AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
1×05 “Deux Amours”
Directed by Daniel Percival
Written by Jason Richman & David Zabel

* For a recap & review of 1×04, click here.
* For a recap & review of 1×06, click here.
Azlan ferries Daryl and Laurent down the river while the boy prays outside. Daryl asks about the Nest. He hopes that Laurent will be taken care of there. Azlan says the Nest will help groom Laurent into the hero “he is destined to be,” though that’s not something Daryl believes in just yet. When Azlan inquires about Daryl’s journey to France, we get a flashback to a time before the American left the good ole U.S. of A.
On the road, Daryl ran into a man who offered him a trade. He went with the guy to a place where he was offered work. A familiar face we’ve seen in this series is there, too: the doctor that Genet spoke to in an earlier episode, the one experimenting on zombies. A young guy amongst the others there caught Daryl’s attention. As we know, Daryl has a soft spot for young people in bad situations since he was once a boy in a terrible situation at home. We’ll surely see more of this flashback because we were never told exactly why Daryl started a mutiny onboard the ship.

Daryl was helping gather zombies for the group. The undead were loaded onto trucks with strobe lights in the back. The young guy asked if Daryl needed any help, but Daryl tried to keep his distance, likely not wanting to rope anyone else into his business after everything he’d already gone through up to that point. In present day, Daryl and Azlan are setting up camp. Laurent’s starting to learn how to take care of himself now that he’s out of the abbey. Daryl wants to make sure the kid is prepared for reality. He tells the boy one life’s most important lessons: “Life‘s not fair.” He even opens up about some of the people he knew back home, if only a tiny, tiny bit.
While Daryl and Laurent are ready to cook some fish, Isabelle is still adjusting to things back in the city being under Quinn’s thumb. She’s safe, in terms of being beyond zombie reach, but she’s effectively a prisoner, albeit one who willingly gave herself over. Soon Quinn comes with food. He’s looking forward to a time when Isabelle starts to see him differently. He wants her to want him again like the old days. He gives the old cliche: “Everything happens for a reason.” Isabelle at least plays the part for the sake of helping Laurent ultimately. But it’s a slippery slope into Stockholm syndrome. Let’s hope Isabelle’s faith can help her withstand whatever comes next. My thoughts were fast dispelled once Isabelle starting sharpening a weapon for herself to use.
By the fire, Daryl and Laurent speak of religion. Azlan is busy praying to Allah while Laurent says he found the Quran interesting because there are so many names for God yet God is one entity. For Daryl, it’s all nothing. He has no faith. The only thing he has faith in is his own actions. A bit later, Laurent prays for all Daryl’s friends back in America, as Daryl and Azlan talk by the fire. Daryl mentions making a promise that continues to drive him. Azlan says that sometimes even a promise is complicated by connection to others. Daryl says that fighting for causes was never really his thing.
Flashback to Daryl working while the young guy was trying to find any kind of guidance from the men around him. One man offered to help the young guy if he helped chop firewood and do some other things. Daryl saw the guy struggling, so he demonstrated how to chop wood efficiently. He started talking with the young guy, who said he was hoping to head to California eventually. Then he noticed the radio. He tried calling out for a friend. Suddenly, Carol’s voice came over the line. We find out Daryl was “near Maine” at this new community. He said he’d only be a week before getting back with fuel. As the line broke up, Carol said someone “came back,” but Daryl didn’t get a response regarding who she meant.

When Isabelle gets the chance she starts to seduce Quinn. They kiss for the first time in so many years. Quinn starts speaking of redemption and it gives Isabelle pause. She’s not busting out the knife yet. Quinn is willing to be patient. So it’s still a troublesome situation for Isabelle. On top of it all there’s Anna, whose patience with Quinn and his Isabelle obsession is wearing very thin. That won’t be good for anybody.
Out in the woods, Daryl finds a zombie at their camp’s door. He soon discovers Azlan nearly impaled against a telephone. Azlan says that God must have a sense of humour since his father used to work for a phone company. He gives Daryl a watch with an engraving of the Nest’s location. He tells Daryl how to get there by following the river. He says he’s at least glad that Daryl can take care of Laurent and that he’s “facing East” towards Mecca as he dies. Daryl then has to put Azlan out of his misery. In morning, Daryl and Laurent bury Azlan, as the boy says goodbye to their boatman companion. Daryl sees that the boat’s gone now. He realises that it was Laurent who cut the rope to let the boat float away. He calls the boy a “stupid little shit” and yells at him. He asks why Laurent would do such a thing. The boy says he doesn’t want to be alone. He probably feels like an object being shipped from one place to another, only for people to keep leaving him along the way, and he doesn’t want Daryl to go off to America without him. Daryl apologises and hugs Laurent, then they start thinking of the next step forward. When they’re walking a while they hear people coming up the road, so they take cover in the woods for a bit.

Flashback to the community near Maine. Daryl saw the young guy come back in zombie form and he was pissed. He threw a punch because it was obvious that the men did something to the young guy purposefully. In current day, Daryl gives Laurent a knife and shows him the engraving in the watch, advising him to follow the river to the Nest. They have to split up, at least for the time being. The men on the road stop and notice the things Laurent dropped, such as the Rubik’s Cube and pencil crayons. This gives the soldiers enough to search the area and soon they find Daryl. The soldiers hold Daryl at gunpoint to question him about Laurent’s location. Naturally he plays dumb. He’s threatened with having his eyeballs removed, yet he still says: “Fuck you.” That’s when Laurent comes out of the woods, hands up. He doesn’t want Daryl to sacrifice himself. But now they’re both on their knees at gunpoint together. Not ideal.
Isabelle goes with Quinn for an invite to Genet’s place, Maison Mère. They’re led into a Gothic castle where plenty of awful things are happening in dark corridors and rooms. Not exactly the night on the town that Quinn seemed to suggest it might be, but at least they’re out of the house! Genet wants to get down to business. She isn’t much for pleasantries. Then we see that Anna’s gone into business for herself. Daryl is in a cage thanks to Anna, and Quinn’s joining him. Only Isabelle is left free and she’s horrified. She’s reunited moments later with Laurent, so she knows he’s okay. But she isn’t out of the fire yet. Genet wants to use Isabelle, and Laurent, to show that France is united together, not separate groups fighting each other. Laurent doesn’t like Genet. He tells her: “Your heart is broken.” He says she’s a liar, and that starts to test Genet’s patience, as she warns him not to anger her.

Flashback to the community near Maine. Daryl and the guy he fought were taken out to a ship. They were taken to cages on the boat and locked inside. The other guy said they had to “fight this” or they might die. There wasn’t much to do. Later they witnessed a man tossed into another cage full of walkers where he was eaten alive. Certainly not a good sign of things to come. In current day, Daryl’s let out of his latest cell for lunch. At the same time, Genet promises a show for Laurent, as if trying to ingratiate herself and her whole community to the boy. She’s used to be adored, albeit under an iron fist. She gives a speech to her followers about celebrating “our rebirth and the rise of the 6th republic.” All the while it looks like Daryl’s going to be lunch, not eat lunch.
Flashback to Daryl supposedly coughing up blood. He was dragged over to be tossed into the walker cage. He sprang into action, attacking the guards and tossing a couple into the pit of zombies. He broke another man’s neck and managed to get his vest back before opening some of the other zombie cages and getting the other guy out of their cell. So the ‘mutiny’ that Daryl started is just Genet’s propaganda. It was really Daryl trying not to be turned into another zombie for experimentation. He and his buddy had to deal with loose walkers, including a really fast one; no doubt more results of the doc’s experimentation. Daryl finally jumped overboard when an explosion rocked the ship.

Back in current day, Daryl’s led into the place where Genet’s giving her speech. It’s almost a mini Colosseum for the new zombie age in Genet’s own Roman Empire. Daryl’s given a medieval weapon, as people chant “Pouvoir” around him. After that, the walkers are released for Daryl to be pitted against. The first is brought out and shot with adrenaline, turning it into a kind of super zombie. Everyone assumes Daryl is going to die but he picks up his weapon, ready to fight. The juiced-up zombie is let free. Hopefully Daryl can continue to survive against this new, unsettling threat.