Where did Daryl Dixon go at the end of The Walking Dead series?

Daryl Dixon is a character that actor Norman Reedus has portrayed since the first season of The Walking Dead. The character wasn’t featured in the comic story, created by Robert Kirkman, but rather created specifically for Reedus for the series after he did such a great job at his audition. Daryl survived through the eleventh and final season of TWD, and his story would then take him to France. But where did he go when he left the Commonwealth in the series finale?

In the final episode of The Walking Dead, “Rest in Peace,” Daryl and the other survivors would come against the powers that be of the Commonwealth. With only Governor Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) remaining, the survivors and resistance members of the CW rise up to overthrow her reign. They placed her in jail, and one year later, things at the Commonwealth were much better than under Milton’s rule.

While most characters were situated in new roles among the numerous communities, one man, the original lone wolf, Daryl Dixon, heads off into the sunset seeking to find new people and his friends Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonone (Danai Gurira) who have been missing from the storyline for years. He promises their children, Judith (Cailey Fleming) and R.J. (Antony Azur), that he will bring them home if he finds them.

With the end of TWD came several spinoffs that continue the stories of some of the main characters from that series. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon chronicles the continuance of Daryl’s story, but this time he is in France. How did he get there?

The Daryl Dixon spinoff series

Flashback scenes during the Daryl Dixon series, viewers watch as parts of Daryl’s story prior to his journey to France unfold. He traveled around the country looking for Rick and Michonne, and his travels eventually led him to the coast of Maine. Here, he would find a job wrangling walkers in return for fuel.

While at this camp, he befriends a radio operator (Avant Strangel) who helps him contact Carol (Melissa McBride) at the Commonwealth. While talking to her, he tells her his location and senses the distress in her voice, and then she attempts to tell him that someone or something has returned. There are several theories on this topic, which I believe it to be Dwight, and the final episode of Fear TWD lends weight to this theory. (see link below)

Daryl was warned by his new employers that there would be no fighting. He and another guy fight, which finds them both unceremoniously put aboard a ship bound for France. This is how he arrives in France and begins his adventure there.

In the meantime, Carol is prompted to search for him when he doesn’t arrive at the Commonwealth after a week, as promised. This begins The Book of Carol chapter of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which will be the focus of the second season that will premiere on AMC and AMC+ in 2024.

Will fans learn more of Daryl’s travels as Carol searches for him? Will she find her way to France or return to the United States? It will be exciting to learn in the next season of the series.

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