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We're back with some more Daryl Dixon, and this week we learn about the downfall of Paris and some backstory of Laurent and Isabelle. An interesting episode that help fill some missing pieces and added depth to their journey, here are some thoughts from the episode.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
We get to see Isabelle before the world turn. She was no Nun! A loving sister and girlfriend with a dark past. A thief in the night, partying and stealing from the rich night goers. She's crafty, which explains how she's survived so long.
One of the storylines I was highly anticipating luckily happened right off the stop. The downfall of Paris when the outbreak occurred. It's interesting to see the different perspectives. A normal night turned to shit and then the zombie appocolpse began. I thought it was wild that it took a day or two before true chaos. I feel like Atlanta immediately hit the panic button. However, this sequence of events was really cool how it all unfolded.
After seeing more of Isabelle's backstory, I understand her reluctancy to return to Paris, but we know that they will definitely be back thanks to the trailers.
A new group has entered. This time, it's a "children of the corn" type school cult. It was a sad story, but shows the resilience of the French during these troubling times.
This episode was a big time win for Daryl Dixon as a character. Watching his growth over the years has been awesome to watch. The scene that struck it for me was him buying into the Father/Priest character at the beginning (obviously for survival reasons), but then showcasing his kind heart during grace as well as his leadership in uplifting the group and staying positive is just perfection.
The television scene was also a warmhearted moment. Something so simple, yet something resembling "normalcy" showed that the world is "healing"
A burning question we are all having - Will Isabelle and Daryl become love interests???
Back to Isabelle's past - her boyfriend was selfish and cold, but their separation might come back in the future I feel. I don't understand how she didn't know her sister was pregnant for months. That's just wild. But I respected her even more for choosing family over her boyfriend was going to drop her the second he had a chance. We then saw how they finally got to the Nun's Convict, which tied in her loyalty and character change in the coming scenes and following years.
Laurent is so innocent and pure, but finding out he was Isabelle's nephew was a crazy plot line. The way they laid the clues until the ending was excellent from Angela Kang and the writing team.
I hate when animals die in this show. RIP to the Donkey.
We got our title (Alouette) scene. The common French children's song, which is about plucking feathers from a lark. Isabelle was singing that to her dying sister before she turned and before she birthed Laurent.
Back to present day. Regular TWD content. Daryl does stuff alone. A fight scene for supplies. The enemy is never a match for Dixon. They resolve it. Shit hits the fan. Pit of walkers, that somehow all die but Daryl stays alive. Somebody saves the day. They find out a walker was an old family member, they return home happy. We all know that how things roll, it was very predictable, but still a solid showing of events.
I did like the symmetry of the situation. The bow master was saved by bow wielding friends.
The overall theme of this episode was lying. We saw characters lying about their past, lying about the present to stay alive, lying to keep hope and positivity, it was intertwined into almost every scene. At the end of the day, lying is what keeps everyone going forward and it's a sad reality. I am surprised that all these years after the outbreak that now it's a conversation point, but hey, it was a solid written theme for this episode.
We now see Codron back at the Convict, out to seek revenge. Luckily for him Daryl and Crew left a map with all of their travels plus his recording. Of course!
We now see why Laurent (named after YSL, but yes St. Laurent and his miracles) was a special kid. His mother turned while giving birth. The timing doesn't make sense though, because it seemed like he was born not too long after the outbreak began. The convict thought the mother was a demon and might have not even known that the world changed yet. Laurent is described as "an 11-year-old boy born just as the hungry ones appeared, he grew up in an abbey protected by nuns, shielded from the violence of the outside world. He seems insightful and wise beyond his years". I am pretty sure more than 11 years have passed, especially after all of the TWD time jumps from the main show.