The Walking Dead: The Book of Daryl – Le Paradis Pour Toi

By: Kelly Kearney

It’s the reunion fans have been waiting for, and it delivers everything we wanted and more! With hope for a better life dwindling—thanks to Genet’s plan to attack The Nest—Carol makes an incredible escape, creating a heart-pounding, tear-jerking moment that this series has been building toward. The question is: is the Daryl who left her the same Daryl she finds in France? A lot has happened in the past month, and the two must confront new threats in this foreign land while navigating the complexities of their journey home—if they even want to go home. That decision remains unclear. With Laurent missing and both Pouvoir and the Union of Hope hunting him down, plans to fly out of France are on hold—possibly indefinitely.

Savior Carol

The episode opens with Carol (Melissa McBride) facing Genet’s (Anne Charrier) Gurrier as the woman’s plan to invade The Nest with an army of her super walkers is revealed. Genet was never going to team up with Carol to kill Daryl–not in the way Carol assumed, but always planned on adding the American to her walker army. The goal is the same–kill Daryl and the Union of Hopers, it was the details of how that she kept from Carol. Corralled into a pen of clueless volunteers– Carol is trapped without a way to escape. Genet’s soldiers are going to use Codron (Romain Levi) as walker bait tied to the back of a Mad Max-style dune buggy after they open fire on the crowd with bullets and hypodermics filled with walker poison. As the bullets soar, Carol hits the ground and plays dead but the guards go one by one to inject the people with Genet’s super walker juice. Fortunately, Carol’s red leather jacket protects her from the needle plunging the poison into her arm. She manages to pull it out before one of Genet’s men sees her and plays dead long enough to make her escape on the dune buggy with Codron. Somehow the two avoid the bullets ricocheting off the vehicle and when the Gurrier decides to pull out the big guns and lob some sort of explosive, it conveniently blasts a hole in the front doors of Mont Saint-Michel. Carol, Codron, and an army of super walkers filter in and start attacking the Union of Hopers. Carol and Codron go their separate ways as she is determined to fight through the dead to find Daryl before Genet does.

Meanwhile, inside those sacred walls, Daryl is still chained up in a cell while Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) is being interrogated by Losang (Joel de la Fuente) about her nephew’s whereabouts. She tells her former leader she no longer has faith in Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) being their messiah and Losang responds with, “I’m sorry your faith has weakened.” He promises her it will return if she stays strong but she doesn’t see his strength–just the opposite, he seems desperate. Losang thinks her change is due to Daryl’s influence, but she assures him she has a mind of her own, and it’s Losang’s “savage” behavior that proves to her he was weak and wrong. Laurent has the heart and mind for the change Losang preached about, but he is still just a child and not a supernatural savior who is immune to death. This angers Losang, and when he threatens Laurent, the former nun reveals her true strength by slashing the Buddhist leader’s face with a hidden weapon concealed in her palm. Enraged, he retaliates, driving a dagger into her belly, leaving her to bleed out as walkers filter into The Nest. Injured and leaving a trail of blood behind her, Isabelle attempts to escape but runs head-on into a walker frenzy. Seconds from being eaten, Carol jumps in to save her having no idea of the connection the two share. Quickly transitioning into nurse mode, Carol tries saving Isabelle with makeshift bandages and a blanket to keep the woman warm, but the wound is deep, and she is losing too much blood. This is when Carol reveals her identity and explains how she is looking for her American friend, Daryl Dixon. Despite Isabelle’s fading strength, the shock on her face is unmistakable; this can’t be Daryl’s Carol, can it?  Isabelle tells Carol that Daryl is locked in a cell, awaiting execution inside the castle.

Reunited and it Feels so Good

Meanwhile, Daryl (Norman Reedus) isn’t imprisoned for long. As chaos erupts in the castle, walkers chase a young guard down to the cells. Daryl, having no way to help, watches with a smirk on his face as it seems the guard will be overwhelmed. He waves at him, a reminder that he could help if he weren’t chained up. Once freed and armed with a swinging morning star, Daryl easily clears the winding halls of walkers and Union of Hope members—unaware that Carol is also fighting her way toward him. What follows is a John Wick-style bloodbath as he dispatches both walkers and “hopers” with ease, until only one figure remains standing. A shadowy silhouette in the distance halts his fury as if time itself slows down. Is he seeing things? A ghost? It can’t be… Daryl whimpers and the figure echoes his cry. At that moment, he realizes his eyes are not deceiving him—it’s CAROL! He takes off running, and the two soulmates collapse into each other’s arms, hugging, crying, and gasping for breath. Their long fight to be together has led to this moment—two hearts that, when united, always feel like home. Daryl can hardly believe this is real and holds Carol’s face to confirm it before embracing her again.

Unfortunately, their reunion and all the questions about how they both made it to France will have to wait, as Carol delivers terrible news: Isabelle has been mortally wounded. She rushes Daryl to Isabelle’s side, but it’s too late; the woman is dying, and so is her dream of seeing the fireflies in Ohio. In her final moments, she envisions those glowing insects lighting up the night sky, and begging Daryl with her last breath to take care of Laurent. Isabelle dies, leaving Daryl bent over in tears as Carol watches, surprised by their closeness. She squeezes his arm, offering comfort in a role reversal for the best friends. After losing two children and leaning on Daryl’s strength, it’s now Carol’s turn to support him in this loss. As sad as it is to say goodbye to Isabelle, it feels right for Carol to hold Daryl together in the aftermath—which, unfortunately, doesn’t last long as the second part of the episode kicks off with the search for Laurent.

With Mont Saint-Michel under attack, Genet comes face to face with Losang, and the two discuss their shared goal of finding the boy. Losang is now her prisoner, and she jokes that if she does find his “Messiah-child,” God must be on her side. Meanwhile, outside, Daryl practically drags Carol down to the beach and into the woods in search of Laurent. He has no time to answer her questions or listen to her talk about friends and family back home; he is a man on a mission, and Carol is just trying to keep up. She has no idea who Laurent is or why he is so special that Daryl is willing to put everything on hold to find him. Instead of pressing for answers, she follows him to the agreed-upon meeting place, but Laurent is nowhere to be found. He did, however, leave behind his Rubik’s Cube—a good sign he was there.

“We’re not in Ohio anymore,” Carol says as she and Daryl track Laurent through the French countryside. The two finally catch their breath between the tragedy and chaos to talk about Carol’s trip, and what she was trying to say during their dropped phone call in Maine. It wasn’t a “someone” returning to The Commonwealth—like Rick Grimes fans had hoped—but a feeling Carol has been running from ever since she lost Sophia. Without Daryl, she couldn’t confront her ghosts, so she took off to find him when he failed to come home. After catching up, their trademark Caryl banter emerges. The two joke about their European vacation and Daryl speaking French. “It’s crazy,” Carol says, and Daryl can’t help but laugh and agree. It’s a lighthearted moment we expect from this duo, providing a welcome break from the first twenty minutes of fighting, fear, and despair.

It’s Complicated

After catching Carol up on what’s been happening in France, the two-track Laurent and Fallou to a secluded cabin in the woods inhabited by an elderly couple—Didi (Marie-Christine Adam) and Theo (François-Eric Gendron). When Daryl kicks in the door, interrupting their dinner, they learn that Laurent was there but has since left. He informed the couple—who are friends with Fallou—to expect Daryl and Sister Isabelle. Didi and Theo seem trustworthy enough to share a meal with, and later, Theo promises to help them find a working car in the morning. They never correct Didi and Theo’s assumption that Carol is the French nun, nor do they question her American accent; everyone just goes along to keep the peace.

The following day, while Daryl rummages through Theo’s collection of cars, Carol—still pretending to be Isabelle—chats with Didi in the kitchen. It becomes clear that Didi and Theo aren’t married; after years of pain and loss, their friendship has evolved into a deep, familiar bond. Didi blurts out that Laurent thinks Daryl loves “Isabelle,” but feels torn between her and home. Carol tries to deflect the awkward observation, saying it’s complicated, but Didi complicates things further by agreeing with Laurent, as she recognizes their love as similar to her and Theo’s. This moment feels like a foreshadowing of a final revelation about Carol and Daryl’s connection. Could Didi be seeing something that they both refuse to acknowledge? After a decade of undefined chemistry, is this the first glimpse of a defining moment? From the look on Carol’s face, it seems she has, at the very least, considered it—especially when both men walk into the kitchen with news that they need to head into town for a car battery, and Theo grabs Didi to dance. They embody the happiness Carol and Daryl hoped still existed in the world, a happiness Daryl is still struggling to find.

Later, during their search for a working battery, Daryl talks with Carol about his responsibility for Laurent, admitting he’s not sure he wants it. He wavers between the idea of Laurent returning to the Commonwealth or staying in Paris with his friends. Carol recognizes his indecisiveness as a fear that he might lose Laurent and become like her. Daryl disagrees; their friendship was forged in the pain of a mother’s loss—one that Carol is still grappling with, and he would never judge her for that. This hits her hard when she starts to follow Didi into the barn for ethanol gas and memories of Sophia and that red barn in Georgia paralyze her. Didi recognizes the trauma and offers Carol a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold as they confront the triggering barn together. It’s a beautiful moment, signaling that Carol has finally begun to put her daughter to rest and can look forward to a new life without running from her ghost.

With a working battery installed and gas in the tank, the tension shifts to comedy when Theo can’t help but laugh at Daryl and Carol’s “old married couple” bickering. It’s another lighthearted moment that delights both Theo and Didi, who enjoy their bond. However, the laughter comes to a screeching halt when a truck is heard approaching, and Theo instructs them to hide. It turns out to be one of Genet’s Gurriers shaking down the old couple for food. They never spot Daryl and Carol, but the encounter sets the stage for the episode’s final twist.

Au Revoir, Madame Genet

Later that night, Carol reminds Daryl of who is waiting for him back home by handing him a toy that Judith made. He’s struggling to define his role in Laurent’s life, but he knows he holds an important place in his family back home, even if it feels like he’s forgotten. While Carol has used this adventure to finally put her guilt over Sophia’s death to rest, Daryl’s heart is caught between his responsibility to Laurent and the responsibility he feels for that little girl he practically raised back home. This journey has been more than just landmarks and learning French for the duo; it’s about putting the past in the rearview mirror as they head into the future in search of happiness.

The next morning, Theo invites them to a bit of happiness with the best truffle eggs they’ve ever eaten—“like sex on the tongue”—and Daryl and Carol can’t resist. However, it turns out this is a stalling tactic, as Theo has ratted them out to a soldier to keep himself and Didi safe. When he holds a gun on them, Didi pushes the weapon away and hurriedly guides Carol and Daryl to a hiding spot. Moments later, Genet and six of her men arrive, ready to collect the Americans, but Theo’s plan falls apart. In the chaos of hunting down Carol and Daryl, Didi is shot and Carol finds herself facing the barrel of the gun.

Before killing Carol, Genet uses her husband’s death as justification for her transformation into a killer, as if she assumes she’s the only one in the apocalypse who has lost someone. Her sympathy ploys to Carol are rich. Just as her monologue reaches its peak, Carol gives Genet a taste of her own medicine—literally! Daryl bursts into the room, shooting one of Genet’s men, who drops an injection gun right within Carol’s reach. She grabs it and shoots Genet in the back, striking a location she can’t reach in time to remove it. Her death is gruesome and well-deserved, but what does that mean for her Pouvoir? The remnants of the group, led by Sabine (Tatiana Gousseff), join forces with Losang to find Laurent and spread their twisted version of hope. It seems the Buddhist leader has abandoned his peaceful ways to become the show’s new villain. With Genet’s superwalkers and firepower, he’s going to be a formidable foe.

Later that night, Carol and Daryl bury Didi and pack the car to leave. Before they hit the road, Daryl finally finds the words to explain what he couldn’t before. He reveals that when he washed up in France, he cut a deal with Isabelle to find a way home. “Laurent became the glue that kinda held us all together,” he says. “But I never stopped trying to get home to you.” The longer he stayed, the harder it became. Carol thinks this means he loves Isabelle, but when she pushes him to admit it, he remains silent. Perhaps his feelings weren’t as deep as Isabelle’s for him, but that doesn’t diminish her importance in his story. She helped him grow and gave him a boy to raise, which he now admits to Carol they will be doing together back in Ohio. He’s ready to go home and bring Laurent with him now that France isn’t safe. This turnaround brings a smile to Carol’s face; this is the Daryl she knows, though it took time for her to find him. Almost as long as it’s taken for him to find himself.