AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
1×03 “Paris Sera Toujours Paris”
Directed by Tim Southam
Written by Coline Abert

* For a recap & review of 1×02, click here.
* For a recap & review of 1×04, click here.
Daryl and Isabelle head into an old theatre where Isabelle has a contact. They find their man inside—a musician and former conductor who’s lived in the theatre for years. He’s got a radio but it isn’t working at the moment. He’s used some of the parts for amplification purposes. He keeps asking them if they “want a show,” too. He’s got a bunch of zombies hooked up to instruments and he wildly conducts them while music plays through speakers. One of the CRAZIEST scenes across all The Walking Dead shows. The conductor is trying to keep music and culture alive, which is filled with all sorts of irony considering he’s doing it with the undead. Outside, the music is starting to draw attention, as a walker comes out of an alleyway towards Sylvie and Laurent. Inside, Daryl calls this “a stupid detour” and wants to go back to their plan. Out at the wagon, Sylvie tries to kill a walker but can’t bring herself to shoot. Daryl arrives to do the job. He announces they’re heading for Paris and more walkers come out to greet the gunshot. At least the group are on the road again.

Great needle drop in this episode: a French cover of “People Are Strange” by The Doors.
Daryl and Co. head further on the road, coming upon all kinds of ruined homes and shops and more. The only thing that never changes, even in the post-zombie apocalypse wasteland, is graveyards. When Daryl and his friends arrive in Paris, the group come to Père Lachaise Cemetery where Daryl notices the famous grave of Jim Morrison. He remarks how Jim must’ve died in Paris, and Laurent assures that Daryl won’t die here. Then the group run into another group led by Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney), who knows of Laurent already after Isabelle makes him aware they were sent by Père Jean. Fallou and his people bring Daryl and Isabelle’s small group to their community, welcoming them with open arms. They live in a place not too far away from the Eiffel Tower, which is now damaged and groans in the wind like a beacon of the city’s pain in the wake of the zombies. The great thing about The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is we’re going to see some wonderful French actors turn up. In this episode, the fantastic Dominique Pinon turns up as Antoine, a man with carrier pigeons. Daryl’s not thrilled with the pigeon stuff. So he’s not overjoyed. He also wonders how burdened young Laurent is by a level of fame that follows him throughout communities who know him. Others just see it as God’s plan for the boy. But Daryl’s too sceptical and secular for all that religiosity. Especially after all he’s seen.
Elsewhere, Genet and Stéphane meet for the first time. She questions what brought him there. Stéphane talks about being given his tattoo, enlisted into Genet’s army as a warrior by someone who came through Marseilles ages ago preaching the word of her movement. They get talking about Daryl and Stéphane plays the tape recording, which talks about the Commonwealth. Stéphane says he wants to prove himself to Genet by tracking down Daryl. He says he won’t stop, if only because the American killed his brother. Genet takes Stéphane to a room where a doctor’s monitoring a chained zombie in the next room. The zombie suddenly pulls its chains free from the walls and goes wild, running into the glass separating the rooms, its head nearly exploding. There’s some weird science happening here in the heart of the original virus outbreak. What exactly are they testing? And for what purpose?

Isabelle and Daryl get to know each other better as they venture to her old apartment. They see old photographs of Quinn and Lily. At the window, Daryl notes how the view is much better than his old place. Isabelle recalls thinking of how to make the world a better place. Daryl says he didn’t do much thinking back in the day. Isabelle is glad to have met Daryl in spite of all the terrible things that eventually brought them together. They have no more time to talk because there are walkers taking notice. They can’t go out the way they came in, so they have to try the back way. They come outside and see the little girl Isabelle used to know, now a zombie child overgrown with vegetation. Another horrifying sight from The Walking Dead universe. But the zombie child makes a bit of noise when it tips over some pots, and this prompts zombies to start falling from balconies as they try to come after the living. One zombie is a burning zombie; the kind Daryl must’ve encountered when he was on the boat, where he got his burn wound. Paris is crazy!

Thankfully Isabelle and Daryl get themselves indoors to safety before any more undead can attack them. They soon meet up with Laurent and his guardians, including Fallou. Isabelle gives Laurent the photo of Lily, which gives him something to smile about for the moment. Fallou and the crew come to a place under a bridge where they’re able to grab weaponry. This takes them down into the Catacombs of Paris. Fallou says that “America is an infant.” He says they’ve survived “many apocalypses” and they’ll “survive this one, too.” Further in, there’s a club in the Catacombs where people are drinking and dancing and having fun. Again, another famous French face with Coco (Hugo Bardin a.k.a drag queen Paloma) making an appearance to introduce the next performer onstage. The others are interested in the place, yet Daryl can only think of finding his way home. Laurent enjoys the entertainment while Fallou looks for someone to help Daryl get back to America. A guy at the club knows someone who can help Daryl. But it requires payment first. This doesn’t sit right with Daryl. He wants to go. That’s when they bump into none other than Quinn, who keeps the place running with a bit of violence. An awkward reunion.
It’s as if life never changed for Quinn. He’s still out there clubbing and drinking. It’s a shock for him to find out Isabelle’s been living as a nun. He’s sorry to hear about Lily’s death. He still hasn’t let go of Isabelle leaving. Neither has he let go of Lily. He says that Laurent is his child. He’s also going to manipulate Isabelle as much as possible in return for a boat for Daryl. But when Daryl sees how things are going he refuses to let Isabelle get hurt in order to help him. Yet Isabelle says: “I don‘t need a hero. I never did.” At the same time, Quinn’s club receives a visit from Stéphane and his soldiers looking for the American.

Laurent winds up hearing Daryl and Isabelle arguing. Daryl suggests the boy is “just a regular kid” who lived through a terrible situation. He says the kid deserves to “know who he is.” And the boy hears it all, running off in an angered state. Perfect time for Stéphane and his men to bust in turning the place into chaos. Daryl tells Isabelle to find Laurent while he makes a run for it to draw the soldiers away. He and Stéphane fight brutally on a rooftop. He nearly chokes Stéphane to death, but the soldiers fire on him and force him to let go. A few moments later, Daryl goes through a weak roof, falling into the darkness below him that may be filled with chomping zombies.