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The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1 E02 Review: Truths, Lies & Hope
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon S01E02 "Alouette" built masterfully off the momentum of the premiere with a chapter offering backstory & more.
With S01E02: "Alouette" (directed by Daniel Percival and written by David Zabel & Jason Richman), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), and Sylvie (Laika Blanc-Francard) find themselves hitting the road and heading north – but it's not long before trouble finds them. Along the way, we were given a look at some serious backstory on Isabelle – as well as what went down when the world collapsed from her perspective. Meanwhile, Laurent is still struggling to find his role in the group as Romain Levi's Codron & The Cause go hunting for answers (and revenge) – all of this and more in the second episode of AMC & AMC+'s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. What we ended up with was a masterful chapter that deftly blended backstory with meaningful narratives that told us more about our major players that we respected – building off the premiere's momentum and setting a strong stage for what's still to come. With all of that laid out, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer as we offer up our thoughts & observations on "Alouette"…
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1 Ep. 2 "Alouette" Thoughts
Right from the start, Isabelle's backstory gives us a better appreciation for the series actually being able to film overseas. There's an almost Euro-indie vibe to the opening scenes, as we learn that Isabelle wasn't exactly a nun in her old life – and that she showed signs of being a survivor early on. In particular, during those scenes when the walker infestation is in the early stages as it just begins to spread feels much more real because the locale is something we know yet never had a chance to see portrayed in such a brutally horrific way.
Okay… S01E02 "Alouette" gets thrown into the conversation when it comes to creepy scenes that hit too close to home. As a New Yorker, that subway scene got the hairs on my arms standing up.
If that final image of that little girl smiling at Isabelle as she pulls away isn't the thing that still haunts Isabelle…
Okay, Daryl might not have actual kids of his own, but Isabelle might be a bit surprised by how excellent of a parent and father figure he's been in the past. Also, there's no way that the mini-debate that Daryl & Isabelle have isn't going to come back into play later on…
"'Father Daryl?' Really?": We agree, Daryl… LOL And how did we not see the moment coming when Daryl would have to say grace? The only thing better than listening to Daryl save his grace with a nice turn at the end was to see how he inspired the kids to drink from their bowls. A really great moment of family coming through… which can sometimes be a bad sign…
Okay… that Mork & Mindy movie night? Yeah… that got us a bit teary-eyed (but in a good way, for once). Once again, like how we felt with the opening of the episode, this injection of the old world really added a ten-ton dose of reality to the action. Also, extra points for everyone making the metaphorical connection between Mork being an alien in a strange world and Daryl being an "alien" in a "strange world" (France). Ouch – and even more bonus points for the kick to the feels we got when Daryl dropped how he and Merle used to love the show growing up.
In that moment where the camera slowly pans in on Reedus' face, we see another example of how the actor can speak pages of dialogue with just his facial expressions – as a Robin Williams sitcom forces him to revisit his life… what was and what could've been.
Even after the world goes to shit, kids can still be mean – and Blanc-Francard portrays motherly heartbreak watching Laurent be rejected masterfully. As Daryl deals with not telling the truth upfront about the community's teacher, Sylvie & Isabelle have an interesting exchange regarding Laurent asking questions and telling him the truth.
Isabelle is really putting a lot of faith in all of them getting answers at the end of their journey – that their purposes will be revealed. Again, with this being the TWD Universe, I can't shake this feeling that some major heartbreaks & reality checks are on the way.
While we knew it was inevitable… Laurent discovering his horse was still a heart-crusher.
Okay… a "moat of walkers" will now have to be added to our TWD dictionary of expressions.
I'm not remembering off the top of my head as I write this if the TWD universe has ever gone down the route that I think they're about to go down regarding Isabelle's pregnant sister – but even if they have before? Still.. wow!
And now we get to see how Isabelle made her way to the convent and met up with Sylvie and Father Jean – even though her sister was bit in the process of their escaping earlier. And then there's the matter of her baby…
In Laurent, we see another example of the moment when a child's innocence was lost.
Okay, so Daryl has made his way into the big bad's castle – and as expected, he's stockpiled a ton of supplies (especially medicine). And he stumbled upon someone locked away named… Hedgehog?!? Is it wrong that our radars are already pinging?
So our shooter/big bad is an American expatriate named RJ Gaines from Texas (uh-oh, more radar pings). And that rage in Daryl when he tells RJ the brutal truth about how bad things got years ago back in the U.S.
Holy crap! They fell into the moat! Well, at least RJ gets to be a walker pinata to buy Daryl some time to get out. Actually, it's more like RJ became a special kind of BBQ for the walkers.
Oh, and before I forget? Kim Higelin's Lou is already a favorite character of mind. With great screen presence and amazing chemistry with Reedus, Lou already vibes like a long-running character.
That moment when we learn that the brother is part of the moat, we see another example of lost innocence. So much so that Daryl spares Lou the heartbreak of having to put him down by doing it himself – there will be time later on for that kind of "truth."
But the world is what the world is now, with Lou faced with having to put down her teacher before she turns – but not before Daryl confesses to lying about the meds ever helping. And in that time of mourning, Laurent finds a chance to connect.
Hmm… I'm wondering if each episode is going to be anthology-like, with a different adventure in each episode that is tied together by the overarching "must make it north" storyline. I would be very cool with that…
Meanwhile… Codron is back at the convent to do some investigating. Between Daryl's recording, the map, and other materials, it doesn't take long for him to get a sense of where they're heading. Because very smart and very pissed is a bad combo to have to come after you when all you want to do is go home.
Wow! First, Reedus always does a nice job when he slips into "big brother" mode. That said – yeah, I'd say being born from a walker might position you to be kind of special… the kind of person you would name after St. Laurent. And that is definitely a very strong way to wrap up the second episode… see you next week!
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1 Episode 2 "Alouette"
9/10
With S01E02: "Alouette" (directed by Daniel Percival and written by David Zabel & Jason Richman), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), and Sylvie (Laika Blanc-Francard) find themselves hitting the road and heading north - but it's not long before trouble finds them. Along the way, we were given a look at some serious backstory on Isabelle - as well as what went down when the world collapsed from her perspective. Meanwhile, Laurent is still struggling to find his role in the group as Romain Levi's Codron & The Cause go hunting for answers (and revenge) - all of this and more in the second episode of AMC & AMC+'s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. What we ended up with was a masterful chapter that deftly blended backstory with meaningful narratives that told us more about our major players that we respected - building off the premiere's momentum and setting a strong stage for what's still to come.
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