Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol Episode 4.

The first season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon focused solely on Daryl (Norman Reedus), but with a second season now carrying the added title of The Book of Carol, we were promised a reunion between Daryl and Carol (Melissa McBride). This series has done a great, and purposely frustrating, job of keeping these best friends apart, a decision that is the exact opposite of what happened in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived, where Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) were reunited at the end of the very first episode.

Daryl Dixon has been focused on Carol trying to find her friend all the way across the ocean in France. She has been getting closer and closer, but Episode 3 saw a turn, with Carol being taken in by Marion Genet (Anne Charrier) and her army. As she has often been doing of late, Carol lied, saying she was in France to kill Daryl, prompting Genet to bring her along on her mission to raid the Nest where Daryl lives so that she can do just that. There’s just one small catch: Genet is also building a supercharged army of the undead and wants to turn Carol as well. Just how is she going to escape with her life intact in Episode 4, “Le Paradis Pour Toi (Heaven for You),” and find the BFF she traveled halfway across the world for?

Carol Barely Escapes Becoming One of Genet’s Super Walkers in Episode 4

As the episode begins, Genet’s men are readying canons to fire at the Nest, while another group of soldiers begins firing into the crowd. A scared Carol is among them, but as the innocent start to fall, Carol gets to the ground, out of the way of the bullets, and pretends to be dead. Dozens lay dead around her as they are given injections of the serum that will bring them back stronger than ever. Carol takes one to the arm as well but quickly pulls it out before it can take effect. Meanwhile, Stephane Codron (Romain Levi) is brought in, tied to the back of a jeep as bait for the now-waking dead to follow to the Nest. Carol makes a run for it, getting to the jeep and gunning it, outrunning the walkers with Stephane still attached to the back. When she reaches the outer wall of the Nest, Carol stops, right as a cannon blows part of it open, fittingly giving Carol room to drive through. The Nest soldiers are there, shooting at her jeep and missing. Carol stops and cuts Codron loose. The two separate, with Codron wanting to fight for Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi).

Deeper inside the Nest, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) is tied to a chair as Losang (Joel de la Fuente) tells her again about how special of a Messiah Laurent is. Isabelle tells Losang that he’s a desperate savage and Daryl has shown her the truth. She knows that Laurent is just a human who can die. His faith unable to be swayed, Losang demands to know where the boy is just as a soldier comes in to let him know that the gate has been breached. Isabelle punches Losang in the face, leading to a shocking moment where he acts out in anger and stabs Isabelle in the stomach. He is surprised by what he’s done, but flees to hide with the others. Carol easily dispatches every soldier she comes across as a seriously wounded Isabelle slowly wanders the halls and outside into the fighting. Before a walker can strike, it is taken down by Carol, who is now face-to-face with Isabelle. She begins to treat her and tells Isabelle that she’s looking for a friend from America.

Carol and Daryl Are Finally Reunited in Season 2 Episode 4

Meanwhile, a scared member of the Union frees Daryl from his cell, allowing our favorite walker killer to go on a zombie massacre. At the end of the line stands Carol. After a moment of confusion, he runs to her, and they embrace as they cry without saying a word. Watch that and not tear up, I dare you. Carol takes Daryl to Isabelle, who is now much weaker. She refuses to be moved, knowing that it’s too late. Isabelle tells Daryl to make sure Laurent is okay before dying in his arms. As they flee the Nest, Carol tells Daryl that she has a plane to take him home, but Daryl marches to the sea, unable to hear her.

Carol and Daryl make it to the cave where Laurent is staying with Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney) but they are gone. As he freaks out, a confused Carol tries to calm him down. It’s morning now as they walk through the countryside and have time to finally talk. Carol tells him that she “flew halfway around the world on a feeling” because he didn’t come home. She talks about how Codron, Daryl’s former enemy, helped him find her. Inside the Nest, Losang is trying hopelessly to fight off the attackers when Genet enters the room and tells him that it now belongs to her. It’s now he who is tied to a chair. In his opinion, God is protecting Laurent from Marion. She sends her soldiers to look for him to prove that God is on her side, before telling Losang he doesn’t have long to live.

It’s night now as Daryl finds tracks that could lead to Laurent. It takes them through a horde of tied-up walkers to an old house where, inside, they find an old couple named Didi and Theo. They say that Laurent told them that they would come, although they sadly think that Carol is Isabelle. They had fed Laurent and Fallou earlier before helping to find them a car. Theo promises he’ll help Daryl find a car, too, in the morning. Can these people be trusted? The next day, Daryl finds a car that might be able to be fixed, while Carol stays with Didi to fix a meal. The old woman has lost people too, but she has found a way to keep living. This hits Carol, who is struggling to do the same.

Related ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ Season 2 Needs To Avoid This Franchise Problem Is ‘The Walking Dead’ falling back into old habits… again?

Theo later takes Daryl and Carol through the town streets, where the walkers still live inside the grounds of their old homes. When Theo goes to speak to a man about help with a car, Carol and Daryl talk about Laurent. We see how much Daryl cares about Laurent, as he admits that he’s not so sure that he wants to take the boy back to the Commonwealth because he’s afraid of losing him. Later, while fixing their ride, Carol goes with Didi to get ethanol from her barn but freezes outside the door as the memory of Sophia comes rushing back again. Seeing her pain, Didi hugs Carol and tells her, “I got through it. You will too.”

Marion Genet Is Killed but a New Army Forms in Season 2 Episode 4
Image via AMC

Theo gets a kick out of Daryl and Carol bickering, calling them an old married couple, but the good times come to an end when military men pull up in a jeep, causing Daryl and Carol to hide. It’s food that the soldiers have come for, and get, and they quickly leave. Afterward, in a moment alone, a struggling Daryl tells Carol that he’s glad she came. The next morning, they pack up to leave, but not before having a goodbye breakfast with Theo and Didi first. The meal is disturbed when the jeep returns and Theo points a shotgun at our heroes. His wife doesn’t know that he sold their new friends out to the army. He’s unsure though, and his wife is able to take his gun away from him.

They tell Daryl and Carol to hide as Genet herself walks in the front door. The couple lies, saying that they left, but does Genet believe them? She sits at the table and eats some of their food and wonders why it’s still warm if who they’re looking for has left. Genet’s men point a gun at the couple but are saved from a gunshot by Carol outside just in time. She sweeps through the house but is caught by Genet and her troops, who hold their guns to her. Again, just in the nick of time, it’s Daryl who saves the day, shooting Genet’s troops dead before Carol shoots the leader in the back with one of the serum darts. Unable to remove it, Genet’s body begins to shake and twist before she drops dead. In the next room, they sadly find Didi dead as well, having been caught in the crossfire. Carol and Daryl help Theo bury her in the yard before packing up to leave. Daryl tells her that he’s going to bring Laurent home to America with them. He’s sure now and it makes them smile.

As the episode ends, Losang is restrained in a prison cell in a nest when one of Genet’s soldiers comes in to tell them that her leader has been killed by the Americans. Losang calls it proof that God is on their side. The woman lets them go, and Losang goes out into the dining hall to forgive everyone. The Union of Hope and Genet’s remaining forces have now merged to find Laurent, who can take them to the promised land.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol is available to watch on AMC+ and every Sunday on AMC.

Daryl and Carol are back together, but it’s not going to be an easy reunion.ProsCarol and Daryl’s reunion is emotional and worth the wait.Isabelle’s death raises the stakes for saving Laurent.The intensity doesn’t let up despite fans finally getting the moment they wanted. ConsGenet’s death felt rushed when she was just becoming a superior villain.Losang is not exciting as a lead antagonist.

Daryl’s journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home.Release Date October 1, 2023 Cast Norman Reedus , Clemence Poesy , Louis Puech Scigliuzzi , Laïka Blanc-Francard , Anne Charrier , Romain Levi , Melissa McBride , Joel de la Fuente , Adam Nagaitis , Eriq Ebouaney , Tristan Zanchi , François Delaive , Maxime Lefrançois , Lukerya Ilyashenko , Catherine Arditi , Hugo Dillon Showrunner David Zabel Seasons 2 Story By Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard Network AMC Franchise(s) The Walking Dead Expand

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