Warning: spoilers ahead for Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 5.
The franchise isn't known for keeping characters around very long, but The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has achieved the impressive feat of burning through three separate villains in season 2 alone. Most seasons of The Walking Dead's main series would clock in around the 16-episode mark, but since season 12 plans were replaced by a string of The Walking Dead spinoff shows, the standard has been six episodes per season for Daryl Dixon, Dead City, and The Ones Who Live.
Naturally, the truncated length of each season has limited each spinoff's ability to refresh its villains as regularly as The Walking Dead used to. The main villain throughout Daryl Dixon season 1 was Genet, Dead City season 1 had the Croat (who was revealed as a follower of the more powerful Dama, but only in the finale), and the big bad of The Ones Who Live was Terry O'Quinn's Major General Beale. Daryl Dixon season 2 ignores that format, batting an impressive average of one villain every two episodes.
Daryl Dixon Season 2 Switched From Genet As A Main Villain To Losang
Villain Switch 1: Genet To Losang
Season 2 began very much as Daryl Dixon season 1 ended, with Pouvoir Du Vivant leader Genet gunning for Daryl and his allies at the Nest. The spinoff initially committed to sticking with Genet as its main villain, revealing her backstory through a series of pre-outbreak flashbacks, and bringing more depth to her character through illuminating conversations with Carol that explained her motivations and psychology more fully.
Joel de la Fuente's character standing as the sole main villain when credits roll on episode 4 is not an outcome many would have predicted.
In a surprise twist, Genet only served as Daryl Dixon season 2's main villain for the first four episodes, courtesy of Carol and a well-placed dart of variant serum. That Genet would die at some point could have been predicted in advance, especially after confirmation that Daryl Dixon season 3 will move onto Spain, but Genet dying two full episodes before season 2's ending was the real shock. As the story's overarching fountain of wine-flavored evil, Genet looked destined to at least hang around until Daryl departed France.
Instead, the final scene of Daryl Dixon season 2's fourth episode promoted Losang into the vacant main antagonist spot. Seeds for the switch had already been sown - Losang openly criticized Daryl's attitude in episode 1, and his plot to use Laurent as a ceremonial sacrifice was a rather overt sign of his increasing wickedness in episode 3. At first, Daryl Dixon looked to be teasing Losang as Genet's new best friend in the hunt for Laurent, so Joel de la Fuente's character standing as the sole main villain when credits rolled on episode 4 was not the outcome many would have predicted.
It Looks Like Jacinta Will Be Daryl Dixon Season 2's Real Final Villain
Villain Switch 2: Losang To Jacinta
Switching from Genet to Losang at the end of episode 4 was surprising, but Daryl Dixon season 2 sends further shockwaves by switching from Losang to a totally different character at the end of episode 5. After Daryl repeatedly clatters him with a human skull, Losang is very likely dead, and if not, he won't be swinging his staff around any time soon. The dying moments of Daryl Dixon season 2's penultimate episode then show Jacinta, Losang's second-in-command, gingerly regaining consciousness after Codron chivalrously decides against finishing her off.
Jacinta was influencing Losang from the shadows and whispering poison in his ear.
The scene where Jacinta stirs provides a very strong indication that she is now Daryl Dixon season 2's third, and presumably final, major villain. With one more episode still to come in season 2, Daryl Dixon still needs an enemy threat - the finale would be a rather uneventful 50 minutes if Daryl's biggest problem was figuring out how to fit four passengers onto Ash's plane. Jacinta must, therefore, be elevated to the once-again-empty main villain berth at the beginning of Daryl Dixon season 2's final episode, cementing her as the third big bad in only six episodes.
As shocking as that may be, Jacinta's rapid climb from minor nuisance to supervillain certainly did not come out of nowhere. Long before the Union betrayed Daryl Dixon, it became clear that Jacinta was influencing Losang from the shadows and whispering poison in his ear. Shady but cunning, Jacinta touted Daryl as a bad influence, encouraged Losang to proceed with Laurent's ritual, and even went behind her leader's back in an attempt to assassinate Daryl and his allies.
What Jacinta Taking Over Means For Daryl Dixon Season 2's Finale
There Are Pros & Cons To Daryl Dixon Season 2's Final, Final, Final Villain
From one perspective, Jacinta was always destined to become Daryl Dixon season 2's final boss. The drawback is that audiences know virtually nothing about her. Daryl Dixon dug deep into Genet's past to give Anne Charrier's character a fleshed-out backstory, while season 2 spent enough time exploring Losang's conflicted, deteriorating morals to make the Union's corrupted leader compelling. Jacinta, however, remains a mystery, and Daryl Dixon season 2's finale may not have enough time to change that. There is a real risk that, without any real insight into why she's doing what she's doing, Jacinta will feel hollow as a final villain.
Jacinta looks far more likely to follow Genet and Losang into The Walking Dead 's hall of deceased villains.
In terms of where Jacinta goes next, Losang's death does little to change her mission. Despite Daryl and Codron's best efforts, plenty of soldiers in the Pouvoir-Union alliance remain, including Genet's former lieutenant. Jacinta, meanwhile, is unlikely to have shifted from her goal of capturing Laurent. The Union still seems convinced that the prodigal teen is some kind of messiah, and Pouvoir is, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, going along with that notion. Losang and Genet may be dead, but as long as Laurent remains on French soil, any villains still breathing will chase him.
If AMC hadn't already confirmed that Daryl Dixon will relocate from France to Spain in season 3, one might have assumed that Jacinta was being primed for a larger role in the next run of episodes - that season 2's finale was just the beginning of a bigger journey for her. Because Spain is confirmed as Daryl and Carol's next stop, Jacinta looks far more likely to follow Genet and Losang into The Walking Dead's hall of deceased villains.
Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol) and the only current cast members confirmed to return for Daryl Dixon season 3.
The fact that Daryl Dixon's French storyline is rapidly coming to an end makes Losang's death in episode 5 even more surprising. Sticking with the familiar face - the one audiences have more investment in - would have perhaps made for a more meaningful last opponent for Daryl. Instead, it appears The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2's ending will throw its weight behind a character who has barely featured until now, and is almost certain to be absent when season 3's Spanish adventure begins.
