Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1 finale!
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon showrunner David Zabel has opened up about what season 1’s cliffhanger ending means for Daryl’s storyline in season 2. During his final scene in the episode, Daryl begins walking toward an oncoming boat that will take him home, only to be stopped by Laurent, who seemingly followed him to the shore. This final scene reveals how torn he is about staying in France or going back to America.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Zabel explained how The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 will further explore Daryl’s inner conflict about where he wants to call home. The showrunner revealed how the next season will have a larger focus on where Daryl intends to call home. Check out what Zabel had to say below:
That’s what you’ve got to come back for in season 2. And the good thing is, we know there’s going to be a season 2, so come back and see the answer and how it gets hashed out. But that was always the moral dilemma from the very beginning. To me, the moral dilemma for Daryl by the end of season 1 should be: What happens if in the effort to get back home, you create another home in the place where you are? That’s an interesting moral problem for him because he’s just been trying to get back the people he loves, the people he cares about, who are Judith and Carol and Connie and all those folks.
And while he’s in the process of trying to do that, he inadvertently — almost against his own intent — has created this sense of family and home here in France. And so that’s a sort of beautiful dilemma to have. Very difficult, but a kind of beautiful thing and speaks to the kind of guy that Daryl is.
What To Expect From Daryl Dixon Season 2
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1 ending underscores how conflicted Daryl still feels about where to call home. Despite having a boat that can take him closer to America, Laurent’s appearance seemingly makes him question what he truly wants to do. Since France continues to be a prominent setting in season 2, it appears he decides to stay until he can more concretely make up his mind about where he wants to be.
However, his personal journey is likely to grow more complicated, since Carol will return to The Walking Dead universe as a prominent character in season 2. As teased in the season 1 finale, she is on a mission to find him, the pair likely to reunite before season 2 ends. Even though she’ll likely track him down, it’s unclear what this means for their possible return to America – if they decide to go back.
Beyond how he feels about the people he’s with, Daryl will also have to contend with the threat of the Pouvoir in season 2 as well. Genet managed to discover where the Nest is located because of Codron, meaning her soldiers could attack the location. If this happens, then The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon will feature a multi-layered story about survival, belonging, and reunion.
