The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1, episode 5 recap “Deux Amours”

Has it been confirmed that Power of the Living is, indeed, weaponizing walkers? In The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1 episode 5, Daryl and Laurent continue their journey as Isabelle ponders her situation with Quinn.

Amongst all this, audiences got to hear some familiar voices and namedrops that could affect the season 1 finale. Let’s dive in!

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1, episode 5 recap – Daryl and Laurent

As Daryl and Laurent continue their journey with Azlan, via boat, audiences learn more about how Daryl arrived in France through a series of flashbacks. Turns out Daryl ran out of gas for his motorcycle, attempting to return home on foot.

It’s not long before a vehicle finds him, offering a way for him to get fuel for his motorcycle. In order to do so, Daryl is hired along with others, to round up fresh walkers in Maine, all per instruction of their boss and a man who speaks French.

Considering Daryl has many years of experience, he’s able to round up a multitude of walkers, drawing the attention of a young man. The young man is trying to find a way back to his girlfriend and her father but is struggling.

Daryl, prone to working alone and focused on getting back home, isn’t keen on helping him. Over time he grows fond of the young man, even teaching him how to properly cut wood with an axe.

Noticing a working radio, Daryl attempts to contact home. When there is no response he’s about to leave when suddenly, a voice replies. It’s Carol and she keeps the conversation to a minimum, answering Daryl’s questions without issue.

Worried that something could be wrong, Daryl promises Carol that he’ll be returning home soon. As static begins to interfere with their conversation, it is revealed (?) that something is going on with Rick.

Doubting his own ears, Daryl asks her to elaborate but the conversation comes to an end. Things only get worse for Daryl when he discovers the young man has become a walker.

The men had killed him so that they could have another fresh walker to bring in. The brief brawl between Daryl and the murderers causes them to be captured and sent to a boat.

While there Daryl finds more captured people, plenty of walkers and security. Walkers seemed to be divided up into ones that are fed often and ones who aren’t (Fast, Fed).

It’s not long before one of the men who arrived with Daryl is fed to the walkers in the Fed category. It’s obvious that everyone in Daryl’s group is going to be food for walkers.

Being clever, Daryl and the only other man left in their cell trick the security guards and make their escape for a lifeboat. In the process Daryl starts releasing many of the walkers but didn’t expect a very fast, scary, and violent walker variant.

As he and the other man struggle to release the lifeboat amongst the chaos, this walker variant attacks the man, who in the process, releases the lifeboat. Not having another option, Daryl jumps off the boat, in the hopes of landing on the lifeboat.

The rest is history. Now that we know how Daryl came to France, we can focus on the present.

As the trio arrive to a safe place to stay for the night, Laurent wants to get to know Daryl better. In the process Daryl talks about his friends back home, mentioning Judith, RJ, Connie, Ezekiel and Carol.

Throughout their stay, Daryl tries to learn more about the Nest, but Azlan keeps that information rather vague. However, Azlan does admit that the Nest helped him when he lost his family in the apocalypse.

Daryl and Laurent bond more as Daryl tries to teach him practical skills that Laurent feels go against God’s teachings. Later that night, Laurent says a prayer for Daryl’s friends and family as they settle in.

Their night takes a terrible turn when walkers emerge and Azlan manages to impale his back on a telephone pole. Now Daryl and Laurent will have to continue onward without him, except, where did their boat go?

Daryl realizes almost immediately that Laurent cut the rope, releasing the boat. After brutally scolding him, bringing about the rage of The Walking Dead season 1 Daryl, Laurent confesses that he doesn’t want Daryl to leave him.

At this point Laurent has lost Isabelle to Quinn, the nuns at the convent to Codron, even Azlan to walkers. He’s afraid he’ll lose Daryl too.

Daryl quickly apologizes and the two continue onward.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1, episode 5 recap – Isabelle and Quinn

Meanwhile, Isabelle wakes up in a beautiful mansion, obviously Quinn’s home, immediately frazzled upon hearing she was given medicine to help her sleep. It doesn’t take long for Quinn to arrive to check on her.

It’s obvious to him that Isabelle does not want to be there and only did so for Laurent and Daryl’s sake. Quinn assures her that both made it out of Paris safely, questioning her relations with Daryl.

When Quinn isn’t with Isabelle, she is essentially a prisoner in a palace but makes do creating a makeshift weapon out of a mirror frame. She ponders her situation, considering killing Quinn after they share a nice dinner together in her room.

Knowing that Quinn wants the relationship they once had, she wants to use the opportunity of seduction to kill him. That is until she becomes conflicted over whether Quinn is a changed man or not.

There is some obvious fear and caution on Isabelle’s part when it comes to Quinn. She decidedly doesn’t kill him, and Quinn accepts that she isn’t ready to start over with him just yet.

We quickly learn that Isabelle’s presence however ends up costing Quinn. Isabelle returns to her dark suicidal thoughts when her breakfast arrives the next day.

Isabelle receives a secret message with her breakfast and asks Quinn if she can attend his special occasion with Genet, the leader of Power of the Living. He agrees and gifts her a stunning piece of jewelry that no doubt was left behind when the world ended.

They arrive to find many citizens celebrating, amongst them Sylvie and Emile hiding in plain sight. Unfortunately for Quinn, Genet isn’t happy to see him, knowing full well he’s responsible for paying off one of her men into allowing Daryl and Laurent to escape Paris.

That man has been dealt with. How did Genet find out?

Why Anna of course ratted him out, tired of being ignored and obviously jealous of Isabelle. While there, Isabelle spots Daryl in a cell as well.

We learn that After Daryl apologizes to Laurent, they hear a vehicle coming. Laurent drops some of his belongings as he hides with Daryl.

The men stop, find Laurent’s items and begin searching the area. Daryl orders Laurent to remain hidden no matter what.

Like any kid of the apocalypse, Laurent doesn’t listen and comes out when he fears the men were going to kill Daryl. The two are brought back to Genet, where Isabelle later reunites with him.

Knowing an opportunity when she sees one, Genet rather keeps Laurent alive, in order to use him for her cause. Although Laurent doesn’t want to, Isabelle instructs that he has to.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1, episode 5 recap – Weaponized walkers

The episode decidedly wraps up in a stunning cliffhanger. As Genet speaks before a large audience, Daryl is removed from his cell and brought into the room.

Below Genet is an arena where the audience is ready for quite a show, which includes Codron, Isabelle and Laurent. Given only a medieval axe as a weapon, Darly awaits a chained walker.

After it is injected with the same serum we’ve seen used previously on this show, the walker becomes super powered. The once gnarling, hungry walker is now stronger, more vicious and unstoppable.

Daryl takes his axe ready to fight just as the walker breaks free, charging at our hero.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1, episode 5 review

It seems our suspicions were correct about the walker warfare tactic Genet is considerably obsessed with. Will these walkers be unleashed on what’s left of the world?

Will these walkers be used so that the whole world will be conquered by one, lone powerful group? Most importantly, how will Daryl manage against an infected walker he only encountered once before?

We know he’ll survive, but we’re curious as to how. Perhaps Sylvie and Emile are part of a much larger plan concocted by Fallou.

While we discussed the incredible on-screen chemistry between Clémence Poésy and Norman Reedus before, we haven’t mentioned Louis Puech Scigliuzzi (Laurent). As a child actor, he has excelled at being as much of a strong on-screen presence as both Poésy and Reedus.

The scene where Daryl and Laurent have a true heart-to-heart over the missing boat left me stunned and silent. We hope to see more scenes shared between the two of them not only in the season finale but next season as well.

As far as reactions for this episode go, I was getting jumpy and scared at the walker variant on the boat. At this point I am quite used to watching zombies on The Walking Dead, knowing what types of scenes will get me to look away in fear and ask when the scene is over (insert the pig trough at Terminus and Abraham and Glenn’s deaths).

I could not look away from that walker variant, scared but excited at the same time. Where have these walkers been all this time?

We’ve seen new variants pop up at the last minute on The Walking Dead, but these should have also appeared a whole lot sooner. See my take on the whole thing here.

Aside from all that excitement, we finally get some news about Rick and Michonne, maybe? It sounded like Carol said Rick, most will agree, but we’re not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

Is Rick the same man Daryl once knew? While we’re at it, what of The Commonwealth?

Has something happened? We have one more episode left this season to find out!

What did you think of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1, episode 5? Let us know in the comments below!

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1 episode 6 airs on October 15 on AMC.