Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol

On The Walking Dead, characters came and went over eleven seasons, but Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) were constant. They weren’t always by each other’s sides, but they did always come together when it mattered most. They were best friends in the apocalypse who have thankfully never become a couple. Their bond went deeper than a physical attraction and made them the heart of the entire series.

Last year, Daryl was in his own series, simply titled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Taking him out of the Commonwealth in Ohio and having him a man lost in France was a great idea, but Carol was missing from the series. In Season 2, with the added title of The Book of Carol, she’s back, and on the search for Daryl. In Episode 4, she finally found him, and while the moment itself was emotional, the follow-up left a lot to be desired.

Daryl and Carol’s Reunion on ‘The Walking Dead’ Spin-Off Starts Strong

You have to suspend your disbelief a bit about how quickly Carol found a way to get to France, and then was immediately on the trail to Daryl. Unlike The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, where Michonne (Dania Gurira) finds Rick (Andrew Lincoln) at the end of the very first episode, Daryl Dixon takes a slow burn approach, upping the tension by having Carol get closer to Daryl each episode, with him having no idea that she’s out there.

That is what makes what happens in “La Paradis Pour Toi” so impactful. In the episode, Daryl’s newest love, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), has just been stabbed by the Union’s Losang (Joel de la Fuente) after she refuses to give up where Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) is hidden. This is going down right as Marion Genet’s (Anne Charrier) super zombie army is invading the Nest. Carol is there, on the search for Daryl, after having just narrowly avoided becoming a walker soldier herself. She finds Isabelle bleeding out, while Daryl, having been released from his cell, goes on a walker killing spree. At the end of his path, with every walker fallen, stands Carol. He is at first confused by her silhouette in the darkness, but when he realizes who it is that is waiting for him, he immediately goes to her and the two embrace in a long hug as they cry. It’s an emotional moment that will make you cry, too.

Daryl Quickly Gives Carol the Cold Shoulder

Their tender reunion is short-lived because the Nest is still under siege and Carol takes Daryl to Isabelle, who is bleeding out from the stab wound on her stomach. Isabelle had just kissed Daryl and told him she loved him, and the two were planning on bringing Laurent with them to the Commonwealth to start a new life. Now here she is dying in Daryl’s arms, with her final words being to protect Laurent. Whatever happiness Daryl was feeling at Carol being back in his life is immediately swept away because his love is gone.

It makes sense that events in the episode can’t just be put on pause in order for them to have a prolonged reunion, but it’s still underwhelming how quickly the emotion of the reunion fades. Daryl might be grateful to see Carol again, but he damn near ignores her, with his mind being focused only on finding Laurent, who is no longer in the cave he told him to hide in.

Carol wants to know what’s going on and to help her friend, but Daryl will barely let her in. When she even talks about how she got to France on a plane, and how that plane waits to take Daryl and Laurent home, he’s not interested in bringing the boy who the Union has mistreated as a Messiah because he doesn’t want to risk the pain of losing him. It’s an understandable emotion, but his flippant attitude toward Carol is disappointing when we anticipated this reunion for so long.

Carol Is No Longer the Most Important Part of Daryl’s Life

For a time, it almost even feels like Carol made a mistake coming to France, as if she’s intruding on a life she’s no longer a part of. While that is devastating, it’s also smart storytelling. The Walking Dead knows we want Daryl and Carol back together again, and they know the expectations we have for them, so Daryl Dixon deciding to upend those with a different story is a clever move. Daryl is no longer the man he used to be the last time Carol saw him. He found a purpose in loving Isabelle and becoming a father figure for Laurent, but now the woman he started to love is dead and the boy he loves like a son is missing. There are more pressing things on his mind than Carol.

There are two more episodes left in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 2. Hopefully, these minutes will give us some fan service with Daryl and Carol growing closer together. Daryl is angry, scared, and grieving, which his character should be, but the series is lackluster if it doesn’t result in him turning to his best friend when he needs her the most. The end of the episode hints at this, with Daryl agreeing to bring Laurent back to the Commonwealth with them, which is a decision that makes them both smile. Fingers crossed that the rest of the season focuses on that hope while Daryl and Carol get back to being some badass walker killers at the same time.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is available to watch on AMC+ and every Sunday on AMC.