The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – Au Revoir Les Enfants

By: Kelly Kearney

It is said that “home is where the heart is,” and for Daryl and Carol, that home is found in each other and the people back in the Commonwealth. With the two main villains of the series dead, the remnants of their factions have united with a common goal: tracking down Laurent and putting their faith to the test.

In an action-packed, trippy extended episode, our favorite duo finds themselves fighting off both the dead and the living, all while saying goodbye to loved ones from both their past and present. It’s a jam-packed finale that sets up their next adventure, coming in season three.

Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

The episode opens with a sing-along of sorts. Daryl (Norman Reedus) hands Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) a guitar, and as the boy starts strumming “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones, Daryl joins in, his voice carrying a sense of melancholy, as if the lyrics are speaking directly to his own emotions. It doesn’t take long for us to realize that Daryl has made a difficult decision: he will stay behind so that Carol (Melissa McBride) and Laurent can return to the Commonwealth. After all, if the plane can only hold three people, Daryl is determined to make sure the two most important people in his life get on it.

Ironically, Carol, who crossed an ocean to find Daryl, is in the same situation. She, too, is considering staying behind rather than break up the bond Daryl has formed with Laurent. Neither of them is aware of the other’s decision, but Daryl promises Laurent that they will see each other again, while Carol makes the same promise to Ash (Manish Dayal).

Speaking of Ash, he’s still angry about being lied to, but his temper has cooled somewhat. He’s not keen on leaving Carol behind, and isn’t sure he wants to escort Laurent and Daryl home. Carol urges him not to take his anger out on Daryl or the boy. She insists they need his help and reassures him that, as a survivor, she’ll be fine on her own.

Meanwhile, we catch up with Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney), Codron (Romain Levi), and newcomer Akila (Soraya Hachoumi) as they search for medical supplies outside an old mental hospital. There’s obvious chemistry between Fallou and Akila, but there’s no time for romance—they need to get in and out quickly, without drawing attention. Akila decides to stay on lookout while Fallou and Codron head inside, only to find the rotting undead, still strapped to their beds. Before they can gather the supplies they need, they’re ambushed by a group of leftover soldiers from Genet’s (Anne Charrier) gurrier, including her second-in-command, Sabine (TatianaGousseff). Even with Genet dead, the group is still organized, now led by Jacinta (Nassima Benchicou), who survived last week’s fight with Codron.

Sabine demands to know the location of the plane, but neither man is willing to reveal it. Just as she orders their deaths, Akila charges in and fights her way through, rescuing Fallou and Codron and killing Sabine and her armed men.

Ash’s Anger Towards Carol Chills

“You’re going to make a lot of friends in the Commonwealth,” Carol tells Laurent as they discuss the journey ahead. Always attuned to the atmosphere around him, Laurent senses that Carol is struggling with the tension surrounding Ash. The boy can tell that the pilot doesn’t like him, and it’s clear that his anger stems more from his feelings of betrayal than anything else. Laurent, though, isn’t a fan of lying, but tells Carol he’s actually grateful she did, because if she hadn’t, Ash wouldn’t be here to fly them home and she would never have reunited with Daryl. Laurent understands how important that bond is between them and how much the two care for each other. That’s why it’s not surprising when he notices Carol’s disappointed expression after he lets slip about Daryl’s plan. Daryl isn’t coming back to the Commonwealth, and that means Carol is going to have to plead her case to stay behind instead.

Speaking of Daryl’s plan, we shift to him and Ash, who are on a mission to find a hose for the plane. The two men begin to open up to each other. Ash talks about the pain of losing his son and how that loss ultimately brought him to France. Still processing the betrayal by Carol, Ash can’t help but feel some lingering resentment towards the woman who used his grief over his son to get him to leave. Daryl points out that while Ash couldn’t save his son, coming to France means he still has a chance to save another child.

As they continue their search, a walker ambushes Ash, and it’s Daryl who steps in to save him. Ash is smart but he isn’t a natural fighter. This gives Daryl a deeper understanding of why Carol values the pilot,but there’s still a bit of third-wheel tension between the two men.. Still, it’s clear to Ash that Daryl’s fighting skills are a major asset after the man saves his life. Now he is grateful that Daryl is along for the ride. Ash spilled the tea on Carol’s plans and Daryl, ever protective, will have to convince her to let him stay in her place. If one of them has to stay behind, it’s not going to be her. Throughout the series, Daryl has always put Carol first, risking his life to protect hers. The question now is whether Carol will agree with that decision. She’s as stubborn as he is, and the choice of who stays behind will not be an easy one. Both will likely insist the other should be the one to go with Laurent, but ultimately, only one can stay.

The Sky’s The Limit

In the streets of Paris, we see a car winding through the bodies of the dead. It’s Anna (Lukerya Ilyashenko) from the Demimonde. Her car hits a roadblock, and immediately, a group of armed men pile out of military trucks, demanding that the club owner and her dancer, Nadine (Chrystal Boursin) get out of the car. Hysterically, she extends her hand like some dainty woman—but the guards force her out of the car, along with Nadine. That’s when we see Jacinta, who faces Anna, demanding to know where Daryl and the boy are. Her hesitation forces Jacinta to shoot the club owner’s driver and then put a gun to her friend’s head. Anna realizes that Jacinta will not hesitate to kill again but being Anna, never drops her attitude. Always dripping with sarcasm, Anna remains unmoved by the violence or the threats and shrugs off Nadine’s pleas for help. In this world, there are no such things as friends, and she’s willing to let the woman die rather than give up the boy she has grown fond of.

Eventually, she convinces Jacinta to cut a deal with her: Anna will give up the boy if she is allowed to take the plane and pilot and fly home. France has lost its shimmer and Anna wants out. Jacinta agrees, so Anna begrudgingly escorts them to the plane’s location.

Back to Daryl and Carol, they have a moment to chat about who is going home and who is staying behind. After a friendly back-and-forth, Ash pipes in to give them his two cents, and unsurprisingly, he agrees with Daryl. He knows Paris and how to survive, while Carol knows the plane and the trip overseas. It makes sense for Carol to leave with Ash and Laurent, while Daryl finds another way home. Like Laurent, he promised her he would, but the look on her face suggests she isn’t so sure.

Before they can cement their plans, Codron and Fallou show up with bad news: Jacinta has stepped into Lasong (Joel de la Fuente)  and Genet’s shoes, and they’re heading toward the plane. It’s time to go.

Outside the gates of the racetrack, Anna, Jacinta, and the remaining soldiers drive up, ready for a fight. Giving them some time, Anna stalls Jacinta by taking her the wrong way to the plane’s hiding spot, leading them straight into a trap. A herd of hungry walkers attacks, killing many of her soldiers and infecting Jacinta with a bite to her arm.

Anna faces the herd like the queen she’s been throughout the series – with bravery, sarcasm, and some serious silent shade. Not a scream escapes her as the herd drags her to her death. Jacinta watches in horror, knowing her death won’t be as quick as Anna’s, but she knows it’s coming.

Jacinta makes one last attempt to capture Laurent, as her soldiers hear the plane in a neighboring field, readying for takeoff. Making a mad dash for the runway, her soldiers rev up their jeeps and head straight for the plane, guns blazing. Fallou and Codron hold off the gunfire long enough for Laurent to hop in the plane, and Carol to take one last longing look at Daryl—her soulmate, the man she crossed an ocean for, and the most important person in her life. We don’t know exactly what she was going to say, but we can assume it was something like the “I love you” Daryl gave her before he left her in the Commonwealth and landed in France. Throughout this season, there have been hints that this relationship might be heading toward a romantic conclusion, first with Daryl’s silence over his feelings for Isabelle, and later through their “married couple” optics—the elderly couple spotted in the cabin. We continue to see hints of their growing bond, but we’ll have to wait for some sort of definition, because Jacinta’s men are coming, and these two don’t have time for a long, loving goodbye.

Carol closes the door of the plane as Daryl runs into hiding. He,Codron,and Fallou try to hold off Jacinta’s men long enough to give the plane a chance to take off. It looks like Ash is going to make it, but then they spot a man on a motorcycle shooting at the plane as it taxis down the runway. One stray bullet could blow this tin can up! Daryl and the two men manage to take down the threat, but another follows behind in a runaway jeep, guns blazing. Daryl is locked and loaded, but when he goes to pull the trigger, his gun jams. It looks like the soldier is going to take out the plane—until a bullet comes from a different direction, taking out the threat and giving Ash the opportunity to lift the wheels and take off into the sky.

Who pulled the trigger and saved the day? Daryl knows it can only be one person: Carol. She jumped out of the passenger seat of the plane and stayed behind. She wasn’t going to leave her best friend in France to fend for himself—not after she fought her way across the ocean to be with him.

In the distance, we hear gunfire and see that Jacinta knows she’s lost. Her men are dead, and she’s bitten. Her only option is to put a gun to her head and pull the trigger.

With Laurent and Ash on their way to the Commonwealth, Daryl and Carol share a moment to joke about the saving shot. These two live to compete and joke with each other, which is why Daryl says he could’ve made that shot, to which Carol smirks and says, “I know.”

Chunnel Trips and Closure

Without a plane, Daryl and Carol need to find another way home, and Fallou has an idea. He and Codron introduce the Americans to a Scottish couple—Fiona (Sarah McCardie) and Angus (Matt Swift)—who will escort them through the tunnel A.K.A. “Chunnel” beneath the English Channel. The trek will take nine hours, but Fallou believes that once they reach England, they’ll find a way back home. Along with their new Scottish friends, they’ll have to make the Chunnel trip on foot. Luckily, Fiona and Angus know the way and the dangers that lie in the underwater path.

That night, sitting around a fire and getting to know each other, Fallou opens up about the racism he faced in the world before. The fall of mankind seemed to cure some of society’s worst ills, but it gave way to a new kind of human horror—violence and desperation. This prompts Akila to admit that she isn’t leaving France, and she kisses Fallou as a final goodbye. Love is hard to find in this world and even harder to leave behind.

While the two go off for some alone time and Carol says her goodnites, Daryl and Codron sit by the fire talking about his brother Misha and the man’s murder. Codron wants to forgive Daryl for killing his younger brother, and it turns out to be easier than he expected when Daryl admits he never killed Misha—it was the woman he met on the road in season one. Codron is stunned; everything he’s done since Misha was killed has been based on a lie. When he found his brother’s killer, the woman knew he was in a rage and wasn’t about to admit she was at fault. So, she pointed the finger at Daryl, and everything fell apart for Codron after that.

Leaving him to mull over his actions, Daryl goes to look for Carol. He finds her leaning against a tree, struggling to keep her overflowing emotions in check. Through her tears, she reveals that she cannot remember Sophia’s face and is reminded of that every time she sees a young girl. She is also still mourning Lizzy and Henry, and she can’t shake the guilt over what happened to all three children. Daryl tells her that none of that is her fault. They have each other, and they’re going to keep moving forward until they get back to Laurent, Ash and their family waiting for them.

The following morning, we learn that Fallou is going to stay behind with Akila. The two have made a connection, and it’s time for him to embrace happiness for as long as he can. This is something Daryl and Carol can understand, so they say their goodbyes and let Fiona and Angus lead them and Codron toward England.

Once inside the Chunnel, they find a military checkpoint, but all the Brits there are dead. Angus spots the generator and flips on the lights, revealing how the soldiers died. It looks like they turned on each other, but there are no clues as to why. What they do see are gas masks littering the ground, and everyone questions what they could be for. Angus assumes it was to lessen the bat guano they are all inhaling. The sight of the masks makes Daryl nervous, so he keeps the group moving—until they stumble upon a glowing sea of bodies. In front of them are walkers dripping in bioluminescent plants, which instantly remind Daryl of Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) and the fireflies she couldn’t wait to see.

It isn’t long before the group starts to act a little hazy. Whatever is in those glowing plants is affecting their minds. Angus and Fiona chalk it up to again inhaling bat guano, but something feels off about this explanation—and about the Scottish couple themselves. While the group stumbles through strange hallucinations, they get separated and each have their own trip down Flashback Lane. The piles of glowing walkers come to life and begin attacking, leaving the group confused about what’s a real threat and what’s not. Codron is fighting off walkers that look like his brother Misha, and Carol follows one that resembles Sophia away from the pack. Daryl sees her go but can’t stop her before he spots Codron in need of help. He steps in to offer a hand, but Codron turns on him, thinking Daryl is trying to hurt Misha. The two men fight until Codron realizes who is on the other side of his fist. That clarity doesn’t last long, though, because even though Codron doesn’t try to kill Daryl, he sees Misha in the distance and runs after him deeper into the Chunnel.

Before Daryl can even catch his breath and find Carol, Angus and Fiona—in gas masks—attack him. They want the gas masks for themselves, and there are only two—not enough for Daryl and Carol. Now we have a good indication of why those British soldiers were dead at the checkpoint: they killed each other after inhaling this toxic air.

Angus and Fiona get the better of Daryl, knocking him to the ground. As he starts to hallucinate, an image seems familiar–it’s a woman, and her figure starts to morph into focus. Elsewhere, Carol asks Sophia to come with her and she grabs the girl’s hand. Mother and daughter get their final goodbye—one Carol never had the chance to have, as Sophia turns to take one last look and then keeps walking away. The encounter gives Carol the closure she’s been struggling to find for over a decade. It took flying to France for her to gain some perspective on a mother’s love and ultimate loss.

Meanwhile, the familiar figure Daryl sees comes into focus and it’s Isabelle with a pep talk. She’s also here to say goodbye, and among the glowing plants that resemble the fireflies she’d hoped to see, she leans down and whispers,“You can’t die here.” That’s when Daryl sees the image of his grandfather standing behind Isabelle. The two give him enough strength to get up and fight Angus and Fiona.

He ends up killing the couple and taking their masks just in time to reunite with Carol for their journey to England and their search for a way back home. Their French adventure taught them many things: a little bit of the language, a lot about loyalty, and, most importantly, it reminded them of what’s really important in this world—family, friendship, and love.