In the season opening of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Daryl and Carol talk about their losses after finding refuge in an upscale London apartment building. I must admit that even though most of the scenes are CGI, we fans are getting a wonderful world tour. Too bad that we don’t have an experienced travel advisor like Rick Steves, but wait…there is always Julian.
Costa Da Morte
I am hoping against hope that episode one of the third season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is a precursor to the rest of this season’s vibe. What made this episode feel special to me was that we were able to have some private time with Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride). After fighting their way through British leafy walkers and a few Tardis walkers, Carol and Daryl get to review the events that took place in France, including seeing the ghosts of Sophia and Isabelle.
Body language speaks volumes, and since these two characters are my favourite of the entire The Walking Dead franchise, I immediately pick up on the scene where Carol snuggled up to Daryl, as friends will do when talking about the losses in their lives…but Daryl remained stiff and unyielding. He did not put a comforting arm around Carol’s shoulder. We all know that they have a special affection for each other. And we will never forget that at one time, they were friends with benefits…but now…Daryl appears to have closed off his feelings again.
They want to go home, but their apartment building is surrounded, and their food supply is down to a can of hot dogs. Does this even exist? Canned hot dogs? Luckily for our dynamic duo, there is another survivor. Stephen Merchant makes his appearance on this episode as Julian Chamberlain.
Julian is the last standing Brit in England, and he is not only friendly but also knows how to survive and enjoy what niceties have survived the apocalypse. He even tells Carol and Daryl that they can sleep in the Palace and in the Queen’s bedroom, but Daryl is only focused on one particular travel itinerary that Julian has revealed.
Conclusion and Spoilers
One of the reasons characters like Carol and Daryl survive is that they see other people as resources. Julian has a sailboat. They want to go home. Julian seemed to have adjusted to his life in merry ole England, and in fact had devised a unique technique to distract the Squids (walkers). He’s not that good of a sailor, having flunked out of the Naval Academy, but Carol is very good at painting a fairy tale of life in the States…and I am guessing that our travel guide, Julian, was always a people pleaser who couldn’t say no.
In an apocalyptic version of Gilligan’s Island, Daryl, Carol, and Julian plot their course for the States, but Mother Nature has her own travel itinerary prepared for this crew.
Costa Da Morte means Coast of Death. This is where ships crash into the rocks of the Galician coastline of Spain. Julian loses his position as the ship’s travel agent, and Carol is badly injured. It isn’t long before we meet some armed Spanish Conquistadors on horseback. Oh, and in case I forget to mention it, while Daryl searches for food, Carol goes missing. Maybe they should have booked this cruise with Rick Steves.
Why do they always kill off a worthy character? I absolutely love the actor, Stephen Merchant. I’ll watch any film that he is in. Stephen normally plays comedic scenes, but in this episode, he expertly portrayed the loneliness and loss of the mild-mannered and helpful British gentleman. I truly wish that there was a way to have him return later in the season. He was one of the best guest actors in this series.
The designer of this episode’s sets is a genius. In the London scene, the walkers had become part of nature. As Mother Nature slowly reclaimed the land and tall buildings, she had also wrapped her leafy tentacles around the hibernating walkers. It was a nice touch, especially because this is exactly what would happen if people vanished from the face of the earth. Everything that mankind had ever created would eventually vanish beneath a vast forest. Also, the storm on the sea and its effect on the sailboat was also done well, as was the Spanish coast where the sailboat crashes. Fingers crossed that the storyline and set design stay the course.
