The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Spoiler-Free Review 

The circumstances of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon are set into motion by "a bunch of bad decisions." A sequence of events leads to the franchise’s beloved character to wash up in France. A stranger in a strange land, Dixon immediately plots his way back home.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon reveals that nowhere in the world is man safe from the undead. Within moments, we see that walkers have evolved differently here. The variants in France are somehow even deadlier than those Daryl has encountered back home.

And just like America, somehow the living pose a greater threat than the dead! Codron and The Guerriers are a rogue group of militia that roam the street. Soon enough, Daryl is at danger from dead and living alike, and tasked with a mission to transport a special boy named Laurent to a sanctuary known as ‘The Nest.’

Does he find a home away from home? His journey, both internal and external, is lies at the heart of the show.

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What can fans expect from The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon?

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon feels different from the parent show, just like The Walking Dead: Dead City did. While the tone of the Negan and Maggie series was grittier with a gazillion twists, this spinoff is rooted in spirituality, love, and redemption.

Clémence Poésy shines as Sister Isabelle, matching Dixon’s chaos with her calm. Even if his sole focus is on getting back home, she tries to convince him that he washed ashore for a very special reason.

Fans of the series will remember that Daryl Dixon isn’t one to believe in a purpose, in a higher power. His own spiritual awakening is the crux of the series.

Of course, at the heart of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is the relationship between Laurent and Daryl Dixon. Fans have drawn parallels between the spinoff and The Last of Us, which are warranted, even though there are several dissimilarities.

Yes, both Joel and Daryl transport children across a zombie-strewn landscape and in doing so, somehow heal their own wounds and trauma. But beyond this, similarities are scarce.

This is not a journey to find a cure to the malaise that infects the world. By the time, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon comes around, mankind has moved long past that. Laurent is a symbol of hope to signal a new dawn. The residents of France no longer seek medicine, but still cling on to faith that someone special will lead them to glory.

But The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is the story of the most bad*ss character in the history of television, whom we’ve followed across the span of 11 seasons. While it’s a strange thing to say for a fully-grown man, this is a coming-of-age show for Norman Reedus’ character.

A man who was not even in the comic book that the show is based on, became the heart and soul of the franchise. He is still a man of few words, guarded and cautious - qualities that have helped him survive while his friends have perished. But he lets his guard down and allows himself to feel. The bond he forges with the young man Laurent is truly beautiful.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon isn’t groundbreaking television but is a wonderful and different new chapter in the saga that has enthralled millions. And it’s a window to the world beyond (no pun intended).

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The highly anticipated new series in the Walking Dead Universe will premiere Sunday, September 10 at 9 pm ET on AMC and AMC+.