The trip to France is a mystery on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. In “Deux Amours,” Daryl (Norman Reedus) recalls how he got to France as he and Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) travel to the Nest. Genet (Anne Charrier) enacts a plan of action.
Laurent enjoys the boat ride, while Azlan (Hassam Ghancy) tries to convince Daryl that he was sent by God to protect the boy. Daryl is not the most religious person, so he doesn’t buy it. Azlan then asks how Daryl got to France in the first place.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED
Daryl ran out of gas on his way home. He was recruited to round up walkers for Doctor LaFleur (Francois Delaive). The ground rules were no fighting, no sexual deviance of any kind, no kids, no elderly, and no shorties. The payment is a pint of gas per head. They get a quart if the walker is fresh.
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The other hunters are mostly older men and one guy that has to be about 17. He asks around, trying to team up with someone, but no one takes him up on his offer. On the first day, Daryl rounds up the most and the freshest walkers. The kid tries to convince Daryl to team up with him, but Daryl works alone.
Later that night, the kid asks to join a guy named Grady (Craig Gellis). Grady says he will think about it and asks the kid to cut more firewood. Daryl steps up and teaches the kid how to cut the firewood. He asks the kid about his reasons for being there. The kid has a girlfriend and they want to run away together. He’s there to make sure they have fuel.
Daryl tries to reach Carol (Melissa McBride) on the radio. He tells her that he’s in Maine and headed home the next day. She says everything is good there, but he’s not so sure. The signal starts to cut out as Carol tells him that someone came back.
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The next morning, Grady brings in more walkers and the kid is one of them. Daryl confronts him, but Grady only gives him attitude. Daryl sees rope burns on the kid’s neck and accuses Grady of killing the boy. He hits Grady, starting a fight. Since that is the number one rule, Daryl and Grady are taken into custody.
LONE WOLF
They stop to camp at a safe spot and Laurent catches a fish. Daryl wants to teach him how to cut it up, but Laurent doesn’t want to hurt God’s creatures. Azlan says it’s okay to eat the fish when they don’t have any other options. Daryl says Laurent needs to learn to do the things he doesn’t want to. Sometimes they don’t have a choice.
Laurent questions Daryl about his family and friends back home. Daryl only tells him their names. Later, Laurent prays for Daryl’s friends because he’s not sure Daryl knows how to. Daryl asks Azlan about the port at Havre. Azlan says Genet controls the port, but they will find him a way home.
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Azlan calls Daryl a lone wolf. Daryl says he has to get back because he made a promise. Alzan says a man’s promise can get overwhelmed by connections to other people or a larger cause. Daryl isn’t much of a ‘cause’ person. He says when a man dies in someone else’s war, his kids suffer and it passes down to their kids. After a while, no one remembers what the cause was.
FINDING LAURENT
Later, Daryl hears something outside of their tent and a walker almost gets in. He goes outside to see what happened and finds more dead walkers and an injured Azlan. Alzan is covered in walker blood that’s burning him. He gives Daryl a watch with the Nest etched in it. He also gives him a knife and says a prayer before he dies. Daryl buries him the next morning.
Daryl and Laurent prepare to leave but find the boat is missing. The rope was cut and Daryl knows Laurent did it. Daryl gets very anry and yells at Laurent, asking why he cut the rope. Laurent says everyone he loves is gone and if they make it to the Nest, Daryl will leave too. He says he doesn’t want to be alone. Daryl apologizes and hugs the boy, saying it will be okay.
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They start to walk and Laurent tries to convince Daryl not to take him to the Nest. He says he will do everything that Daryl tells him to do. Daryl hears a car so they go off road and hide. Some of Laurents things fall out of his pack. Daryl gives Laurent the watch and tells him to go to the Nest alone. Laurent is scared, but he leaves as Daryl asks. Daryl promises he will be right behind him.
The car stops and the guerriers find the items from Laurent’s pack. Daryl tries to sneak up on one of them and the guerriers surround him. They ask where the boy is and Daryl pretends not to know anything about a boy. They threaten to cut his eyes out and Laurent comes out, begging them not to kill Daryl. The guerriers take both of them into custody.
DEUX AMOURS
Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) wakes up in a castle that Quinn (Adam Nagaitis) took over. He’s kind of a big deal. He has guards around the castle and full staff to cater to Isabelle. Isabelle is only concerned with Laurent’s safety. Quinn says he got out of the city safely. Quinn is only concerned about his relationship with Isabelle. He wants to go back to when they were lovers. Isabelle doesn’t want that and pulls off part of a mirror to kill Quinn. She can’t kill him and pretends to need time to get back where Quinn wants. He understands and gives her some space. Meanwhile, Anna (Lukerya Ilyashenko) shows up to see Quinn. She waits for him, only to drop a glass and leave when he sees her.
Isabelle considers cutting her wrists again, but is stopped by the maid. The maid brings her breakfast, but Isabelle says she’s not hungry. The maid insists she tries the eggs and reveals a note next to her plate. Isabelle grabs the note after the maid leaves. She looks hopeful as she reads it.
Quin presents Isabelle with a diamond necklace and earrings. He says he has to go out and Isabelle wants to know where. He says Genet invited him to a gathering. Isabelle says she thought about going back to the way things used to be. They can’t move forward if they are looking back. She puts on the necklace and asks if they can start over.
THE GATHERING
Quinn takes Isabelle with him to Genet’s gathering. Isabelle sees Sylvie (Laïka Blanc-Francard), Emile (Tristan Zanchi), and Fallou (Eriq Ebanouey) in a crowd of people. They get out of their car next to the crowd and are escorted inside where Genet greets them. Genet’s guerriers are beating someone up in the next room. Genet says the guy took a bribe to let people out of the city.
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They move to the next room and Genet says Quinn disappointed her. She leads them to a cell where Daryl is being held. Anna is in the room as well. She sold Quinn out. The guerriers put Quinn in the cell with Daryl and take Isabelle to Laurent. Genet wants to appear with Laurent so the Union D’espoir and Pouvoir appear united. Isabelle tells Laurent to do as Gene says, but Laurent says she is a liar. Genet warns him not to make her angry. He says she’s not angry, she’s heartbroken. Genet does get angry and says they have no choice but to do as she tells them to.
Genet addresses the crowd inside of an arena. Laurent and Isabelle stand behind her. She basically talks about building a better France. One where the entitled don’t have power and their enemies pay for the crimes against France. While she talks, the guards lead Daryl to the arena . Codron (Romain Levi) yells to Daryl that today he dies for what he did to his brother.
FLASHBACK
Daryl and Grady were put on a boat in a crate with other men. A guerrier took Daryl’s vest and put it on. They don’t tell the guys where they are going, but Daryl notices several shipping crates with walkers inside. One by one, they take the men and feed them to the walkers. Daryl and Grady are the last two.
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Daryl gets sick and Grady yells for the guards to remove him. They drag him out and he is able to fight them off. He takes back his vest and grabs the keys to the crates. More guards rush in, shooting at Daryl, so he releases walkers on them. He also releases Grady and they run to the only lifeboat on the ship.
While they try to figure out how to put the lifeboat in the water, a walker climbs the ladder towards them. The walker grabs Grady and tears into him. They hit a button during the scuffle and the boat falls into the water. The walker turns to Daryl and Daryl fights it off with a fire extinguisher. There’s an explosion and Daryl falls into the water.
Back in the arena, Daryl comes face to face with a walker. Someone shoots an arrow in the walker next and the arrow injects some kind of substance into the walker. The walker starts shaking and its eyes get back. It pulls at its restraints, pulling the guards with him. The guards give Daryl an ax. They release the walker and it runs at Daryl.
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