Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote a song that was used in the season finale of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. The song not only set the tone for what was to come, but it is a mantra that we should all be living by. You can’t always get what you want. In this outstanding finale…it is the dead who deliver what is needed.
Au Revoir Les Enfants
Over the past 13 years of reviewing The Walking Dead, we’ve seen ingenious ways to outsmart walkers that included rubbing walker guts all over yourself, to playing loud music via Pied Piper Gangnam style to lead walkers away. There was only one way out of that car, and Daryl resorted to a major precedent for fighting walkers.
I have been seeing the dead since I was a toddler. My connection to the other side is strong. There is a lot that you can learn from the dead. They are forbidden to lie. The advice they give…inspiring. Watching the young Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) playing the famous Rolling Stones song on an out of tune guitar and watching Daryl (Norman Reedus) singing the song made my day. There is a lot of guilt to be dealt with in this finale. Daryl feels responsible for Isabelle’s (Clemence Poesy) death. Carol feels guilty for tricking Ash (Manish Dayal) into flying to France. Codron (Romain Levi) feels guilty for mistakenly blaming Daryl for his brother’s death.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Once our loved ones, friends, and enemies have crossed over and are no longer bound by the body’s selfish wants (You really need to read The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins) they have forgiven us! Carol’s (Melissa McBride) trauma over the loss of Sophia has been finally dealt with in this series. Carol not only blames herself for Sophia’s death, but also for Lizzie’s and Henry’s. Her guilt is so strong that she can only picture Sophia as that pint-sized walker exiting the barn.
While Ash works on the plane, Daryl and Carol have said their goodbyes. Carol is going with Ash and Laurent and Daryl will stay behind with Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney), Codron, and Akila (Soraya Hachoumi). But nothing falls apart faster in life than the plans of bats and men.
Sabine (Tatiana Gousseff) and Jacinta (Nassima Benchicou) capture Anna (Lukerya Ilyashenko) as she is riding through Paris in a Limo, complete with chauffeur. During a walker apocalypse! I love the French. A deal is made: the boy for the plane. You can’t always get what you want. What does Anna have up her sleeve?
We are introduced to two new characters from Scotland, Angus (Matt Swift) and Fiona (Sarah McCardie) and we lose a few favourite characters. The plan is to go through the Channel Tunnel that connects France to England. Rumour is that the British have everything under control…but best laid plans of bats and men prove that we control nothing.
Conclusion and Spoiler
Do not get upset with me on this little secret that I am sharing. I can’t help myself. In the States we are dealing with an election between a 34-count felon supported by a religious cult, and the first woman president. My stress level and blood pressure are through the roof. You can’t always get what you want…the election takes place on November 5th. I fear for my country’s survival, and I fear for my granddaughters and great granddaughter. The dead tell me there will be a civil war. The military will swiftly squash it, but there will be unnecessary death and destruction.
So, with this weight on my soul, I am going to put out good news with a spoiler. As the plane takes off from the Hippodrome, a battle takes place that reminds us of the original Mad Max film, and we are left with a surprise. Carol wasn’t on that plane.
Carol, Daryl, Codron, Angus and Fiona head into the tunnel and find that it has been invaded by bats and glow-in-the-dark walkers. You can’t always get what you want but Fallou reminds us that in the post-apocalyptic world, the battle between race and origin is replaced with the battle between the dead and living. All mankind needed was a common enemy to stop white supremacy. I guess we’ll have to settle with that. Carol not only comes face to face with walker Carol, but she and Daryl are both rescued by loved ones who had crossed over.
No, you can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime…you’ll find…you get what you need. Carol and Daryl have found closure. The dead always forgive, and they are always with us.
