The Loner, Tate ... The Rebel, these are classic-western forerunners for another Walking Dead. Daryl Dixon is the disguised result, the remedy for those starved for more showdowns with the living dead.
Norman Reedus' conscientious tough guy is now a hope-churning drifter (in search of an allegorical, lost chord) in France, the place where the disease emanated. There's no evading this fictional, scientific fact, unlike the true-blue ruse of Chinese gain-of-function not causing COVID (snicker).
Daryl is uncertain how he got washed up on a French shore, but he's apt to connect the dots (and all the far-reaching clues the process delivers), recording his observations much like Paul Mantee's Commander Christopher "Kit" Draper in Robinson Crusoe on Mars. This ought to give the adventure an identifiable narrative, but then Mr. Dixon has always been the sort of hero through whose eyes we like to peer.
It's a given that Daryl will encounter the good, the bad and the ugly (even if the specifics are now undefined), just as Maggie and Negan did in their Dead City nod to The Searchers, but per Walking Dead's intrinsic tradition, there's bound to be some existentialism interwoven and perhaps more questions than answers. (The series might mirror Jack Nicholson/Monty Hellman's surrealistic The Shooting, with choice chunks of Jean Rollin's The Grapes of Death; I can only trust that it will, based on those teasing trailers.)
To buffer Reedus' reprise, he's joined by Clemence (Tenet) Poesy's Isabelle Carriere, a battle-ready nun, and Adam (The Terror) Nagatis' mercurial, nightclub owner, Quinn. They, in turn, are joined by Laika Blanc Francard's Sylvie; Romain Levi's Stephane Codron; Anne Charrier's Marion Genet; Eriq Ebouaney's Fallou Boukar; Louis Puech Scuigluzzi's Laurent; and if the rumors are true, (somehow, someway) Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier.
The Daryl Dixon's six-part spinoff starts Sept 10. I'll be watching, and if you're a Walking Dead fan (and if not, why the hell are you here?), you'll be doing the same.
A good opening ... Is it just me, or was there a smidgeon of LILIES OF THE FIELD in the first chapter? Don't know how long that'll last, but it gave the premise an unexpected but respectable turn. The concept is still, of course, a western at heart.
ReplyDeletePS: On further thought, I believe there may have even been a trace of HEAVY METAL's "The Sacred and the Profane" in there, as well.
DeleteThe Episode 2, flashback opening reminded me of the start of DAWN OF THE DEAD '04, with its frenetic, zombie-rise action. I'm seeing a trace of SHANE in the storyline, maybe MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME, but it's hard to say how far along the strands might go.
ReplyDeleteThat zombie band in Episode 3 was right out of George A. Romero (DAY OF THE DEAD/LAND OF THE DEAD stuff, in particular).
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful season. There needs to be more series like this and DEAD CITY. Ah, the grit of humanity and the splendor of survival! They deserve to thrive.
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