The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 must do justice to these character's storylines
By Renee Hansen
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon recently ended its second season. This set up the continued story that will be featured in the series' third season, which moves the story setting to Spain.
Season 2 brought Carol (Melissa McBride) back into the fold as she journeyed to France to reunite with Daryl (Norman Reedus). And the final episode ended with Carol and Daryl making their way to England via the Chunnel, where they each experienced traumatic hallucinations that also helped them deal with tragic loses.
It appears that all of the characters introduced in seasons 1 and 2 will be removed from the story either due to death or journeying away from Daryl. But this leaves a huge storyline, which was the focus of the first seasons, wide open.
What about Laurent and Ash?
Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) was introduced in season 1 of the spinoff and served as the focus of Daryl's secondary goal, the first being his return home. Daryl's talents were enlisted by a nun named Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), who would eventually become his love interest, in accompanying her and Laurent to The Nest.
The Nest was the headquarters of a movement called The Union of Hope, which believes Laurent's traumatic birth gave him immunity from the virus. Daryl successfully delivered the boy, and in season 2, leader Losang's (Joel de la Fuente) true motives were revealed. He planned to have Laurent bitten by a walker, which he was positive the boy would survive, proving he was the one who could save humanity.
This led Daryl on his next mission, to keep the boy safe away from The Nest. He was aided by many in this mission, but it resulted in the death of Isabelle. During this time Daryl would also reunite with Carol, who brought a new friend, Ash (Manish Dayal), who flew her to France, into the story.
At the end of season 2, Ash and Laurent successfully fled France in Ash's plane, bound for the Commonwealth. Daryl believed this was the safest place for Laurent to lead a reasonably normal life. If Daryl and Carol have their way, it is where they will return as well.
The set-up for season 3 is focused on Daryl and Carol, which isn't a surprise as they have been main characters within TWDU since 2010. But after making Laurent such a considerable part of Daryl's story in the first two seasons, will they write him out altogether? And what about Ash, one of the most enjoyable new characters TWDU has seen in a long time?
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3
Fans are hopeful that Ash and Laurent's story isn't over. The creators would do them a disservice not to feature them again. Laurent was a huge part of the first season, and Ash is the hero who facilitated the reunion between Daryl and Carol.
It appears both characters will have happy endings, but could something go wrong during their journey? Ash has survival skills, but Laurent has been sheltered for so long that he has only learned some basic skills. If they encounter anything like Ash and Carol did on their voyage, Ash and Laurent may never make it to Ohio. Hopefully, we will see more of both Ash and Laurent's stories.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon returns to AMC and AMC+ exclusively in 2025.
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