Daryl Dixon Season 2 Ending Explained

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Finale and mentions of suicide.The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 has been filled with emotional moments and gripping drama, with the story’s conclusion perfectly capping off Daryl and Carol’s journey. While Daryl has been trying to get home from France ever since the spinoff’s opening episode, Daryl Dixon season 1’s ending put some doubt in the protagonist’s mind about where he belonged. Despite this, he still intended to return to the US in season 2, and Carol’s arrival only helped further this objective. With the duo reunited, the final few episodes focused on protecting Laurent while finding a way back to the Commonwealth.

Thankfully, Ash’s plane remained intact heading into Daryl Dixon season 2’s finale, but given it could only fit three people, someone had to stay behind. Although the group eventually agreed Daryl should be the one to remain in France, Carol also joined him, allowing Ash and Laurent to escape unscathed. As a result, Daryl and Carol began planning their route home together, with the help of some of their French allies. With a plan in place, the protagonists ended the season embarking on their journey out of France, but surprisingly, their destination was different from what audiences might have expected.

Daryl & Carol Are Heading To England During Season 2’s Closing Moments, Not Spain

The Protagonists Found Out The UK Is Their Best Chance Of Getting Back To America

Without Ash’s plane, Daryl and Carol had no direct route to America, meaning they had to travel through another country. However, despite season 3’s confirmed location, the protagonists headed to England, not Spain. After successfully fighting off L’Union and Pouvoir’s coalition, Daryl and Carol watch Laurent and Ash fly off toward the US, essentially ending the conflict in France. The central characters then proceed towards England during season 2’s finale in an attempt to get home, despite Daryl Dixon season 3 taking place in Spain.

Their journey starts by traveling to a rural location with Fallou, Codron, and Akila after beating the main villains, where they gear up for their trip. With the help of a Scottish couple who are friends with Fallou, they make their way to a tunnel connecting England and France, as the couple reveals the UK has dealt with the apocalypse relatively well. Akila had already confirmed she was staying behind, but Fallou decides to join her after developing romantic feelings, causing the rest of the group to say their goodbyes and begin their nine-hour walk under the Channel.

Knowing England is their best chance at making it back to America, the group heads deep into the tunnel before discovering a checkpoint filled with dead bodies. Despite having their suspicions about what happened, they continue moving forward but begin hallucinating, causing chaos within the tunnel. Carol heads off on her own after envisioning her deceased daughter who she chases after. Meanwhile, Codron is being attacked by a zombie who he believes is his brother, which causes Daryl to step in and kill the walker, prompting the former antagonist to turn on him.

During their fight, Codron manages to overpower Daryl and stab him, but he once again hallucinates his brother, resulting in him running off to find him. As Daryl returns to the checkpoint to grab gas masks, Daryl Dixon season 2 continues its stranger betrayal twist with the Scottish couple ambushing the protagonist to take the equipment for themselves. With Daryl lying on the ground injured, he hallucinates Isabelle and a soldier, giving him enough motivation to get up and kill the traitors before retrieving the two remaining masks.

With Carol managing to overcome her grief by letting go of her daughter, she soon returns to meet up with Daryl, where they each put on gas masks and begin heading toward England. While the Scottish couple were killed, Codron remains alive during season 2’s ending, but the closing moments only feature Carol and Daryl alone as they continue their journey through the tunnel.

Why Daryl’s Group Lost Control At The End Of Season 2

The Effects Of The Tunnel Caused The Characters To Hallucinate

Considering the entire group begins acting out of character, it’s clear the tunnel caused them to hallucinate and lose control, but the exact reason why is intriguing. When the group stumbles upon the dead bodies, they assume the guards went crazy and turned on each other because of the guano inside the tunnel. According to Fiona, guano can cause people to hallucinate and become paranoid, but this wasn’t enough to prevent the group from progressing their journey. Unfortunately, without gas masks, the same thing happens to them, with everyone having their own visions that eventually spark the violence.

Although the science doesn’t back up guano having this impact, it’s possible other factors were also at play. Daryl Dixon‘s new glowing variants also appear during the scene, but other than being bioluminescent, their true powers are unknown. Therefore, it’s possible that the light they radiate can cause hallucinations, or the zombies combined with guano have some sort of effect that scientists obviously haven’t discovered yet in The Walking Dead universe.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on AMC+.

Regardless of whether it was guano on its own, the new variants, or something else entirely, the tunnel clearly had some sort of impact on the characters’ psyche that caused them to see things that weren’t real. While Daryl and Carol are able to recompose themselves and have the protection of the gas masks, Codron remains vulnerable to the effects in season 2’s finale, making his fate all the more interesting.

What Happened To Codron At The End Of Daryl Dixon Season 2?

Codron Went Looking For His Deceased Brother While Hallucinating

Having had an incredible redemption arc during Daryl Dixon season 2, Codron’s status at the end of the finale remains unclear. After playing a huge role in getting Laurent to safety in episode 5 and helping him escape during episode 6, Codron decides to join the journey to England, remaining a valuable ally until the hallucinations. His conversation with Daryl midway through the finale reopens the pain of losing his brother, as he finds out Daryl wasn’t responsible for Michel’s death. As a result, Codron continues to grieve his brother, hence why he hallucinates him during the episode’s closing moments.

Despite stabbing Daryl, Codron doesn’t appear to have returned to his villainous ways and is instead acting out of character due to the visions causing delusion.

Despite stabbing Daryl, Codron doesn’t appear to have returned to his villainous ways and is instead acting out of character due to the visions causing delusion. The last time he is seen is when he leaves Daryl to go chase after his brother, leaving him incredibly vulnerable and his fate unknown. Although his current predicament could make him easy prey for the remaining zombies inside the tunnel, Codron will hopefully appear in Daryl Dixon season 3 as he is still alive and could potentially be rescued by the protagonists.

Why Fallou Decided To Stay In France

Daryl’s Long-Term Ally Found A Love Interest Who Was Worth Staying For

Sylvie and Isabelle’s Walking Dead deaths mean Fallou is arguably Daryl’s most trustworthy remaining ally from France, but unfortunately, he decides not to join the group on their journey to England. Despite initially planning to go with them, Fallou hesitates as the survivors approach the tunnel and changes his mind, opting to stay in France instead. The reason for this last-minute decision comes down to the fact he developed feelings for Akila during their short time together and finally had something worth staying behind for, while also knowing Daryl is strong enough to reach England without him.

Having migrated from Cameroon, Fallou didn’t have any family in France when the outbreak started and The Union’s betrayal destroyed years’ worth of belief. Although he still had some allies remaining in the country, joining Daryl on his adventure to England seemed like a good idea, and he may have even planned on coming with the protagonists to America, depending on the method of transport they used. However, his instant connection with Akila quickly turned romantic, and with his love interest staying to find her sister, Fallou once again found a reason to try and build a life in France.

Sadly, his decision means he’s incredibly unlikely to appear in Daryl Dixon season 3, but it does at least give him a happy ending. Having been part of Daryl’s French journey since the first installment, Fallou undoubtedly deserves a satisfying conclusion to his story, and settling down with someone he loves feels like the perfect send-off.

What Happened To Daryl Dixon’s Villains?

The Union’s Message Died When Laurent Escaped While Pouvoir Remains In Control Of France

Daryl Dixon‘s main antagonists were defeated ahead of the finale, but Pouvoir and L’Union remained desperate to prevent Laurent from leaving France in the finale. Genet’s Walking Dead death in episode 4 meant Sabine took over Pouvoir and agreed to form an alliance with L’Union. However, Losang was also killed in episode 5, leaving Jacinta in charge of the religious group, with both factions now weakened. Despite this, they continued their mission to capture Laurent during season 2’s conclusion and recruited the help of Anna Valery to find the boy’s location.

Valery leads the evil group to the racetrack but betrays them by luring the antagonists into a zombie ambush, causing many casualties among the villainous groups.

Valery leads the evil group to the racetrack but betrays them by luring the antagonists into a zombie ambush, causing many casualties among the villainous groups. During the commotion, Jacinta is bitten by a walker but remains alive long enough to lead her soldiers towards the plane’s location. They arrive in time to begin a shootout with the protagonists, but Valery’s distraction alongside Carol and Daryl staying behind is enough to allow Laurent and Ash to escape, crushing The Union’s dreams in the process.

Having been bitten and knowing her only chance of a cure is now gone, Jacinta aims a gun at herself, before the camera cuts to Daryl and Carol while a bullet goes off. Jacinta seemingly taking her own life also represents L’Union’s mission dying in the process, but Pouvoir remains intact. The faction still has control of France, and while they may be significantly weaker without The Union alongside them, they also have very little opposition with Daryl, Carol, and Codron all leaving the country, suggesting they were secretly the big winners of season 2’s finale.

Why Valery Decides Not To Sell Out Daryl & Laurent

She Decided Laurent Deserved A Chance At Freedom After Having A Flashback

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of season 2’s conclusion was Valery deciding not to sell out Daryl and Laurent. Valery’s time in the spinoff has made it hard to know how trustworthy she is, but ultimately, she has pulled through for Daryl multiple times and the finale was no exception. Despite taking the villains to the racetrack, Valery leads them into a trap despite knowing it puts her own life on the line. After thinning the antagonists’ numbers, Valery tries to escape the garage full of walkers but is locked in by Jacinta and killed in the process.

Her reasoning for betraying the villains becomes clear, as a flashback highlights her telling Laurent that she hopes he makes it home. Their conversation from season 1 replays just before taking the villains in the wrong direction, where Valery shows sympathy to Laurent about his current situation. Valery has always had a soft spot for the boy, which has usually led to her doing the right thing, and while she initially planned on selling the protagonists out in exchange for the plane and its pilot, she believed Laurent deserved a chance at freedom, hence her sacrifice.

Why Daryl Sees A Soldier & What It Really Means

Daryl’s Hallucination Of His Grandfather Was A Reminder To Avoid Repeating History

During his hallucination sequence, Daryl sees a soldier, who at first glance may seem out of place and almost random. However, the finale’s mysterious figure actually connects to the first season and is supposed to represent Daryl’s grandfather. Much of Daryl Dixon’s spinoff story has mirrored his grandfather and WW2, as the protagonist slowly embracing his role in battling Pouvoir seemed to resemble his relative joining the fight in France during the war. However, his vision of the soldier is a reminder not to repeat history, as his grandfather died fighting in France.

Before hallucinating the army figure, Daryl sees visions of Isabelle, who encourages him to keep on going. She tells him “You won’t die here” and when the soldier appears, she proceeds to say “Not like him“, proving this scene is all about motivating Daryl to continue his journey. Isabelle’s involvement is obviously Daryl seeing someone he loves so that he can keep on fighting, but the vision of his grandfather is a reminder of what Daryl’s fate could be if he gives up, meaning it was the perfect symbol for the protagonist to continue pushing towards England, no matter what.

Carol’s Vision Of Sophia & What It Represents For Her Story In The Walking Dead

Carol Finally Letting Go Of Sophia Suggested She Overcame A Decades Worth Of Grief

Carol’s hallucinations seem even more personal to her journey, as her arc in season 2 has been all about overcoming the loss of Sophia. Having lied about Sophia’s death during Daryl Dixon season 2’s premiere, the trauma of her daughter’s fate continued to follow Carol throughout the season. She saw visions of Sophia in previous episodes, making the hallucination even more powerful as it forced her to finally deal with her grief. Despite wanting to go with her daughter, Carol eventually let her go, suggesting that her season 2 story had reached a natural conclusion.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
season 3 is currently filming, but no release date has been revealed.

While her main objective may have been bringing Daryl home, her personal battle involved letting go of Sophia, which the finale finally helped her achieve. Although there’s no guarantee that she won’t continue to think about her daughter throughout season 3 and beyond, Daryl Dixon‘s finale was the culmination of this fascinating storyline. Facing the vision of her daughter, embracing her, and watching her walk away proves Carol has finally addressed over a decade of repressed trauma and can focus on the journey home in season 3.