The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol, or The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2, continues the story of its titular character’s sojourn in France. Norman Reedus is back as Daryl, and is joined by fellow The Walking Dead alumni Melissa McBride in one of the franchise’s most anticipated character reunions. Carol’s arrival comes after the small victory won at the end of the first season, but in the midst of an ongoing struggle between the Union de l’Espoir (Union of Hope) and Pouvoir Des Vivants (Power of the Living).
Two characters at the heart of this conflict are head of Pouvoir Des Vivants, Marion Genet (played by Anne Charrier) and the soldier Stephane Codron (Romain Levi). Against the backdrop of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2’s new zombie variants and post-apocalyptic world, Genet is as determined as ever to triumph over the Union de l’Espoir despite her defeat in season 1. Codron, on the other hand, chose to help Daryl and Laurent at the end of the first season—an action which will certainly have repercussions in season 2.
Screen Rant interviewed Anne Charrier and Romain Levi about their work on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol. Charrier and Levi revealed their characters’ mindsets going into the second season and how the arrival of Carol affects The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2’s conflict. Plus, they reflected on watching Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride reunite behind the scenes.
Romain Levi Reveals Where We Pick Up With Codron In Season 2
"He Really Thinks He's Going To Die"
Screen Rant: Codron is not in a great place when we meet him this season. Can you talk about what happened to him in between season one and when we meet him again in season two?
Romain Levi: At the end of season one he's with Genet, and Genet is very strong and very smart, so it was quite easy for her to feel the lie. From that moment, Codron is in jail, and Genet will try to get information [from him]. She's ready to do a lot of things in order to get this information, and Codron will do everything he can to keep the silence. Codron is very aware that he’s made a lot of mistakes in his life, and now I do believe that at that moment he really thinks that the only good thing he can do is help the kid (Laurent) by just staying silent. He doesn't really think that he will survive—he really thinks he's going to die, [though] he doesn't know when. Just one good thing [would be] to keep the silence.
Codron is really beat up. It seems like you worked a lot with makeup and even wore an eye covering, or eye patch. As an actor, as someone who is doing fight scenes and physical stuff, was it hard to get used to working with all of that?
Romain Levi: I have to admit that it wasn't so easy. For some reason that I don't really understand myself, when it was dark I didn't have trouble walking, but I had trouble seeing what was going on on the ground. A lot of times I almost fell because I didn't see that or didn't see that, and it was very hard to get used to it. But with time you start to feel okay, and you adapt to it. But yeah, it wasn't so easy, I have to say.
Anne Charrier Discusses Genet's Past & Present
"She's A Desperate Case"
Anne, it’s clear that Genet did not really get what she wanted last season. When you came back to the character this season and read the scripts, did you feel like the events of the last six episodes had changed her at all?
Anne Charrier: I'm not sure it has changed her so much. I think she's a desperate case. She's too angry. She’s going to have to follow the path of what happened for her because she's been asked questions about why she is the way she is. I'm trying to find a way to talk about it without [giving anything away].
But to get back to what Romain was saying, there's something very strong happening between the two of them. It's, again, someone that is going to disappoint her. It’s just feeding the monster that she is. She really thought, when she met him, that she found someone like her. Someone she could trust, and [who] was hurt the way she was hurt when she started to become who she is. She [thought she] could be the same thing around him and they could be strong together, but, obviously, she couldn't trust him.
Even in the trailer for the season, we see a shot of you in the Louvre, and it looks like it's before everything. Without giving too much away, how was it for you to explore that and shoot scenes that were before the apocalypse?
Anne Charrier: It was great. It's great because you see Paris before [the apocalypse]. Even though we had a few [scenes like that] for Isabelle's background and a few backgrounds, it was great. It was very special for us because it's our city to get to be in those places and to have them for ourselves… it's very privileged to be able to walk in the Louvre and in front of the Mona Lisa and stuff like that. Then, about the story, it was very interesting—and I hope it's going to be interesting for the audience as well—to know what Genet was before, and what kind of character she was. She wasn't at all the way she is now.
Were you afraid to mess up the paintings?
Anne Charrier: Not much, actually. No. No, I felt really [good]. I didn't care about the paintings. I cared about myself inside. I was like, “We're inside!” Having the time between the shoots to look at the paintings and to lose yourself… you never get that chance. In the Louvre, you never get to see the paintings so close, in such a quiet atmosphere. Even though there were lots of people on the set, it was never like the Louvre on a casual day.
Levi & Charrier Reflect On Witnessing The Reunion Of Norman Reedus & Melissa McBride
They're "Like Brother And Sister"
Both of you worked with Melissa McBride this season. Daryl and Carol are close in the show. How much is the behind-the-scenes relationship between Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride like the relationship between their characters?
Romain Levi: I remember that every first day I saw them together. It was amazing. I didn't have a scene to play at that moment, so I was just enjoying the moment, walking [around] the set, and suddenly I saw them together like that, having a conversation, having fun. I was a bit hypnotized, to tell you the truth. It was so amazing, and their relationship is amazing. They're having fun. We feel they’re like brothers and sisters, really. We feel that they know each other so well. They’re amazing together.
Anne Charrier: Yeah, that's exactly what I feel as well. Even though I didn't have many scenes with the two of them, there's a lot of trust, I believe. I didn't ask them, but you feel that there's something very easy between them. I would say the same as Romain, something like brother and sister. I believe they've been working for so long together and they probably have that relationship somewhere in their life as well, so they wanted to pursue it.
About The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book Of Carol
The new season picks up where The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon left off, following fan-favorite characters Daryl Dixon (Reedus) and Carol Peletier (McBride). They both confront old demons while she fights to find her friend and he struggles with his decision to stay in France, causing tension at the Nest. Additionally, Genet’s (Anne Charrier) movement builds momentum, setting Pouvoir on a violent collision course with the Union of Hope in the fight for France's future.
