The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon heads to Paris, but is it still as beautiful? In “Paris sera toujours Paris” (Paris will always be Paris), Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) faces her past as Codron (Romain Levi) seeks help in finding Daryl (Norman Reedus).
Daryl, Isabelle, Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), and Sylvie (Laïka Blanc-Francard) set out on the road to Northern France where they will meet up with their group at a place called the Nest. Father Jean created the path that led them through Paris, but Isabelle changed the route. They stop in a small village where Isabelle has a contact. She thinks her contact will have a radio they can use to find out where to go next. Her contact, a former musician, is there and he has a radio, but it doesn’t work. To make things worse, the musician has lost his mind. He has an orchestra of walkers that he conducts in a performance for Daryl and Isabelle.
Daryl gets frustrated and declares that they are heading to Paris. Isabelle says it’s too dangerous, but there’s danger everywhere. As they enter Paris, Daryl sees the word Pouvoir spray painted on a car. He’s seen it before and asks Isabelle about it. She says it’s a movement that started after the outbreak. The group rules most of Paris under the leadership of a woman called Genet (Anne Charrier).
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FRIENDLY FACES
They pass the graveyard where Jim Morrison is buried. Daryl stops to pay his respect. This is also where they meet the Union D’espoir Paris group, led by Fallou (Eriq Ebanouey). Fallou and his group know all about Father Jean’s beliefs about Laurent. He leads them to their home on the rooftops of Paris. The community has 64 people, including a lot of children. The building faces the Eiffel Tower and Laurent is intrigued by it.
Daryl asks about a radio, but the group uses pigeons to communicate. That’s not going to get him to America, so Daryl decides to leave. Fallou says they can trade for all sorts of things in the city. Isabelle knows where they can get currency to trade. Daryl says they will go the next day. Meanwhile, the people of the Paris group surround Laurent. They watch him approach a lady named Sonia (Sabine Pakora) in her quarters. Fallou says Sonia’s husband just died and no one has been able to console her. They watch Laurent hug the lady and she smiles at him.
Codron goes to the Pouvoir headquarters to speak with Genet. He wants to find Daryl and says he will do so to avenge his brother. Genet takes him up on the offer. He follows her into a lab and watches as Dr. LeFleur (François Delaive) conducts experiments on walkers. It’s not clear what’s going on, but the walker in the room breaks his chains and then his head explodes.
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FACING THE PAST
Isabelle takes Daryl to her old apartment in Paris. Daryl finds pictures of Isabelle and Quinn (Adam Nagaitis). They used to date, Isabelle says when she was young and stupid. Isabelle finds a photo of Lily (Faustine Koziel) in front of the Eiffel Tower and puts it in her pocket. She goes to the fireplace and pulls out a box of drugs, jewelry and credit cards. They share stories about who they were before the apocalypse. Isabelle thinks they were both broken until the world ended.
Daryl decides it’s time to leave, but walkers fill up the hallway. They have to go out the back that leads to a courtyard. Isabelle sees the walker of a young girl who lived in her building and she is shocked. They move slowly through the courtyard and walkers start falling off of the building. The strange thing is, the walkers get up and keep going.
These walkers all have the acid blood, like the ones that Daryl encountered when he first arrived. The walkers surround Isabelle while Daryl tries to clear the brush that grew over the gate. He stabs one of the walkers and moves it to the gate. He pushes the walker up against the brush to burn it off. Once the brush is gone, he opens the gate and they leave. Isabelle takes one last look at the little girl before leaving.
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PARIS SERA TOUJOURS PARIS
Laurent, Sylvie, Fallou and his people meet Daryl and Isabelle near a tunnel. Isabelle gives Lauren the photo of his mother before they set off into the catacombs. The path leads to Club Deminonde. Fallou says they can find someone there to help Daryl. The club is exactly that, a club with drinking, dancing and some priceless artwork.
Daryl meets a guy named Bernard (Michaël Erpelding) who says he knows people who can help, but he wants payment upfront. Isabelle shows him her bag of drugs and Bernard is impressed. One of the guards nods at someone behind Daryl and Daryl gets uneasy. He grabs Isabelle’s bag and says it’s time to go. Bernard pulls a knife on Daryl and Daryl punches him.
Quinn walks up and reprimands Bernard for bringing a weapon into the club. He smiles and says hello to Isabelle, who is surprised to see him. Quinn is interested to know who Daryl is to Isabelle and what he wants. Daryl just wants to go home. Quinn thinks he can help him.
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Meanwhile, Sylvie dances with one of Fallou’s men while Laurent listens to the woman singing. The singer’s name is Anna (Lukerya Ilyashenko). He tells her that she sings very good and shows her the picture of his mother. Anna is wearing a necklace with the Eiffel Tower on it. Laurent says he likes it, so Anna gives it to him. He runs to show Isabelle and meets Quinn before being sent away back to the rooftops with Sylvie. Daryl asks Isabelle if everything is okay and she pretends it is. Quinn steps away to the bar and Anna comes up behind him and wraps her arms around him. He pushes her away while ordering a bottle of champagne. He tells her he has business to attend to and walks away.
BARGINING CHIP
Quinn takes Isabelle and Daryl up to his office. The place used to be a hideout for generals in War World II. There are a lot of artifacts, art, wine and other spirits stored in his office. Quinn offers Isabelle a glass of champagne and she declines. Isabelle updates him on her life. After she and Lily left him, she became a nun. Unfortunately, Lily died during childbirth. Quinn is sorry to hear about Lily, but says she should have told him. About Lily and his son. Quinn says it was a mistake that Isabelle obviously knew nothing about. She thinks that’s why Quinn wanted to leave Lily behind and blames him for her death.
Quinn grabs her hand and reminds her that he saved her when she tried to commit suicide. Daryl starts to intervene, but she quickly changes the subject. She is there to help Daryl get home. Quinn says he will help Daryl if Isabelle stays with him. Daryl says no, but Isabelle is ready to agree. Daryl says it’s time to go and walks out the door. Isabelle follows him, but she is angry. Daryl says he was only trying to help. She says she doesn’t need a hero. She’s just trying to help Daryl keep his promise.
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Sylvie sits with Laurent as he lays in bed. He asks about the nest and she says it will be safe. There are more people at the nest who believe as they do. He also wonders why Sonia said he made her feel loved. Sylvie says he gives people hope. He looks at the photo of his mother while he lays in bed.
Back at Club Deminonde, Codron arrives with his men and they are carrying their weapons. Quinn greets them and says he has an arrangement with Genet that his place is off limits. Codron says he’s looking for Daryl and knows that he was at the club.
NO MORE LIES
Daryl packs his things and Isabelle apologizes for getting angry. He doesn’t think they need him anymore, but she tries to change his mind. She says Laurent will be really sad to learn he left. Daryl says she needs to stop lying to Laurent and tell him about Quinn. He says the kid deserves to know who he is so he can make up his own mind.
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Isabelle says Daryl doesn’t understand how special Laurent is. In Daryl’s opinion, Isabelle believes Laurent is a gift from God because the world is so messed up. Or maybe he’s just a regular kid who lived. Maybe that’s her miracle. Laurent hears their argument and gets out of bed to yell at them. He says he hates them both and runs away.
Codron and his guerriers arrive at the rooftops, and he immediately spots Daryl. Daryl tells Isabelle to find Laurent and meet him at her old apartment. Daryl makes his way to the next building over and Codron follows him. The guerriers go around the building to stop Daryl. Daryl trips Codron to kill him but they end up fighting. He is able to get Codron in a chokehold, but the guerriers stop him with gunfire. Daryl gets away but ends up on a weak spot on the roof and it falls in.
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