Daryl’s Epic Team-Up with Carol Steals the Show!

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for the premiere of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol.

For eleven seasons, Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) were two of the best characters on The Walking Dead. This was a surprise, as Daryl isn’t even in Robert Kirkman‘s graphic novels, and Carol was a weak character who didn’t make it long in Kirkman’s story. In the AMC series, however, no one is stronger than them, no matter what turmoil they may have to endure. For years, fans clamored for them to get together romantically before accepting that they worked better as BFFs.

When The Walking Dead ended in 2022, that could have been the end of seeing Daryl and Carol together, but now with a plethora of spin-offs, the chance to see them reunited increased. Last year, Reedus got his own spin-off, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which saw our favorite walker-killing bad boy in France, but sadly it was without Carol by his side. This year, though, we get an additional title to the series, The Book of Carol, because McBride is back and on the hunt for her soulmate in the apocalypse.

The episode begins with Daryl teaching the young Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), the boy deemed to be a new Messiah by the Union of Hope, how to kill walkers. Laurent might not be much of a fighter, but he likes his new island home because "home is wherever the people you love are." Meanwhile, Losang (Joel de la Fuente), the Union leader, tells his people that three of their own were killed in a raid. It looks like it doesn’t work, but as Carol walks away in the morning, Ash tracks her down in his truck. He asks if Carol would do the same to find someone’s lost child if the roles were reversed. She says she would. Carol says she needs to find her daughter now because she’s stuck and needs to move forward. This is exactly what Ash is feeling. He tells her to hop in because "we have work to do."

Back at his compound, they go over a map and form their plan, which will involve taking several containers of ethanol on board to make it to France. They gather food in Ash’s garden to take with them, and this broken man admits that he admires Carol’s hope that her daughter could still be alive. It makes her turn away in shame. Feeling guilty, she asks if he wants to back out, but he tells her, "If you’re not moving forward, then you’re dying." Carol and Ash plan to leave the next morning, but a late-night storm knocks out the generator, letting in a big group of walkers. They can’t wait and have to leave now. As the episode comes to an end, the plane takes off into the rising sun. There’s no turning back.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol will be available to watch with new episodes every Sunday at 10 PM ET on AMC and AMC+.

Conclusion

Daryl and Carol are finally reunited, and their adventures will take them to France and beyond. The dynamic between these two characters is still strong, and we’re excited to see where their journey takes them. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol is a fresh take on the Walking Dead universe, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for our favorite characters.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is the new leader of the Union of Hope?
• What is the purpose of the containers of ethanol?
• Why did Ash and Carol have to leave the compound so suddenly?