Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – Wild theory on how Carol arrives in France

The Walking Dead series created many dynamic duos, but none compare to that of Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier, portrayed by Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride. These two share a common bond of abuse and trauma, which the apocalypse gave them freedom from, allowing both to become who they were truly meant to be: leaders. McBride will join Reedus in the second season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon spinoff, and the podcast Relishing the Dead has a fantastic theory on how she arrives in France.

The Daryl Dixon series began airing in September 2023 to rave reviews. Fans and critics alike have positive things to say about the series, which significantly expands The Walking Dead universe and the story of Daryl.

More details about how Daryl arrived in France will be revealed, but viewers know he was put on a cargo ship destined for France. The final scene of episode 1 of the series introduces Genet (Anne Charrier), leader of The Cause, as she discovers that an American named Dixon has all but destroyed the ship, docked at Le Havre, which took three years to repair to become seaworthy.

Besides the captain, crew, and Daryl, this ship also contained some vital and interesting cargo: walkers being used as test subjects. These walkers could be tied to the CRM (Civic Military Republic), located in the United States, as they were seen conducting experiments in The Walking Dead: World Beyond. More will revealed as the first season of Daryl Dixon continues.

Undead Walking and others have likened Genet to Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond) from The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a lieutenant colonel of the Civic Republic Military (CRM). Read the related story below.

Is Carol in season 2 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon?

Initially, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon series was planned to feature Daryl and Carol in adventures around the United States. At some point, that was scraped, and France became the new setting for the series. Sadly, McBride had to bow out as traveling to Europe at that time didn’t fit with her personal life.

But it is widely circulated that McBride will join the series second season in some capacity. She was photographed filming in France, and fans have been eager to learn more about how she arrives.

The podcast Relishing the Dead introduced a very wild and exciting idea of how the series will explain Carol’s sudden appearance. Travel between France and the US isn’t easy in the apocalypse, and if it took The Cause three years to prepare a ship for the voyage, it would be difficult to explain how Carol arrives so soon after Daryl.

So, the ladies at Relishing the Dead believe that Carol was a stowaway on the same ship as Daryl!

Listen below.

If we expound on that theory, a recent clip in a teaser shows Daryl, while still in the States, telling someone via radio that he was in Maine, near the coast, and should return in a week. If he was talking to Carol or anyone at the Commonwealth and didn’t arrive on time, Carol would definitely go off searching for him.  If she discovered he was being put on the ship against his will, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her stowaway to help him.

Additional clips show an explosion on what appears to be the ship, with Daryl jumping overboard. This would explain his arrival in France tied to an upturned lifeboat. Carol could have been injured during the explosion or unaware that Daryl escaped and continued on to Le Havre on the damaged ship. This would certainly explain her arrival and would be an exciting way to reintroduce Carol back into TWDU.

While this is all just speculation, it is a fun theory to think about.

Thanks to the gals at Relishing the Dead, Dawn Barker, Carol Jameson, Barb Katz, and Aliza Jones, for coming up with this great theory. You can listen to the entire podcast episode here and follow them on Facebook here. 

Don’t miss new episodes of The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon on AMC+ on Sundays beginning at 3 a.m. ET and on AMC at 9 p.m. ET.

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