming up empty-handed. Daryl sympathizes with the kid's tough break, but his only pointer? "Go home to your girl." He's trying, but he needs fuel. TJ asks Daryl if he needs a partner — you know, for a cut of the gas. "Do I look like I need help?"

NOW. Azlan ties the boat to a tree and leads Daryl to their camp for the night: a hideout with a stash of noise-making cans to alert them of any les affamès (hungry ones). As Azlan goes to pray, Daryl shows Laurent how to gut and cook a fish. He misses Isabelle, who stayed behind in Paris so that Daryl and Laurent could escape the city. When Daryl says they all have people they miss, Laurent gets him to open up about his friends back home: "There's Judith and RJ. They're kids, like you. There's Connie, Ezekiel. There's a lady named Carol." Laurent says Daryl's friends sound nice — and he can tell Daryl misses Issa, too. "Not to worry," Laurent assures him. "We'll all be together again."

Meanwhile, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) wakes up in an opulent room next to Les Nènuphars: The Water Lilies. Issa, like the painting, is the latest addition to Quinn's (Adam Nagaitis) well-guarded mansion. Quinn reports that he's just met with the Pouvoir, who told him that Laurent made it out of Paris and is headed north with her American friend. He asks how long it's going to take for her to see him different. "Everything happens for a reason," he says. "Isn't that what God's all about?" When Issa says that God loves the sinner, Quinn responds: "So there's hope for me, then." Quinn leaves her to pray, which she does in private: "God, forgive me for what I'm about to do." In her hands, a makeshift shiv.

Back at the camp, Laurent says a prayer for Judith, RJ, Carol, Connie, and Ezekiel in America "'cause Daryl doesn't know how to pray." Daryl notices Azlan's pocket watch, which he says saved his life. He then asks about the rumors of La Havre being "the only place you can find something still floating." The port is controlled by Madame Genet and her Guerrier, Azlan explains, but the Union de L'Espoir's leader, the Buddhist monk Losang, will help Daryl secure a boat home to America. "A lone wolf who only wants to get back to his pack," Azlan points out.

Daryl says he made a promise. To that, Azlan tells him, "There are times when even a man's promise gets overwhelmed by a connection other people or a larger cause." Daryl admits causes were never his thing. "When a man dies in someone else's war, it's his kids that suffer," Daryl says. "That gets passed down to their kids. After a while, no one even remembers what 'the cause' was." Azlan explains how the watch saved his life: when he arrived at The Nest, he had just lost his wife and son and wished to die. Losang asked him to fix the pocketwatch — so he worked on it, day and night, for months. "When I finally got it running, he told me he didn't want it anymore. Because I had found a reason to live." Daryl overhears Laurent pray, this time for himself: to be strong like Daryl is strong.

THEN. Daryl fills his bike's gas tank and overhears Drew (Tercelin Kirtley) laughing off TJ's offer to partner up. Juno tells the kid they'll consider letting him tag along if he chops firewood and stokes their fire over night, so Daryl teaches him how to chop wood. TJ says he's from just outside Freeport, a couple miles up the road. He promised his girl he'd take her far away from her father, so he can't go back without any fuel. Their destination is California. "I hear it's better there." Or, at least, "It's gotta be better than this, right?"

NOW. As the Demimonde's Anna (Lukerya Ilyashenko) arrives at Quinn's mansion, he attempts to repair their toxic relationship from 12 years ago. He can be a better man for her. With that, Isabelle takes his head, leads him to the bed, seduces him, grips her shiv... "After all, Abraham sacrificed his only son. But Isaac was saved. And in the end, Abraham was redeemed. I believe in redemption," Quinn says. "And I know you do, too." Ultimately, she doesn't exact her plan, and Quinn leaves the room to see a drunkened Anna angrily storm away. At the camp, Daryl's thoughts again drift back to Maine.

THEN. A radio operator (Avant Strangel) connects Daryl with a friend from home, but warns the connection only lasts a few minutes. Through static comes the voice of Carol (Melissa McBride), calling from the Commonwealth in Ohio. He's in Maine, near the coast. They catch up. "Pretty quiet here," she reports. Daryl responds, "Quiet's good. You okay?" She says it takes some getting used to, that's all — helping lead the Commonwealth, being away from her best friend. He notices something is off. "You sure you're okay?"

"You never have to worry about me, Daryl. How is it out there?" He'll tell her about it when he sees her next. He's gathering fuel, and he'll be back at the Commonwealth in about a week. "I promise." Through the static, Carol copies. "Hey, Daryl..." The transmission breaks up and returns, just in time for Daryl to hear the end of Carol's message: "...came back." Who came back? Carol? Static. Who came back? Carol?

NOW. A hungry one wanders into camp. Daryl and Laurent find Azlan pinned to a tree — impaled. He slipped fighting off the hungry ones. He's covered in blood and can't move. "All those years of training," he says weakly, "and I'm done in by a telephone pole." Daryl can only call it a "tough break." Azlan musters enough strength to chuckle: "At least we know God has a sense of humor. My father worked for the phone company all his life. Just get the boy to The Nest." Azlan hands Daryl his watch, which contains an image of Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy. "Follow the river. You'll find it. And beware of telephone poles. I'm at peace, Monsieur Dixon. The boy is in good hands. And I'm facing east. Here. Use my knife to do it." Daryl accepts. "Truly to Him we shall return." With that, Azlan dies and is buried by Daryl. Laurent lays prayer beads on his grave.

At the river, Daryl finds the rope tied to the tree has been severed and their boat gone. The culprit: Laurent. Daryl tears into the boy, demanding an explanation as he yells curses like "you stupid little shit!" and "worthless!" He wants to know why. Why?! "Everyone I care about is gone," a tearful Laurent confesses. "When we get to The Nest, you'll go, too. I don't want to be alone." Daryl softens. And he holds the boy close.

Back at Quinn's, a maid delivers fresh eggs with a side of secret message. In the woods, Daryl assures Laurent that there are good people at The Nest. Laurent wants to come with Daryl, but he can't. Daryl told Isabelle he would deliver Laurent to The Nest, and she'll come looking for him there. Laurent begs to let him come — he'll do as he's told, and he'll only have to learn things once. "It ain't about that," Daryl says. What's it about? Before Daryl can answer, the sound of Guerrier trucks force them to flee into the woods, leaving Laurent's belongings behind.

THEN. Juno returns to the auto shop with freshly-reanimated walkers — including a zombified TJ. Juno claims they found the kid out there already turned, but Daryl notices rope burns on TJ's neck. "A quart's a quart, you prick," Juno scoffs. "You snooze, you lose." Daryl punches Juno in the face. Jones breaks up the fight: no fighting. A pissed Daryl yells "he killed him" as he's forced out with Juno.

NOW. Daryl hands over his knife and instructs Laurent to follow the river until he finds the place in Azlan's watch. He'll be right behind him. As Laurent takes off into the woods, the Guerrier find Laurent's things: his books and Rubik's cube. Daryl is captured and forced to his knees. "No comprende," he tells a French-speaking warrior. They want to know where the boy is. Daryl plays dumb, so they hit him in the face and threaten to take his eyes if he doesn't give up Laurent. "F— you," Daryl spits back. As the Guerrier go to remove Daryl's left eye, Laurent gives himself up.

In Paris, Quinn gifts Isabelle a diamond necklace. Madame Genet has invited him to a gathering at the Maison Mère hotel for De Gaulle Day, named in honor of Free France leader Charles De Gaulle, architect of France's Fifth Republic. Genet, leader of the Pouvoir des Vivants, "needs people like me that can get their hands on things," Quinn explains. Arriving at Maison Mère, Isabelle spots Sylvie (Laïka Blanc-Francard) and Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney) with Emile (Tristan Zanchi) and Nadine (Chrystal Boursin) in the crowd. Inside, Madame Genet (Anne Charrier) receives Isabelle and Quinn as her forces torture a man in a nearby room — one of her Guerriers charged with securing the city accepted a bribe "to allow people out we wanted to keep in." The sight of Anna and the soldier Codron (Romain Levi) means she sold Quinn out to Genet.

Isabelle spots Daryl locked inside a cell. "You've got no idea what you've done," Quinn tells Anna. She kisses him goodbye and leaves him to his fate without another word. Quinn attempts to explain himself to Genet, but she has him imprisoned alongside Daryl. Genet then reunites Isabelle with Laurent, admitting that she sees now "why people fall for it."

 "A special child, born from the curse. Life from death, Mother Mary, Phoenix from the ashes. It hits all the notes, doesn't it?" Genet says of Laurent's miracle birth to a zombified mother. Finally, it's revealed why Genet is after Laurent: she wants the boy to make an appearance at her De Gaulle Day rally. "Some people think that the l'Union de I'Espoir is against me," she explains to Isabelle. "We must show them the truth. That we are all one French people. I've been trying to make that clear to him." Isabelle instructs Laurent to do as she asks and not anger Genet further. "You are not angry," he tells Genet. "Your heart is broken." In their cell, Quinn complains about holding up his end of the deal and scolds Daryl for not doing his part.

THEN. Daryl and Juno are rounded up and brought aboard a cargo ship in chains when Daryl spots a lifeboat. They're marched past a room where walker experiments are being conducted by the French doctor. A warning sign reads: "Fast ne pas nourir." FAST DO NOT FEED. Shipping containers are filled with caged walkers — and a container filled with living prisoners. Juno protests being put inside the feeding pen, but gets no answers as he demands the French guards tell them where the ship is headed. "WHERE ARE YOU TAKING US?!" The ship sets sail and is somewhere in the Gulf of Càdiz when the guards open the cell, club a man, drag him toward the caged walkers... and throw him inside to be eaten alive by the hungry ones.

NOW. A guard fetches Daryl from the cell, cuffs him, and says it's "lunch time." Genet explains to Laurent what will happen: there will be a speech, then a show of sorts, and then he'll make his appearance. Above a gladiator-style arena, Genet addresses the French people assembled for De Gaulle Day. In French, she thanks the "brave" who have traveled — from Saint Denis to the Rive Guache, Montmartre, to la Chapelle — to celebrate their rebirth and the rise of the 6th Republic. "Today, and ever after, we will be free, and strong, and unafraid! We have all felt lost at times, far from the life we knew. Deprived of the people we loved. In a hopeless world, it would have been so easy to give up. But we did not give up. In the name of all those we loved. In the name of all those we lost. We kept going. Living. As we must continue to do. Not for ourselves. But for the future. Years from now, you will tell your grandchildren you were here. Now. The day we ushered in a new France! A France free of the tyranny of the elite, that welcomes in all friends. With hope for a future. Because, yes, the world is simple now. There are friends. And there are enemies. The enemies want to go back to the way things were, when the few controlled the many." 

THEN. Daryl coughs up blood as a panicked Juno alerts the guards. "He's puking blood! If he dies in here, he's gonna turn!" The guard hauls Daryl toward the feeding cage, forcing him to his knees to face a dozen walkers. Daryl fights back, throwing one guard into the pit before shooting another dead and choking out the feeder until his neck breaks. Daryl frees Juno and the rest of the prisoners, unleashing the caged walkers onto the ship's crew. The two Americans head for the lifeboats as walkers flood the ship. Zombie mutiny!

NOW. Genet's guards march Daryl down a hall toward the arena. Genet's speech continues: "They took everything, bringing pain and suffering down on those who could least bear it, profiting all the while. Finally, out of greed and hubris, they unleashed this plague on the world. They made us pay for being poor, vulnerable, meek. But remember what the Bible says about the meek. We're not meek anymore! The world is ours, now. So today, we will make our enemies pay! We have all felt the anguish. We have all suffered loss. Loss binds us! Loss gives us our power! They gave us this disease! But I want you to see today the power our future holds. Because their disease can also be our cure. Power to the Living!" The crowd chants, "Pouvoir!" 

Daryl is thrown into the arena. Above him, Genet's audience looks down at the American and yell: VIVE LA FRANCE! LONG LIVE FRANCE!

THEN. Daryl and Juno cut the lifeboat loose, but in the chaos of the mutiny, the French doctor's zombie experiments are set free. A variant walker bursts free from its restraints and RUNS. The walker climbs stairs and attacks Juno, knocking him into a red button and sending the lifeboat plunging into the ocean. The strong walker rips Juno apart with inhuman strength.

NOW. Pouvoir guards drop a halberd into the arena and march out Daryl's opponent: a muzzled hungry one. As Genet and Codron look on, a guard fires a dart into the walker's neck, injecting it with a serum.

THEN. Daryl bludgeons the super-strong walker, but it doesn't die. With a burst of speed, the walker charges Daryl... who jumps over the rail just as an explosion rocks the ship.

NOW. The muzzled walker convulses as the serum infects its blood stream. Veins bulge. Its blackened eyes turn red. The walker breaks free from its chains, and free from its muzzle, snarls. "Dixon! Dixon," Codron yells out. "Today, you die... for my brother!" Vive la Dixon?

New episodes of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon air Sundays on AMC and AMC+.

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