Sumith Prasad
A spin-off of ‘The Walking Dead,’ AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ revolves around Daryl Dixon, who ends up far away from the Commonwealth due to mysterious reasons. After waking up on another continent, Daryl sets out to find ways to return to his homeland, only to meet a nun named Isabelle, who seeks his help to fulfill a highly dangerous mission. The series progresses through Daryl’s efforts to return to the Commonwealth with the help of Isabelle, securing the same by helping her in return. The show’s setting is an intriguing and significant new addition to ‘The Walking Dead’ universe! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Daryl Dixon’s French Odyssey
‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ takes place in France. In the first episode, Daryl Dixon washes ashore in Southern France and ends up in an abbey after Isabelle finds him injured. From Isabelle, Daryl learns that the only way to leave the country, to return to the United States, is through a port in Le Havre, a city in Northern France. As the series progresses, we may see Daryl’s journey from the south of France to the north, passing through Paris. A significant part of the show is expected to be set in the French capital city.
Since most of the shows that are part of ‘The Walking Dead’ franchise are set in the United States, including ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ and ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City,’ a change of setting makes ‘Daryl Dixon’ different, which was important for the creative team behind the series. “The tone is much different, the [cinematography is] much different. The lighting’s different. We’re in castles, and the storyline has a religious vibe to it. Part of the story is me around a bunch of people speaking French. I’m trying to figure out like, ‘Is this gonna be a fight?'” Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl, told ComicBook about how the setting makes the show different.
The change of setting not only makes the show “different” but also allows creator David Zabel and his team of writers to explore another dimension of Daryl, one of the most intricate characters in ‘The Walking Dead’ universe. “Daryl is a fish out of water to start with. If Daryl finds himself with new people, he’s a fish out of water. In France, in a country that’s going through the apocalypse, [it’s] an entirely different thing. He finds himself having to reinvent himself again, having to find himself again, and also, not being with — probably — the only people in the world he’s comfortable with,” Scott M. Gimple, executive producer and a former ‘The Walking Dead’ showrunner, shared about the significance of the setting on ‘The Walking Dead Universe Preview’ special.
In addition, ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’ teases that France can be where the zombie apocalypse began. Therefore, the selection of France as the setting of ‘Daryl Dixon’ may not be a coincidence. Daryl’s adventures in the country may lead him and the viewers to the history of the mysterious zombie apocalypse.
The Mysterious Timeline
‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ premiere episode doesn’t reveal how much time has passed between Daryl’s departure from the Commonwealth to find Rick Grimes in ‘The Walking Dead’ finale episode and his arrival in France. The narrative of ‘The Walking Dead’ begins in mid-to-late 2010, on day 59 of the zombie outbreak. The series finale takes place over 5,000 days later, which is around thirteen and a half years, which makes it clear that Daryl begins his search for Rick around 2024.
To find out the exact year in which ‘Daryl Dixon’ unravels, we must learn how many months/years Daryl spent searching for Rick before getting washed ashore in France. In the premiere episode, he tells Isabelle that a series of bad decisions led him to the country but nothing more. The episode, however, reveals that he was aboard a ship to France. If he boarded the same willingly, it is safe to assume that the same must have happened after a considerable period of search across the United States, which leads us to conclude that the events in the show must be happening around 2025.
