The spin-off keeps its momentum in “L’Invisible”

It’s both insane and impressive how much plot The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has burned through in season two already. At the start of the premiere, Carol Peletier was still on America’s Eastern seaboard, wondering where her best friend had disappeared. By the end of episode three, “L’Invisible,” she’s at the gates of Normandy’s Mont-Saint-Michel, closer than ever to reuniting with Daryl. Along the way, she’s made friends and foes (fine, mostly foes), lied through her teeth about her intentions, and discovered what the hell happened to the Mona Lisa. All in all, it’s a pretty productive international vacation during the apocalypse, huh?

Before we dig into how Carol gets to Normandy, let’s revisit everything that’s gone down since she got to France after manipulating poor chap Ash into flying her there. Carol quickly gets captured by Madame Genet’s (Anne Charrier) militia outside of Paris. When taken to their command post, she’s assigned kitchen duty and befriends a fellow captive who speaks English. Together, the two witness Genet’s men killing people and experimenting on them once they become walkers. One of those wild experiments includes injecting bodies with a substance to time how fast they turn, while another unleashes something called the “burners.”

It’s a pretty fascinating insight into how another country has been operating for the 10-plus years since the world went to shit. Even from what we’ve seen in the original series and its other spin-offs, no matter where you are, a few people will claw their way to the top and become violent oligarchs. Whether it’s The Governor, Negan, the Miltons, or societies like the Commonwealth and the CRM, evil people prevail in this universe because they exploit guilt, remorse, shame, and loss. TWD continually tells us the obvious: Humans are the villains. I get and respect the message, but at this point, it’s annoying because TWD has forgotten that walkers are genuinely creepy and dangerous. Remember when characters were actually afraid for their lives when they heard a walker growl, which in turn spooked us watching at home? Well, now a horde can stroll on and attack with characters mostly escaping. Where’s the thrill? Where’s the fear?

Maybe that’s why the opening “L’Invisible” feels the most gripping. It takes us back to the apocalypse’s day one through Madame Genet’s lens. She isn’t a militia leader just yet. Marion Genet is a mere janitor at the Louvre, with the entire staff planning a unionized protest when all hell breaks loose, forcing everyone inside the museum to get locked in, visitors and workers alike. Later, when Marion’s husband comes to fetch her, she isn’t allowed to exit the building. So all she can do is scream in horror when she witnesses a walker bite into his neck and kill him. Trapped inside the Louvre for weeks, Marion ponders the meaning of the religious paintings in there. At some point after becoming a cult figurehead, she goes back to steal the Mona Lisa and shows it off in her headquarters.

We also learn Genet despises factions like the Union, led by Losang (Joel de la Fuente), because they use religion as a way to control the masses—as opposed to her extreme use of force and subjugation, which she doesn’t seem to mind one bit. The Union is also the sect Daryl aligned with in season one before realizing they are, in fact, delusional and bad. Carol doesn’t take as long to realize that both parties are messed up. Her only concern is getting to her friend. Even when she’s distributing food at Genet’s HQ, she whispers his name to everyone hoping someone will recognize it. And boy, does someone recognize it.

A beaten-up Codron—remember, he’s the army man who hates Daryl but didn’t kill him when he had the chance, which led to Genet torturing him—tells a pleading Carol exactly where Daryl is: the Union’s secure hiding place at the Mont-Saint-Michel, which is a few hours’ drive away. He also reveals that Genet wants Daryl dead. That’s why, when she’s caught escaping on a horse, Carol, ever the smart cookie, fabricates that she also wants to kill Daryl. She convinces Genet that they have the same mission to blow his brains out, and it’s why she flew from America. Genet seems to believe her and makes her a part of the convoy heading to Normandy to capture Losang, Daryl, and their crew. Except when they actually get there, Genet turns the tables and pushes Carol into a swarm of people she’s planning to shoot, kill, and turn into a huge army of the undead.

It’s a ridiculous cliffhanger to end on because everyone knows Carol isn’t dying. But it does dial up the tension because, inside the commune, Daryl is also on the verge of death. Daryl and Isabelle (Clementine Poesy) are being punished for rescuing the so-called miracle teen Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi). Earlier in the episode, the two of them foil Losang’s plan to prove to his followers that Laurent is the messiah (a.k.a. immune to zombies). He is about to let a recently turned Sylvie (Laika Blanc-Francard) bite Laurent when Daryl and Isabelle arrive, shoot some arrows, and run away with the kid. Sadly, both adults are caught while Laurent escapes with their friend, Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney).

In captivity, Daryl and Isabelle share sweet nothings. He paints a dreamy picture of the life they could have if they go back to Ohio, while she worries about what she’d do with her life if she crossed the ocean with him. (Isabelle is certainly not going to remain a practicing nun anymore, right?) What they’re both certain of is that Laurent will enjoy normalcy—whatever that means in dystopia—if they make it to America. Daryl and Isabelle also confess their love for each other, not realizing Carol is about to blow this whole thing wide open, hopefully in the next episode.

“L’Invisible” closes with Losang taking Isabelle away and ordering one of his men to shoot Daryl. Outside, Carol fears for her life. And there we have it. They’re so close yet so far. All they have to do is bolt from their respective deadly situations. Knowing these two, the person pointing the gun at either of them isn’t going to survive for too long.

Stray observations

• This exchange between Carol and her new French pals made me laugh:
Julian: “Does your Daryl like horses?”
Carol: “Only the steel kind.”
• At one point, Carol emotionally refers to Daryl as her brother. Brother? BROTHER? Come on, TWD, let’s be real.
• I will note that Daryl Dixon is making us wait so much longer for the two leads to share the screen as opposed to The Ones Who Live, which had Rick and Michonne reuniting at the end of episode one.
• It’s so sad that Sylvie, who dies trying to save Laurent, gets such a bleak eulogy from Losang: “Her faith was weak.”
• Another painting that Genet talks about evocatively is Anne-Louis Girodet’s Scene From A Deluge, an artwork that is an allegory about seeking salvation.
• “When it all started, they protected the art, not the people,” Genet says while reflecting on the early days after the disease spread.
• The French refer to the walkers as Les Affamés, a.k.a. the ravenous. Can they not be so chic, at least in an apocalypse?
• Thanks for checking in at the midseason point. See you in a couple of weeks for the season-two finale.