Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the fourth episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, so be warned!
I’ll be the first to admit that my anticipation for The Walking Dead’s first character-titled spinoff was more passive than active ahead of its premiere, as I wasn’t entirely sure whether or not Norman Reedus’ take-no-bullshit survivor Daryl could easily adjust to such a huge shift in global location, narrative arcs, and supporting cast members.Thankfully, the AMC horror drama has proven itself to be as smart, well-paced, and fun to watch as the flagship series was at the height of its popularity. I’m all the more excited to see where things go in the already ordered Season 2, and I have a specific hope after watching that torturous interrogation scene in Episode 4.
The main focus of “La Dame de Fer” centered on the safety and well-being of Louis Puech Scigliuzzi’s Laurent as he went from being targeted by Eiffel Tower zombies to being hunted by Genet’s soldier to being captured by Quinn’s group to being saved by Team Daryl and Isabelle. I know I wasn’t the only one who twitched a little when the zombie dropped down and found Laurent’s hiding spot, since that ghastly bastard seemed to be slightly more sentient than his undead and bumbling brethren.
It was a scene in the middle of the episode that really took me by surprise, though, as Daryl and Isabelle held one of Quinn’s men captive with the goal of gaining more information. This kind of information-extracting dynamic certainly wasn’t breaking new ground within the Walking Dead universe — an untrusting Rick tying Aaron up in TWD’s fifth season came to mind — but it allowed for one of Norman Reedus’ best scene performances within this entire franchise, and has me hoping for many more moments like it in Season 2 (and the rest of The Walking Dead Universe). Which leads to the following request:
I Want To See Daryl In A Position Of Power Admist A Bunch Of Dumb Assholes
Several reasons come to mind for why the interrogation sequence stood out to me so much, not the least of which being that Reedus got to deliver a whole-ass monologue in two minutes that equaled the amount of dialogue he usually gets in an entire episode. Which admittedly made it feel somewhat out of place, but I could easily ignore that to embrace the hyper-vigilant vibes that Daryl was emitting while basically in a one-on-one moment with this antagonist.
Because as this show has made clear all over again, Daryl is not at his most extroverted or self-confident whenever he's around kind, empathetic, intelligent, and emotionally centered survivors, and more often than not settles into an observer role amidst such company. But whenever he's around other morally questionable brutes? You might as well give the dude Hamlet's skull prop, because that's when the character has always been the most fun to watch.
- Related: The Story Behind Why The Walking Dead's Daryl Dixon Never Appeared In Robert Kirkman's Comic Book
- Related: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Delivered The Most Hilariously Horrifying Zombie Moment In Franchise History, And I’m Still Chuckling In Awe
To be sure, even I might recoil a bit if Daryl was purely in kill-em-all Rambo mode without anyone around to serve as his conscience, but Reedus was so electric in this scene that I could certainly deal with that side of him for a six-episode season. Check out the full story he told about ol' Jimmy from down the street, which Daryl punctuated by stabbing the dude prison-style every so often, making it clear he wasn't going to leave without getting the information he desired.
You know, where I grew up, there was this little boy, lived down the street. His name was Jimmy. Jimmy was a runt. They always picked on Jimmy for being so little. His dad, his dad was a drunk. I don’t think I ever saw that guy sober. One Christmas, Jimmy got a piglet as a present. Used to follow him around like a little dog. Even waited for him after school. Then one Christmas, his dad says he wants him to kill the piglet and eat it for church dinner. [Stab, stab stab.]. Said if he doesn’t do it, his brother’s gonna get a beating. So he takes the piglet, ties it up to a tree in the backyard. He wants to make it quick and painless. [Stab, stab, stab.] The thing is, by Jimmy not trying to hurt the pig, he ends up hurting it worse. Stabbed it in the belly, in the back, in the legs, until it just bled out. And that pig screamed all night long. All the neighbors heard it. No one ever fucked with Jimmy anymore.
Now, was that a story that reflected the entirety of Daryl's journey, or was it more about intimidating the bejesus out of his stuck pig of a French captive? Definitely the latter, as I'm not sure Daryl's metaphor game is so expansive. Regardless, it was a pure joy to see Reedus totally take over a scene that doesn't involve the character slamming his mace into zombie's rotted mugs. (Although that's a treat as well, don't get me wrong, as illogical as it is to utilize a tethered weapon like that in the midst of a herd.)
So as much as I've sincerely enjoyed watching Daryl finding his own while living amongst nuns, as well as the performances from Clémence Poésy and Laïka Blanc-Francard, I really hope Season 2 sticks Norman Reedus' character in the middle of a bunch of rude morons so that he can bring all the dynamism we saw in this episode on a larger scale. But again, I want to stress that he needs to be in a position of power for that to work, or else it'll just be a reminder of Daryl's butt-naked days eating dog food sandwiches in the Sanctuary all over again.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has two episodes left to go in Season 1, which are airing on AMC on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET, and are streaming early the same day for AMC+ subscribers.
