By: Kelly Kearney
After a premiere ending cliffhanger left off with an injured Carol missing and Daryl desperately searching to find her, this week’s episode shifts focus to romance, and the politics of survival. As the two navigate the dangers of a new foreign land, they are also forced to grapple with the complexities of the heart and the dangers of choosing love over expectations.
Carol’s Caught the Warm and Fuzzies
When Daryl (Norman Reedus) finds her wandering near a waterfall, Carol (Melissa McBride) is transfixed by a young couple splashing and kissing in the water. “They’re so perfect,” she murmurs, while Daryl is just happy he found his best friend alive. He eyes the couple’s supplies and raises his bow—an “icebreaker,” as he calls it, which is more intimidation than an introduction. Carol protests, practically begging him to chill out, but for Daryl, it’s simple: Carol’s infection comes first, and romance has no place in his survival plans.
The moment doesn’t last, as Daryl and Carol spot a group of armed men searching for the couple, who quickly take cover. The young lovers are clearly hiding from something—or someone—and Carol’s face fills with worry. Eventually, the men close in and quickly overpower the young man and aim a gun at him. That’s when Daryl finally steps in. A few swift arrows later,and the attackers are down, though one manages to escape after getting a good look at the American who killed his friends.
After failing to track down the escaped gunman, Daryl turns his attention to the young couple, and it is immediately clear he didn’t intervene for love, nor is he caught up in the same hopeful haze that grips his feverish friend. What he notices instead is that the kids are healthy, well-fed, and clearly tied to some kind of community—one that might have the resources Carol needs to fight her infection. For Daryl, it’s survival. For Carol, this couple represents something more. She sees in them the proof that life doesn’t have to be an endless battle, and that love can survive even at the end of the world.
Once the threat is handled, we learn their names are Justina(Candela Saitta) and Roberto (Hugo Arbues). When Daryl presses them about where they come from and whether they can help Carol with her injury, Roberto refuses to offer them any details that could help. Justina, grateful for being saved, can’t bring herself to turn her back on the Americans, and despite the language barrier, she explains that her grandmother is a healer who could help. The problem is that she and Roberto escaped their home, and returning means Justina would be sent away and Roberto could be killed. If they don’t go back, Carol might die—and Daryl isn’t about to let that happen. So, he pulls his gun on Roberto and forces the couple to lead the way. For Daryl, the only thing that matters is getting Carol help, then finding a way off the continent and back home.
Welcome to Solaz de Mar
Their journey leads them to the village of Solaz del Mar–a charming town, if you don’t focus too long on the giant menacing papier-mâché heads meant to ward off threats. Once inside the gates, Daryl and Carol are met by the community’s leader, Fede (Óscar Jaenada), who is less than pleased with his niece Justina for running away. Still, as mayor, he makes a half-hearted attempt to welcome the newcomers, accompanied by his guard Paz (Alexandra Masangkay), who looks like she’s rode horseback straight out of a spaghetti western—cowboy gear, whip in hand, and all. Their welcome quickly sours, when Fede scolds Justina and Roberto for fleeing La Ofrenda, and soon the truth behind their escape comes out. “La Ofrenda” is just a nicer way to describe human trafficking, and now we know why the young lovers fled.
A group calling themselves El Alcázar, who claim to be the last of Spain’s royal bloodline, descends upon villages offering food and weapons in exchange for young women, taken as brides. The selection process is disturbingly ritualized; where girls as young as 14 are entered into a lottery disguised as a pig race. Each pig wears a ribbon marked with a girl’s name, and whichever animal crosses the finish line first, decides who will be handed over to El Alcázar in the exchange. It’s not the first time we’ve seen women used as pawns to keep a community afloat in this universe. In the original series, The Saviors adopted a similar idea, and we all know how that ended. After some tense back and forth between Daryl and Fede—who insists he doesn’t have the means to help but admits he understands their desperation—Antonio, a local villager, steps forward. He offers to let the travelers stay at his home until Carol recovers. Fede reluctantly agrees to give them two days at Antonio’s (Eduardo Noriega) house, where we quickly learn the man is Roberto’s father.
At the house, Antonio gathers supplies to bandage Carol while Daryl and Roberto have a heated argument. Roberto can’t forgive Daryl for forcing him and Justina back home. Because of the Americans, the young couple now faces La Ofrenda. Justina is in the lottery and Roberto could find himself forever separated from the woman he loves. Daryl tries to convince him that life isn’t just about romance, that they’ll both grow and find other things to live for. Of course, his words are colored by his own bitterness—his chance at love in France was cut short, and he hasn’t let it go.
The next morning Carol wakes feeling stronger and on the mend, and joins Daryl and Antonio outside. Her chipper mood is quickly replaced with worry when Paz, on horseback, approaches with grim news: El Alcázar has arrived.
One Life to Save Many
Led by Guillermo Torres (Gonzalo Bouza), the regal entourage is welcomed with cheers, as many villagers see them as saviors who keep Solaz del Mar safe from raiders, their cabinets full of food, and their doctors supplied with medicine. For most, sacrificing a daughter or sister for the survival of the town feels like an honorable trade, but the looks on the young girls’ faces tell another story.
As Torres greets Fede, the ceremony is interrupted by a man mourning his daughter, who was given up in the trade five years earlier. Consumed by anger, he lunges at Torres but is swiftly seized by El Alcázar’s guards and dragged away to be tortured. To smooth the tension, Torres’s wife, Elena (Greta Fernández) emerges from a carriage, smiling warmly at the terrified girls as if to prove there’s a better life waiting if they accept their role. Paz’s reaction gives her away—she knows this woman and she is stunned to see her. Their shared look suggests a history much deeper than anyone realizes.
Back at Antonio’s, Roberto argues bitterly with his father about the ceremony while Daryl and Carol talk outside. Carol is moved by Justina’s plight and wants to help the young lovers escape. Daryl disagrees, as all he cares about is Carol’s recovery and their journey home. He has no interest in adding new people, new problems, or side quests, to their already dangerous journey across the ocean.
Meanwhile, the town slaps on a smile and starts preparing for the festival. Paz and Daryl both help with decorations, though Daryl can’t shake the unease gnawing at him. He notices the fear etched into every corner of the village and wonders if this is all worth it. Antonio even admits that this “tradition” is little more than extortion, no matter how much safety and supplies it buys them. Across the square, we watch as nervous mothers dress their daughters in their finest clothes, forcing smiles even as the girls tremble.
Enter Justina, who is dressed for the event and comforts Alba (Hada Nieto), a frightened younger girl. She attempts to lighten the mood by joking that her name is so short it’ll be easy to stitch onto a ribbon—hoping instead that a pig with a longer name will win. That’s when El Alcázar’s new queen arrives and tells the girls to stand down, as the pomp and circumstance surrounding royals seems to make her uncomfortable. Elena is kind, warm, and far gentler than her husband, and understands the fear these girls are feeling. Still, she appears to be living proof of the “better life” her husband is promising the daughters of Solaz del Mar, and that is exactly why Torres forced her to tag along.
Customs, Pig Races, and the Patriarchy
When the festival begins, Alba, Justina, and the other girls step into the square. The pigs are released, and the winner carries the shortest name of all: Alba. Justina breathes a sigh of relief that her name was spared, but her joy is shadowed by the sight of Alba’s mother clutching her terrified daughter.
With the lottery decided, the festival shifts into feasting and celebration. At the head table sit Fede, his mother– the healer (Yassmine Othman), Justina, Torres and his wife, and Alba with her grieving mother, Carmen (Anna Gras). Daryl and Carol are invited to join them, as their stay in Solaz del Mar is nearing its end. But danger still lingers, as the armed man from the woods who escaped Daryl’s arrows watches the town. He is one of El Alcázar’s men, which can only mean trouble for Daryl and Carol.
Having no idea his night is about to take a bloody turn, Daryl takes a moment to observe everyone at the table. He notices sparks flying between Paz and Elena, and later, the two exchange secret glances and finally embrace. This confirms that they were once lovers torn apart by La Ofrenda.
Speaking of torn, Carol cannot get over the idea of Alba’s future. Unable to keep silent in the face of oppression, she speaks up, calling the ceremony an “outdated” tradition. This awkward truth forces Fede to defend his community, insisting their survival depends on those sacrifices. His mother, through Justina’s translation, reinforces the point that without La Ofrenda, Solaz del Mar would not exist. To them, one marriage is a small price to pay for the safety of all in the town. Although the haunted faces of Alba and Justina say otherwise.
As Carol endures lectures about respecting foreign customs, Daryl spots the escaped guard watching from the crowd. Slipping away from the table, he follows the man through the dark alleyways of the village. Soon he’s trailed by two soldiers, and a fight breaks out above a pit filled with walkers. The creatures are kept caged below, released only when threats appear at the town’s gates.
Through physical force and years of hand-to-hand combat, Daryl gains the upper hand. He hurls all the three men–including the escapee from earlier, into the pit where the dead tear them apart. Their disappearances ensure his cover remains intact while the feast carries on. Fede may claim he will do anything to keep his village safe, but Daryl makes his own vow: he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Carol and himself. So much for avoiding side quests and other people’s dramas! It seems that the harder Daryl and Carol struggle to get home, the more Europe seems to pull them back in.