The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1 is six incredible episodes that offer a fresh new take on the franchise, but still feels like The Walking Dead.
Even the biggest fans of The Walking Dead will admit they felt a bit burned out by the time the series finale rolled around. Hearing that there were going to be spin offs were exciting, but at the same time it was hard to know if they were necessary. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon features a fan favorite character in a completely new setting, delivering new obstacles and challenges. Easily the best that the franchise has been in years, Daryl Dixon offers a fresh take while still feeling like The Walking Dead. It is reminiscent of the first few seasons of the series, which were top notch.
Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.
At the start of this series, Daryl arrives on the shores of France. We don’t know how he ended up here, but it will be addressed before the first season is over. He wants to get home, back to Commonwealth, and is on a mission to find a way to do so. It doesn’t take long before he meets a nun and a “miracle boy” that she is raising. Daryl offers them his help, in hopes that it will also him get to back to his friends and surrogate family.
Being that this takes place in France, where we have yet to visit in The Walking Dead franchise, there are a lot of new things. New settings, new walkers, and new characters. Daryl must face new threats and challenges, which delivers a fresh new take on TWD that we all know and love. This series feels like the beginning again. Daryl is constantly on the move, rather than staying put in one place, which consistently introduces never before seen surroundings, friends, and foes.
The walkers in France have evolved differently. Some, not all, have blood that will burn and corrode. A fun new twist on something that was starting to feel overdone. At the same time, as with The Walking Dead series, these monsters are not the only threat — or even the worst one. People are. And Daryl has never been the type to just sit back and take it.
Norman Reedus is a fantastic actor. Having played Daryl for so long, he knows how he would react in a new place, and does so perfectly. While he is certainly the main character, there are some other great characters in this spin off. Clémence Poésy plays Isabelle, the nun that Daryl runs into early on in the series. And Louis Puech Scigliuzzi is Laurent, the boy that symbolizes hope to so many.
This trio is what makes The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon work so well. They are incredible together, always challenging each other and bringing new things to the table.
Because of this new world that they need to build out, and characters that need to be introduced, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is sometimes a little bit slow. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however it is something to be noted, especially because there are only six episodes. They don’t exactly drag, or feel overlong at the one hour runtime, but
Another issue with the Daryl Dixon series is the hit or miss effects — in particular certain scenes surrounding the walkers. There is one part where they fall from windows, and they hit the ground very awkwardly in a way that just would not happen. They look fake and silly. Another time, during a fight, the blood splatter looks off. Now, sometimes the screeners that are sent for review are not completely finished. There was no note of this, but it could easily be fixed by the time the episodes air.
Overall Thoughts
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is the best that The Walking Dead has been in years. Even if you gave up on the series and didn’t finish it, you can still hop into this spin off and enjoy it. It explains everything that you need to know, so you won’t be lost. This is almost a reset of the franchise, as it takes place in a new country with all new characters except for Daryl.
There is no arguing that The Walking Dead franchise started off with nearly three seasons of perfection, and that is exactly what the Daryl Dixon spin off feels like. A fresh new take on things, that still feels somewhat familiar and fits in the world well. There are a few small issues, but nothing the series can’t overcome.
Rating: 4 out of 5
NEXT: One Piece Live Action Season 1 Review: Over The Top But Fun
About The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
In The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Daryl (Noman Reedus) washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why. The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan.
In addition to Reedus, the series stars Clémence Poésy, Adam Nagaitis, Anne Charrier, Eriq Ebouaney, Laika Blanc Francard, Romain Levi and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi and is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, Showrunner David Zabel, Reedus, Greg Nicotero, Angela Kang, Brian Bockrath, Jason Richman and Daniel Percival.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres Sunday, September 10 at 9:00pm ET on AMC and AMC+.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.