‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol’ Recap – ‘Au Revoir Les Enfants’

11/4/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride as Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier in Episode 206 of ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol’ – ‘Au Revoir Les Enfants’. (Photo Courtesy of Stéphanie Branchu/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Two Finale of ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

One particular truth that none of us like to speak aloud, is that the only way forward in this life is to let go of our past, and it makes sense as to why we don’t want to say that aloud. Because then… it becomes tangible and holds us accountable to bad habits and bad behaviors that we hold to and rely upon. Which is… to hang onto the past, for reasons we think are somehow helpful. Such as say, keeping the memory of lost loved ones alive by constantly honoring them daily. Or by keeping past transgressions in the top of our mind so that we hold ourselves accountable to mistakes made so we never make them again, and we also hold to the words spoken in ugly conversations with people that mattered in the moment, where we believe we overstepped bounds, to keep us humble.

But deep down, we all know that holding onto the past is a punishment of sorts. Since sometimes honoring the dead is a form of survivor’s remorse, and holding to old mistakes punishes a soul, and believing that someone was right in saying dark things about us is the wrong way to look at their words. For they said that to hurt over inspire, and those words have no meaning. And we do this, simply because the past has gravity and it can impact us deeply, and we believe that holding onto such things will keep us strong and drive us forward. But deep down we also know, this act doesn’t do any of that. It freezes us in place and leaves us miserable, so we must speak that truth and resolve the past or let go of the stuff that we are hanging onto, to find peace, and that was a lesson that Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier had to learn in the season two finale of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol on AMC.

However, it did not seem as though that was going to be the case in ‘Au Revoir Les Enfants’. For this particular tale opened up with a fight to protect Laurent. Because as Ash finished repairs upon the plane, something sinister was heading to the racetrack. For the remnant of Losang’s twisted cult were eager to find Laurent and continue their work, and when an attempt to attack Codron and Fallou to learn about the plane’s location failed, they turned to the next best source of information in the City of Lights… Anna. For she truly was always in the know in this town, and she of course, was forced at gunpoint to take the cultists to that racetrack/airfield, and she only agreed… because she had one last ace up her sleeve.

In that, she made every attempt to kill them by plunging them into an enclosed space filled with the dead. But that plan only did minimal damage and cost her everything. But she believed in Laurent’s freedom and thankfully… that bought Daryl, Carol, Fallou and Codron enough time to prepare to fight against these forces long enough to get Laurent and Ash into the air and off to the United States of America. Giving him a second chance at a better and far more normal life, but of course… it left Carol and Daryl stranded in France. But their decision to give the future a chance wasn’t totally in vain. Since the loss of Laurent was more than the cult could bear, and just like that… the group collapsed and went its separate ways and Carol and Daryl… worked with their friends to begin to figure out a new exit strategy from France.

Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier in Episode 206 of ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol’ – ‘Au Revoir Les Enfants’. (Photo Courtesy of Emmanuel Guimier/AMC.)

Wherein they would meet up with some smugglers from the United Kingdom, who, for a price, would lead the group through the English Channel and into London where perhaps they could find better charter back to America, and that brought about some serious downtime and a chance for everyone to reflect upon this harrowing experience. Which brought about the exploration in question. For everyone was forced to face the past in some form or fashion. Fallou for instance came to realize that he used the past as an excuse to push forward constantly, out of the belief that the darkness kept him strong and made him a survivor. Only for him to learn that he already was a strong survivor, and it was okay now to live a little. Which was why he stayed behind, to love.

Whereas Codron came to understand that he held onto the anger of his brother’s death for far too long and made too many poor decisions because of that, and it was either let that anger go or continue down this dark path, and of course… Carol and Daryl had their own demons to settle up with. Since Daryl felt real survivor’s remorse over Isabelle’s death and didn’t feel himself worthy of returning home, and of course, Sophia still haunted Carol and they both briefly pondered upon letting all that go but resorted to the norms. Because they are both survivors, and both people who have used the darkness to give them strength to go on and use their pain to find purpose. But this time around, there was not going to be another escape from the pain in the hearts, for the Channel forced them to face it.

Through of course, wild circumstances. For it turned out that a segment of the channel that the guides were unfamiliar with, harbored some genuine surprises. Specifically, mutations in nature. For the bat guano present in the channel, along with the rotten corpses of the living dead down there, combined to create toxic, mind altering fumes, and hideous bioluminescence. Which brought forth hallucinations and fear. The kind that drove Codron to run off to heaven knows where and that forced Daryl and Carol to face their pain and face the horrors of the past. So that they could finally resolve it, let go and move ahead with new purpose and new direction. Which is where we left them, free of their burdens and off into the world in a new chapter of the story.

All of which brought forth, a stunning finale. One that set the stage for season three in a fascinating manner, but once again… did what few horror stories ever do and offered up character growth and healing for these two emotionally wounded individuals. Which made for a bittersweet tale really. One that spoke to how hard it is to let go, and how we aren’t bad people because of it. Just that we are creatures that live with fear, and we are terrified of change and the unknown and what life will be like without a pain that gives us so much in a time of need. But truly, we have to let it go, we have to be free of it so we can truly live life and enjoy every precious moment we get, and that really is a lovely message to find here, and it will be interesting to see what Carol and Daryl do with their emotional freedom come season three. Until next year.

Watch ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol’

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