The graveyard in The Walking Dead Universe never runs out of room. The long-running franchise has offed more people than you could count on 20 hands in its decade and a half of existence and it clearly shows no signs of stopping even as a veteran these days.
The franchise itself has carried on well beyond the original show's 11-season run, as The Walking Dead concluded with its season 11 finale back in 2022. Three spinoffs prolonged the saga's life and now two of them still do so, with one continuing to entertain audiences on an annual basis. And even though they aren't as graphic or gruesome as the original series, they do have their moments and they aren't afraid to take the odd risk here and there.
Look no further than the most recent episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3, which featured yet another significant death - one that verged into the territory of the original show (without going too far).
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 features another brutal death just two episodes in
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon isn't the most graphic of the TWD Universe shows, but it isn't probably the most ruthless when it comes to killing off its characters. The show either killed off or wrote out all of the characters who were important to its first season during its second, with major characters like Sister Isabelle, Sylvie, Emile, and Madame Genet all biting the dust throughout those season 2 episodes. It hasn't slowed down its bloodthirstiness in season 3 either, opening with a season premiere that left the big addition of the season (Julian Chamberlain, played by Stephen Merchant) dead before its credits rolled.
The second episode of the season (titled "La Ofrenda") seemingly calmed things down, with Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier getting used to their new environment in Spain (after meeting the lovely young couple of Roberto and Justina). However, threats soon followed... literally. The beloved TWO duo met their new friends when they saved their lives from a bunch of armed gunmen. It was subsequently revealed that the men were from the El Alcazar community - the apparent new rulers of Spain.
However, one of those men escaped from Daryl and managed to get into a parked car and drive off. It seemed as if he could have been set up to be one of the big bads of the season (much like Cordron was in the first season), potentially working for a greater evil. Well, that second part turned out to be true, but the first wasn't, as Manuel met a grizzly end before the end of the episode.
Upon arriving in Solaz del Mar, Daryl and Carol discovered who El Alcazar was and their relationship to the community that they had arrived in. However, what they didn't expect was for El Alcazar to actually show up, as the future king of Spain, Guillermo Torres, made his presence felt, along with his wife Elena and a host of guards too. What's worse is that a second group of guards arrived after them and, of course, Manuel was among them.
Eventually, the two foes locked eyes during La Ofrenda celebrations, so Daryl made himself scarce, heading further into town. Manuel and two other guards followed him but they very quickly lost sight of Daryl. Eventually, a fight broke out and Daryl managed to overpower his new enemies in the closing moments of the episode in a graphic way. He stabbed one of them through the neck before throwing their bodies over a nearby wall and down into a pit full of walkers - a pit that Solaz del Mar designed for their own protection.
That just left Manuel, who also found himself falling over the wall. He clung on and asked Daryl not to do it. But, just as Fede was telling Carol about his desperation to protect his town, Daryl made a similar choice and ensured that Manuel fell to his death. Well, the fall didn't kill him; the hungry walkers did. And with that, the episode wrapped as Daryl watched Manuel being eaten by walkers and viewers heard his agonizing screams.
We're just two episodes into The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon's third season and the death toll is already rising in the TWD Universe once again. This show really doesn't hold back when it comes to deaths. Even though they aren't as visually graphic as some of the truly ghastly deaths featured on the original series, Daryl Dixon is ruthless in the killing department. And not seeing all of the death take place on-screen doesn't make it any less gruesome. Daryl's desperate attack, which left one of the soldiers with a spike through his neck and another eaten alive by walkers is as gruesome as it gets to be honest.
Fans have worried that this particular spinoff show kills off characters far too soon. Even though Manuel wasn't going to be the main villain of the season, it seemed as if he might have a much bigger role than what he got before Daryl fought him to his end. The same could be said for Julian who quickly died in the season premiere, and even Isabelle who died midway through season 2 (after being a major character in the first season).
Fans will no doubt be curious to see if any other characters die in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 as the episodes roll in and the show continues to channel in its parent series in being absolutely ruthless.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 airs new episodes on AMC and streams them on AMC+ every Sunday.