With the recent deal with Sky TV meaning that the latest Walking Dead spin-offs are finally available to British TV audiences, appreciation of the quality of the new wave of the still-expanding franchise has continued to grow. The deeply impressive first season of Daryl Dixon, which introduces the story of the titular hero’s enforced sojourn to the shores of France, arrives on Blu-ray just days before season two begins screening in the UK.
Daryl’s arrival on a French beach, in a near-death state and lashed to an upturned lifeboat, is introduced without explanation in the opening moments of episode one. When he comes across an isolated abbey, he learns of a mortal threat to a young boy named Laurent from the nuns living there. In their eyes, he’s a would-be saviour who must be given safe passage to sanctuary in Normandy before the militia hunting him discover his whereabouts. Agreeing with resolute warrior-nun Isabelle to join her mission in exchange for transit to a transatlantic port, Daryl’s group meet multiple threats out on the road. They confront crime lords, political fanatics and crazed scientists in the catacombs of Paris before reaching temporary safety behind the walls of the fabled Nest. Daryl is left to weigh up his commitment to Isabelle and Laurent against his longing to find a way back home.
Daryl Dixon is a truly distinctive new take on the show’s core idea that makes extraordinarily effective use of its urban and rural French locations and the different ambience and aesthetic that this evocative and unusual setting fills the screen with. Rewatching the first season as a whole confirms how much rich storyline and character development the showrunners have crammed into just six episodes. As a solitary American, untethered from all his familiar moorings, the threats and surprises that Daryl encounters in both the French hinterland and in its capital city all introduce new and dramatically interesting challenges. His allies and enemies are well drawn and given genuine agency, even if the underlying premise (a golden child who must be protected if the world is to be saved) is an over-familiar one in post-apocalyptic fiction. With filming on a third series already well underway, fans can invest in Daryl’s travails without the fear of a premature and unresolved cliffhanger. Special features on this release are limited to brief ‘cast diaries’ and a behind-the-scenes featurette, but it’s the substance of the main story that will continue to merit repeat viewing.
SEASON ONE of THE WALKING DEAD: DARYL DIXON is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
