Warning: spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2’s finale.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2’s final episode is bookended by the Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and the lyrics carry a deeper meaning than it might seem at first glance. The first usage of the 1969 track comes in the very opening scene, as Daryl, Laurent, and an old guitar combine for a gloriously out-of-tune rendition, complete with Daryl’s mumbly Mick Jagger impersonation. The same song later resurfaces in non-diegetic form during the episode’s closing moments, as Daryl and Carol make their way through the Channel Tunnel ready for Daryl Dixon season 3.

On a basic level, the song’s importance seems obvious. Daryl wanted to return to Alexandria with Isabelle and Laurent by his side, but Daryl Dixon season 2 ends with Isabelle dead and Laurent flying off to the United States without his surrogate father. Mick Jagger’s vocal refrain of “you can’t always get what you want” perfectly sums up the situation, while also capturing Daryl’s resolute determination to take life’s punches in his stride. There is, however, a deeper reason why this Rolling Stones hit resonates so strongly with Daryl’s The Walking Dead spinoff.

Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Rolling Stones Song Proves Daryl Found What He Needed In France

The Lyrics Seem Tailor-Made For Daryl Dixon’s Situation

The crucial lyric isn’t “you can’t always get what you want,” but the final line, “if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.” The song is really referring to Daryl Dixon’s entire experience in France, and that despite not leaving in the way he would have wanted, something more important was discovered across the course of Daryl Dixon‘s two seasons.

Laurent provided Daryl’s future with a sorely needed ray of light.

At the end of The Walking Dead, Daryl was reasonably content with looking after Judith and RJ as a citizen of the peaceful Commonwealth community, but restlessness caught up to him soon enough. Daryl had already been forced into killing Leah, the first woman he grew romantically close to, and ultimately decided to leave the Commonwealth on a journey toward the unknown. It could be said that a lack of direction was what truly instigated Daryl’s departure, and while he may not have known what he was looking for, Daryl found everything he needed in France.

Through fighting Genet’s villainous Pouvoir du Vivant group, Daryl found purpose. Rather than simply fighting for his own survival, as was the case with his previous fights in The Walking Dead, Daryl was serving a greater good, rallying against a tyrannical force – a theme emphasized by the parallels to Daryl’s grandfather fighting in the Second World War. At the same time, Daryl and Isabelle found a love far more genuine than what he had with Leah. Their story might have ended in tragedy, but Daryl leaves France with a far more open heart compared to when Daryl Dixon season 1 first started.

Most importantly, Daryl found Laurent. The responsibility of becoming a father figure – rather than just the “cool uncle” he became to Judith and RJ – has shifted Daryl’s perspective. Laurent provided Daryl’s future with a sorely needed ray of light, giving him something to fight for and a reason to hold onto hope. Before his spinoff began, Daryl would have almost certainly balked at the idea of fighting a battle that didn’t concern him, falling in love, then becoming a dad. As Mick Jagger duly points out, however, this was precisely what Daryl needed.

How Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Song Changes The Opening & Closing Scenes

The Finale’s First & Last Scenes Are Packed With Meaning

Knowing the true meaning behind Daryl Dixon season 2’s finale song, the tone of the first and last scenes shifts dramatically. During the intro, when Daryl and Laurent sing the Rolling Stones track together, Daryl’s voice appears to crack with emotion as he finishes the chorus.

Without the surprise detour, Daryl would never have experienced the feelings of love and purpose he ultimately found.

While this is partly due to sadness over Isabelle’s death previously in Daryl Dixon season 2 and the troubling thought of Laurent leaving France without him, the uncharacteristic display of emotion also reveals how much becoming a father figure truly means to Daryl. Norman Reedus’ character looks directly at Laurent while grumbling “you just might find you get what you need,” and the emotion plainly hits him. At this point, Daryl appears to inwardly acknowledge Laurent as the most important thing in his life.

Skipping ahead to the episode’s final scene and the moment Daryl’s French excursion comes to a close, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” transforms into something of a bittersweet farewell. On one hand, Daryl walks away from France carrying far more emotional baggage than when he first left the United States. Several close friends died, he’s wearing the fatigue of warring against numerous enemies, and the woman he loved was killed.

Daryl also suffered several serious injuries in France, including burns from an acidic variant zombie and a stab wound from a mid-hallucination Codron.

At the same time, if Daryl was given the opportunity to travel back in time and avoid Europe altogether, he would likely turn it down without a second thought. Without the surprise detour, Daryl would never have experienced the feelings of love and purpose he ultimately found across the Atlantic, and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is an encapsulation of these conflicting feelings.

Daryl Dixon’s Final Song Makes Laurent His Focus In Season 3

The Thought Of Laurent Drives Daryl Forward

Another layer of significance behind “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” closing out Daryl Dixon season 2 relates to Laurent’s spiritual presence in season 3. Currently in Alexandria making the most of the ice cream and Ezekiel’s petting zoo, Laurent is highly unlikely to appear in Daryl Dixon season 3’s story. The fact that Daryl and Laurent sing the song at the start of the episode, then the same song replays as Daryl begins his journey home with Carol, suggests that the promise of a reunion with Laurent is currently Daryl’s biggest motivation to continue forward.

It almost feels like the song replays in season 2’s final moments because Daryl himself might have the tune in his head, humming the chorus on his way to England. Thanks to the episode’s earlier musical moment between Daryl and Laurent, the Rolling Stones song now represents a moment of bonding between the surrogate father and son. Having the tune in his head as he leaves France is a clever way of demonstrating Daryl’s single-minded intention to reach the Commonwealth in one piece and see Laurent again at any cost.

Daryl Dixon Obviously Couldn’t Get What He Wanted – There’s Still Season 3 To Come

Don’t Expect Daryl’s Happy Ending To Come Any Time Soon

Despite the notes of positivity and hope, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is unavoidably a lament for Daryl Dixon – a resentment that he, Laurent, and Isabelle couldn’t somehow squeeze into Ash’s plane with Carol and all fly back to the Commonwealth together. As viewers are invited to mourn the death of an idyllic ending for Daryl’s post-apocalyptic journey, however, it must also be acknowledged that Daryl getting a happy ending is impossible so long as Norman Reedus remains part of the Walking Dead franchise.

Daryl will return in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3, and there may be more appearances for Reedus even beyond that, either in season 4 or a potential The Walking Dead crossover. So long as Daryl remains one of the leading protagonists in the wider universe of The Walking Dead, he must continue to endure tragedy, otherwise there would be no drama or stakes to make his adventures worth watching. The moment Daryl finds happiness will be the moment his role in The Walking Dead ends. The opposite, of course, is also true: when Norman Reedus is finished with zombies, only then might Daryl finally be allowed a happy ending.