The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Episode 3 Review – It’s Paris, Baby

The third Daryl Dixon episode is here and it’s full of crazy, unique moments that had us questioning what show we were watching. Introducing brand new elements in The Walking Dead universe is no easy task as it is a world that we’ve all grown accustomed to. However, with evolved walker threats, interesting antagonists, new cultures, and more, this series manages to add a whole new world inside of this apocalyptic universe. Episode 3 showcases captivating visuals, turning the city of love into the city of the dead. This is our review of Episode 3 of Daryl Dixon.

Daryl Dixon is available now on AMC+.

Story – Everything Unfolds

Plot

Daryl (Norman Reedus), Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), Sylvie and Laurent all arrive in Paris (albeit most of the journey was off-screen), and have arrived in a friendly community. During their time there, they discover a nightclub in the midst of the Catacombs (if you’re French, you’ll know that partying there is definitely nothing new). Not only is having the Catacombs a fitting setting for a zombie show, the fact that there is a nightclub pretending there is no walker-threat is refreshing and a bit unnerving. New characters are introduced and yes, they all speak French.

Yet, before all of that, we must discuss the insane scene at the beginning of the episode. It showcases a crazy man who might have a working radio. As Daryl and Isabelle follow the man, he plays a Vinyl on his record player then urges them to come with. We then are introduced to one of the most haunting scenes in The Walking Dead history. The man is completely mad, acting as the conductor to an orchestra of the dead.

Daryl and Isabelle watch in shock and awe as the mad man conducts an orchestra of the dead.

Flashforward a few scenes and Isabelle reunites with Quinn (the man she was with prior to becoming a nun) who reveals that he is indeed Laurent’s father. Refusing to believe this nonsense, a little argument ensues, prompting Daryl to pack his things and focus on his main goal of returning to America. While doing so, Isabelle apologizes to Daryl for being mean earlier and they begin to discuss the ‘Messiah’ situation. Laurent overhears this conversation and lashes out, running away straight after.

Action and Episode End

Before Daryl and Isabelle could react to the missing new Messiah, gunshots are fired. Codron (Romain Levi) and his goons have arrived in pursuit of Daryl. Of course, our Norman Reedus swiftly escapes as he is protected by plot armour that used to belong to Rick Grimes. However, Codron chases after him and the two end up in a scuffle. The environment felt Gotham-like, with Daryl leaping onto a building in a very Batman-esque type of way.

The fight was gritty but before Daryl could end Codron, rooftop gunmen managed to fire a few shots to distract Daryl. Dixon escapes and the episode ends with the floor beneath him crumbling. The roof that he is standing on breaks and he falls into the unknown, the camera panning up to the sky. This ending was a bit bizarre and kind of felt out of place. It felt as though the directors didn’t know what to do with Daryl at the end of the episode so they put him in some random dangerous cliffhanger situation.

Walker covered in rot, acid, and mud.

Another moment that is worth noting is the extremely creative use of the acid walkers we saw back in Episode 1. Daryl grabs one of the walkers infested with this toxic acid and uses it in order to burn through some vines and escape. In that very scene, walkers were falling from buildings which was quite the sight to see. They’d simply get up all crooked-looking, as if nothing had happened. That scene was really well-put together, full of great tension and excitement.

Episode 3 of Daryl Dixon managed to handle plot and action extremely well, with the exception of a few things.

Dialogue

The dialogue is excellently well-written, each line serving a deep purpose. There barely feels like there is any fodder or throwaway phrases, everything seems to fit perfectly well within the confines of the story. Some of the subtitles aren’t exact translations of the French that is being said, but for the purpose of storytelling, we understand why that is the case. Other than that, there isn’t much gripe with the dialogue as it seems to hit the mark on almost every single thing.

Antagonists

Finally, we get some more information regarding the antagonists and how everything ties together. Codron is recruited by the main antagonist played by Anne Carrier, with the goal of bringing Daryl Dixon to her. Whilst they gave us a bit of context regarding what exactly happened before the show, they also managed to leave a lot of things out that make us want to know more

First of all, what is up with those experiments on walkers? There’s a whole new world out there that we don’t know much about. Luckily, Codron is still alive which means there’s still a lot to be explored within the narrative of said antagonistic threat. Hopefully we’ll get to see some of these walkers in action, possessing new traits or abilities.

Codron, one of the antagonists of the show.

Although we haven’t seen much of Daryl’s signature crossbow weapon, we have hope that maybe it will return in the future. Speaking of returns, we are yet to hear mention of Carol, but hopefully we can see Melissa McBride’s face in the finale. Fingers crossed!

Pacing and Editing – A Bit Shaky

Frankly, the pacing felt a bit off at times. First of all, they went to Paris extremely quickly. It felt as though viewers were prepared to follow Daryl and Isabelle struggle on the way but instead they arrived instantly via a cut after the title sequence. All of that aside, the episode felt slow-paced at times, despite a lot was going on. 

Additionally, there was sometimes a bit too much happening, including lots of new information being revealed to the audience. This alongside the slow pacing in some scenes made for a muddy mix, removing some of the flow of the pacing. Despite that there was a lot to digest sometimes, the new locations had us attentively watching so it didn’t completely ruin our immersion.

Cinematography – Haunting Visuals

As mentioned earlier, the orchestra of the dead moment was incredibly haunting. It was basically setting up the mood for what we get to see in Paris. One could even assume that this was foreshadowing the nightclub in the Catacombs. This is because the was attempting to create entertainment out of death which is what the club was.

Apocalyptic France looks phenomenal. Paris is empty, deserted, and eerie. They’ve managed to captured Paris’ naturally chaotic aura and amplify it drastically. However, they made it so that somehow it feels bittersweet enough for you to want to explore the city. In a sense, the viewers are put into the shoes of Laurent as he says that he’d love to be underneath the Eiffel Tower looking up. 

The Paris Pantheon in Daryl Dixon.

Paris looks like it was ripped apart and stitched back together. So, not much different from real life. Kidding! …Sort of. After all, you know what they say; Paris sera toujours Paris. In all seriousness, Paris is an wonderful setting for this show and the lovely architecture simply adds to the atmosphere.

Great camera angles, great wide-shots, great establishing shots. This episode, like the ones before it, excels at providing a stellar cinematic experience for the viewers at home. It truly feels like they’ve paid attention to each shot and what its supposed to portray. Simply excellent!

Music – Jim Morrison’s Grave

The soundtrack and sound design both fit seamlessly in the episode. They are so good that they immerse you fully, not wanting to be too distracting. This is except for when the gang first arrives in Paris, as there is a rather unique choice of track playing. All in all, the choice of music is really solid and enjoyable.

Speaking of their arrival in Paris, we get to see Jim Morrison’s grave, which acts as a metaphor for America and Paris coming together. Jim Morrison is (like Daryl) an American who doesn’t belong in Paris, yet is still seemingly stuck there. This leads us to believe that this could be slight foreshadowing regarding Daryl’s fate. Could they be hinting at Daryl’s death? We’ll have to see, but so far there have been a number of scenes, shots, and dialogue that make us wonder if they’d actually kill off the face of their franchise. I mean, to be fair, they’ve done it once before.

Inside the nightclub underneath the Catacombs.

Things are looking bright so far for Daryl Dixon. It is to the point where the show might even dethrone Maggie and Negan, taking Dead City‘s spot for best TWD spin-off. This was our review of Episode 3 of Daryl Dixon. The next episode’s release date is October 1, premiering on AMC+.