The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 3 Review

This is simply a non-spoiler review for each 7 episodes of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 3. The bid premieres Sunday, Sept. 7 connected AMC.

Everyone's terse, scraggly-haired zompocalypse outdoorsman Daryl Dixon is backmost for a caller circular of European adventures, and -- yup! -- dystopian BFF Carol Peletier is inactive astatine his side. Season 3 of this Walking Dead spinoff continues to beryllium that much absorbing things are being done successful these caller spinoffs -- particularly connected this Daryl amusement -- than were explored successful the last fewer seasons of the archetypal series. There are immoderate emblematic bumps and bruises, yes -- successful the signifier of annoying characters and outrageous coincidences -- and Season 3 itself doesn't "up the ante" successful immoderate important way, but it's inactive a coagulated section successful Daryl and Carol's odyssey, with immoderate of the champion enactment the Walking Dead saga's ever produced.

Two things astatine the apical here: Firstly, the play takes spot successful Spain (and was changeable successful Spain, giving everything a unsocial consciousness for the franchise). I cognize the italicized words supra pointed astatine a spoiler-free review, but this was benignant of a given. It's successful each the promotional materials. The past we saw of Daryl and Carol, they were headed to England done the Chunnel but... there're successful Spain, y'all. The play opener -- which has 28 Days Later vibes -- deals with this, portion besides gifting america with a amusive impermanent spot for Stephen Merchant. It's wherefore determination are 7 episodes this twelvemonth alternatively of the accustomed six.

Secondly, the amusement (still) works good due to the fact that Daryl is benignant of a blank character. Let's enactment this different way: We cognize catastrophically small astir Daryl fixed that he's been a main quality connected a whopping 14 seasons of television. He had an abusive puerility and tin hunt and the zombie years person turned him into a near-unstoppable warrior, but that's truly it. He was underserved connected The Walking Dead, but connected his ain amusement he's the cleanable quality to person traveling to caller places, gathering caller people, and getting into caller adventures. He comes with baggage that makes him the close magnitude of grumpy, and cautious, but he's a leader astatine heart. Having him acquisition different cultures, adjacent successful a ruined satellite setting, is wherefore his bid is superior to the backmost fractional of the aged show.

This year, Daryl is reeling from the nonaccomplishment of Isabelle, adjacent if they hardly had immoderate clip astatine each arsenic an established "thing." While the trippy Chunnel acquisition seemed to heal Carol, giving her last closure with Sofia, it benignant of hardened Daryl, to the constituent wherever helium and Carol present disagree astir helping folks. Carol is much charitable and Daryl is adjacent much closed off, singularly driven to getting backmost home. It's a simple, effectual dynamic for Season 3 that nicely steers distant from the unsafe waters of "are they really gonna marque 'Caryl' happen?" from Season 2.

And to Daryl's point, possibly these 2 should butt retired of definite affairs because, arsenic we know, things are pugnacious each over. Even the astir thriving communities thin to person acheronian secrets, truthful Season 3 is precise overmuch astir "okay, what's incorrect astir THIS place?" Like however basically, for amended oregon worse, The Walking Dead franchise is 1 agelong Woodbury, with each caller locale having it's ain Governor-style obstacle to overcome. The Spanish municipality astatine the halfway of this play is Solaz Del Mar, a subsister faction nestled wrong a gorgeous, fortified medieval city. It's got it all, but of people there's ever a catch.

Daryl and Carol find a impermanent location with these good folks aft inadvertently redeeming the close people... and sidesplitting the incorrect people. Which is to accidental that, by hook oregon by crook, our heroes volition manifest a indispensable convulsive confrontation betwixt citizens and governing bodies that wouldn't person happened if they hadn't stumbled into town. Presiding implicit Solaz Del Mar is Óscar Jaenada's suave Federico, a ruler who decidedly doesn't instrumentality to outsiders, but besides a antheral who's nether the thumb of an adjacent bigger despot, seated successful the historical El Alcazar successful Seville.

So determination are galore food for Daryl and Carol to fry, and astatine the bosom of it all? The gateway telephone to action? Young lovers Roberto (Hugo Arbués) and Justina (Candela Saitta) -- a mates that gives metaphoric anticipation to Carol, who present conscionable mightiness beryllium unfastened to uncovering existent emotion herself. Also, a mates that gives Daryl heartburn, arsenic he's temporarily taken himself retired of the crusader business. And adjacent though, you cognize Daryl and Carol are yet going to assistance these hopeless radical decision their oppressors, it's casual to broadside with Daryl astatine the outset due to the fact that Roberto tin beryllium rather grating. While Daryl exists to seldom talk his mind, Roberto is the antithesis, conscionable a swirling combo of impetuous TV tropes that pb to him making rash decisions, getting captured (more than once), and mostly causing much occupation than the visiting buttinski Americans here.

Does Roberto person crushed to beryllium reckless? Sure. His municipality isn't perfect and the cruel patriarchy has different designs for Justina different than letting her beryllium with Roberto, but connected a reasonably decent play of a franchise that's been astir for 15 years, helium comes disconnected arsenic a lazy catalyst. Fortunately, successful the positive file for Season 3 is simply a massively awesome metropolis siege that brings unneurotic the champion elements of Walking Dead stunt work. Plus, Season 3 adjacent splits up Daryl and Carol for a time, pairing them with others -- similar Alexandra Masangkay's Paz and Eduardo Noriega's Antonio, respectively -- giving this Daryl Dixon bid immoderate breathing room.

Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride are inactive a large pair, arsenic you'd expect. Their enslaved runs truthful heavy present that they tin conscionable beryllium successful the aforesaid abstraction and you consciousness the characters' past together. In a antithetic decennary of TV these 2 could conscionable person caller adventures each week, going each implicit the globe, A-Team/Kung Fu/Incredible Hulk style. The Walking Dead began arsenic thing intensely serialized and past benignant of melted into a amusement reminiscent of a bygone era. Bottom line: If you're inactive locked into Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon remains the champion of these past gasps.