AMC’s Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride-starring The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol is off to an intensely strong start.

Welcome to our look at AMC’s Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol)-starring The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 2: “The Book of Carol,” with the action kicking off this weekend with S02E01: “La Gentillesse des Étrangers” (directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Shannon Goss). Kicking off pretty much where things left off last season, the season opener does an excellent job of lighting the fuse on two very volatile storylines – storylines that we know are going to ignite once Daryl and Carol reunite – assuming Daryl’s around there long enough for her to find him. That’s because Daryl’s questioning his long-term commitment to France and the Union of Hope – itching to get back to family at home.

Little does he know that his family from back home is trying to reach him in the form of Carol, who makes it clear that she’s willing to do what she needs to do to keep her eye on the prize. The wildcard in all of this? Genet (Anne Charrier), whose “bigger picture” plans could end their reunion before it’s even had a chance to happen. Serving as both a reminder of what went down last season and a strong set-up for this season’s storylines, “La Gentillesse des Étrangers” was a strong start boosted by some amazing performances across the board. With that in mind, I’m throwing on the “MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!” sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before we do a deeper deep-dive:

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 2 – Photo Credit: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol S02E01: “La Gentillesse des Étrangers”

Things kick off with Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) facing down a whole lot of walkers, which gets the better of him—until we see that it’s part of a training program that Daryl has been working with him on (as Daryl shares) for the past two weeks. From there, we shift to a meeting with Losang (Joel de la Fuente), where Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) and Sylvie (Laïka Blanc-Francard) learn that Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney) and Emile (Tristan Zanchi) were taken by Genet (Anne Charrier) and Pouvoir des Vivants (Power of the Living). Along with concerns for their well-being, there is also fear that they could be used to find the Union of Hope’s base of operations.

Photo Credit: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC

Sylvie wants action taken now to save them, but Losang urges patience before their next move. That’s when Daryl enters, making it clear that they don’t have time to wait. Simply put, Genet (Anne Charrier) will have them killed as soon as they are no longer of service to Pouvoir. Unfortunately, Losang still sides with caution and adjourns the meeting – except for Daryl. One-on-one, Daryl and Losang make their positions clear on how they should be proceeding – tough to tell if Losang appreciates Daryl being a “Devil’s Advocate” or not – leaning towards the “or not.”

Well, this really is getting interesting. After what vibed as a passive-aggressive exchange between the two over how much longer Daryl plans on staying, the topic shifts to Laurent. It seems that Losang isn’t liking Daryl’s training, feeling that Laurent is destined for bigger things and that the training and the walker-killing are impacting his ability to be empathetic. And that part about wanting Daryl to “find his place” was pretty much Losang saying that “his place” didn’t involve Laurent – and probably not the Union of Hope, either.

Photo Credit: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC

The action shifts to a one-on-one between Daryl and Isabelle, with Daryl sharing what Losang said to him regarding Laurent. Isabelle has an interesting take in that she sees it as maybe Losang saying that Laurent needs something more from Daryl than just training. But Daryl’s thinking “big picture,” telling Isabelle that he keeps thinking about those he left behind (and wondering if they’re thinking about him) and not vibing that this is where he should be.

SIDE NOTE: While I don’t necessarily buy into Daryl and Carol being romantically involved, I’m not vibing anything between Daryl and Isabelle other than friends who’ve been through some serious shit – bonded by trauma. Also, I wasn’t too thrilled with what’s vibing as a kind of guilt-based manipulation on Isabelle’s part to get Daryl to stay – really leaning hard on Daryl’s need for a family.

Meanwhile… badass Carol is on a badass motorcycle. And guess where she’s ended up? Yup – right at the place where Daryl’s journey suddenly went international. Serious points to McBride for showing how Carol kept it together even after that “asshole” comment said about him. But after seeing Daryl’s crossbow (and with an additional “piece of shit” comment as inspiration), Carol shifts into “Carol Mode,” and the next thing we know, noses are being broken, and answers are being given. Carol evnrtually makes her way to where the boat that originally took Daryl was docked – with Carol facing a major obstacle in her mission to find Daryl. If only she had a plane…

THE WALKING DEAD: DARL DIXON – THE BOOK OF CAROL (Photo Credit: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC)

If viewers ever needed a reminder of just how good Daryl Dixon is at what he does, look no further than the mission to rescue Fallou and Emile. Reedus offers us a character who is a true force of nature in situations like this, able to improvise out of the worst possible scenario to accomplish his goals. That said… freezing up on taking out Genet is one of those moments that could be analyzed for hours. Are Losang’s words starting to have an impact? Is this part of Daryl’s personal journey to become something more than just a “walker warrior”? Personally, the moment had me thinking back to how much Daryl and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) wanted Rick (Andrew Lincoln) to kill Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) during the original series’ Season 8 finale.

THE WALKING DEAD (Photo Credit: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC)

Carol & Ash: As much of a highlight that the entire sequence was with Carol and the greenhouse, it’s her personal dynamic with Ash (Manish Dayal) that might be the biggest takeaway from the episode – made even more fascinating by the fact that it’s an evolving relationship built on lies. I don’t mean to sound as if I’m passing judgment, but it’s true – from Carol’s “car troubles” to using Sophia’s memory to manipulate Ash into flying her closer to Daryl. And yet, McBride presents us with a character who never makes the tough calls look like they don’t impact her in some way. When she twists Sophia’s story, we never get the sense that it’s something easy for Carol to do – McBride shows us the weight that Carol carries having to go that route. But in the end, Carol is always going to do what she needs to do for the greater good – and that means getting her best friend back.